SEKSUALITI MERDEKA 2009: Our Bodies, Our Rights

Sexuality Rights Festival

Wed 12 to Sun 16 Aug, Check schedule below

Presented by Seksualiti Merdeka, with the support of the Bar Council Human Rights Committee, PT Foundation, SUARAM, Women's Candidacy Initiative, KRYSS, Purple Lab, Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (Empower), Matahari Books, twenty.one kitchen+bar, The Annexe Gallery, and various individuals

Admission Free, except where indicated



Do we have the right to privacy? Do we have the right to our own bodies? Do we all deserve to be treated equally regardless of our sexuality?

Yes, yes and yes.

It should not matter if you are single, married or divorced, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transvestite, intersexed or asexual, everyone has these rights. But are these rights recognised in Malaysia? Should they be? And what can we do about it?

This year, Seksualiti Merdeka calls for everyone to stand together to claim our rights.


OUR AIMS

Happening in its second year, Seksualiti Merdeka is an annual sexuality rights festival featuring a programme of talks, lectures, forums, workshops, theatre and music performances, interactive installations and film screenings.

Seksualiti Merdeka was launched in 2008 in conjunction with Merdeka celebrations to underscore the fact that even after all these years since Merdeka, many of us are still not free to be who we are. The forums and talks last year aimed to foster a sense of compassion and understanding for those who faced discrimination for their gender identities and sexual orientation.

This year, with the theme “Our Bodies, Our Rights”, the festival is focusing on issues that affect everyone, such as privacy, moral policing and human rights. We aim to affirm sexuality rights as a human right, empower individuals and communities of all sexualities, and create platforms for advocacy of sexuality rights.


Note: Please do not repost this on your blog or publicise this event without permission from the organisers. If you are interested to do so, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


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SCHEDULE


Wed 12/8
8.30pm: Talkshow: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Thu 13/8
12pm: Documentary: CELLULOID CLOSET
2pm: Documentary: BUKAK API
4pm: Documentary: BEFORE STONEWALL
8.30pm: Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT
8.30pm: Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI

Fri 14/8
12pm: Documentary: SOUTHERN COMFORT
2pm: Documentary: PECAH LOBANG + SHE’S MY SON
4pm: Documentary: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK
8.30pm: Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT
8.30pm: Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI

Sat 15/8
12pm: SEKSUALITI MERDEKA LAUNCH
2pm: Debate: MORAL POLICING – IS IT JUSTIFIED?
4pm: Book Launch: BODY 2 BODY: A MALAYSIAN QUEER ANTHOLOGY
6pm: Forum: THE LAW & OUR BODIES
8.30pm: Concert: RAINBOW MASSACRE

Sun 16/8
12pm: Tutorial: IT’S A QUEER WORLD – QUEER THEORY 101
12pm: Workshop: THE SEX TALK SHOW
2pm: Talk: Screwed – THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAYSIA
2pm: Forum: WHO’S AFRAID OF SEX?
4pm: Talk: LEGALISING NATURE: HONG KONG, INDIA & SINGAPORE
4pm: Workshop: POLICE POWER
6pm: Discussion: STEP BY STEP
8.30pm: Concert: RAINBOW MASSACRE


For full synopses of the events, check below.


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HIGHLIGHTS

SEKSUALITI MERDEKA LAUNCH
Sat 15 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 3
Officiated by Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir. Come celebrate our official launch and meet all the sweaty organisers and cute volunteers of Seksualiti Merdeka. The launch will also feature a song by V-Mix and a performance by Elaine Pedley and young sexuality rights defenders.
Refreshments sponsored by twenty.one kitchen+bar.



Debate: MORAL POLICING – IS IT JUSTIFIED?
Sat 15 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 3
Should we allow the State’s “moral police” to dictate how we should behave? This friendly debate revolves around the role of the State and “moral police” in legislating morality, religious convictions and public law. Debaters include representatives from the Bar Council Human Rights Committee and Centre for Independent Journalism – Fahri Azzat, Adiba Shareen Al’Ayubi, Khaizan Sharizad, Gayathry Venkiteswaran and Shanon Shah. It will be moderated by Simranjit Kaur Gill.



Book Launch: BODY 2 BODY: A MALAYSIAN QUEER ANTHOLOGY
Sat 15 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1
The first of its kind in Malaysia, Body 2 Body: A Malaysian Queer Anthology features 23 original pieces of fiction and non-fiction in English selected by editors Jerome Kugan & Pang Khee Teik. There are cheers and tears, raunch and kink, polemics and politics: a versatile tribute to the rainbow diversity of Malaysia. The launch will have short readings by Shanon Shah, Cheryl Leong, Brian Gomez, Faizad Nik Abdul Aziz, Paul GnanaSelvam dan Maya Tan Abdullah. The book will available for purchase at RM30 each.


Forum: THE LAW & OUR BODIES
Sat 15 Aug, 6pm, Gallery 1
Do the laws that govern sexual practices and sexuality in our country protect our rights? Or do they infringe upon them? Panel speakers from the Bar Council Human Rights Committee including Saha Deva A/L A. Arunasalam, Simranjit Kaur Gill, Lim Kar Mern and Aston Philip Paiva take a close look at the law and discuss just how restrictive they really are.


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ARTS

Art Installation: TEMBOK MERDEKA
A collective of artists will create an art installation inspired by the 29 Yogyakarta Principles, as well as two interactive walls upon which visitors can record their experiences of discrimination and acceptance. The installation will last throughout the festival. Strike a pose or become a part of the wall!


Talk Show: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
Wed 12 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3
With dance doyen Datin Marion D’Cruz, TV & Radio host Will Quah, actor Mano Maniam, transsexual writer Julya Oui, and Irene Leong, mother of a happily gay daughter. Sharing tales about their lives, passion and relationships, these straight and queer individuals will show how diversity, understanding and love are important foundations for a more accepting society.



Theatre: THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT – 3 SHORT PLAYS ABOUT SEXUALITY
Thu 13 & Fri 14 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 1
Admission by donation: RM25 at the door; RM20 presale passes available at http://www.applause.org.my
In “XX, XY or X?”, Low Ngai Yuen directs Carmen Soo & KK Wong who play a brokenhearted and unfulfilled couple searching for answers from an X-rated video. Meanwhile, in “Bed”, directed by Kwan Chan Fong, a woman (Chin Lee Ling) and a man (Lim Chung Wei) confront the secret life of their dead housemate. Finally, one woman’s driving lessons take her down the road of sexual awakening in “Drive”, directed by Hariati Azizan, performed by Ruza Jajuli and Renita Che Wan. The plays contain mature themes. In English, Malay, Mandarin & Cantonese.



Music: RAINBOW MASSACRE
Sat 15 & Sun 16 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3
Admission by donation RM30 adult; RM25 for students. Passes available at http://www.applause.org.my
From “I Will Survive” to “YMCA” to “Bukan Cinta Biasa”, queer anthems teach us to dance, fight, and unleash our inner Dorothy – uniting us in a celebration of the outrageous, tragic, campy and bitchy. Rainbow Massacre presents two nights of queer anthems and comedy featuring some of KL’s best entertainers: Joanne Kam, Mia Palencia, Shanon Shah, Zalina Lee, Fang Chyi, Maya Tan, and V-Mix, with emcees Edwin Sumun & Fahmi Fadzil.


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DOCUMENTARIES
(Note: Please be advised that some of the documentaries contain mature themes.)

Documentary: THE CELLULOID CLOSET
Thu 12 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1
The Celluloid Closet (1995) is a documentary film about the the Hollywood film industry and its cast of LGBT characters both on- and off-screen, censorship and stereotypes.



Documentary: BUKAK API
Thu 12 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1
The groundbreaking semi-documentary about the lives of transsexuals on Chow Kit Road, directed by Osman Ali. 


Documentary: BEFORE STONEWALL
Thu 12 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1
This historical documentary is about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots.


Documentary: SOUTHERN COMFORT
Fri 13 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1
Southern Comfort is an emotionally touching documentary about the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a 52-year-old female-to-male American transsexual who died of ovarian cancer. 


Documentary: PECAH LOBANG + SHE’S MY SON
Fri 13 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1
Two award-winning Malaysian documentaries (Freedom Film Fest) about two different transgender experiences: one from sex workers’ perspective and one from the mother of a transsexual.


Documentary: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK
Fri 13 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1
Before Milk, there was this documentary of the charismatic gay activist, who became the first openly homosexual person to be elected to public office in America. Featuring real footage of Harvey Milk and his friends.


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EMPOWERMENT
(The following sessions require registration. Please email your name and the names of the session to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )


Workshop: KAFE BISIKAN SEKS & SEKSUALITI
Thu 13 & Fri 14 Aug, 8.30pm, Gallery 3
What is the difference between sex and sexuality? And why is sexuality such an issue for control, discrimination and persecution? This introductory workshop to sexuality and sexual rights is presented by KRYSS (Knowledge and Rights for Young people through Safer Spaces). Discuss your views and gain a better understanding of sexuality rights and how they relate to our human rights.


Workshop: THE SEX TALK SHOW
Sun 16 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 3
Are you ready to add sizzle to your sex life? PT Foundation presents a talk show with a panel of sexperts on how to make sex safe, adventurous and fun. Additionally, in a separate private room, trained counselors are available to conduct anonymous HIV screenings with counselling. Hosted by TP Lim, well known for his diva impersonations on Astro's Wah Lai Toi.


Forum: WHO’S AFRAID OF SEX?
Sun 16 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 3
Do you think sex is dirty and shameful? Or beautiful and affirming? What influences your attitudes toward sex? What prevents you from having healthy sex? PT Foundation puts together a panel of experts to help you develop positive thinking about sex. Hosted by TP Lim, well known for his diva impersonations on Astro's Wah Lai Toi.


Workshop: POLICE POWER
Sun 16 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 3
Many of us have fantasies about uniformed hotties, but what happens when you’re actually confronted by the real thing? What to do when the cops stop you for holding hands, raid the disco you’re in or detain you for cross-dressing? SUARAM leads a practical workshop on what is the police’s power and what are your rights when you are stopped, fined, detained or harrassed by them.


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ACTIVISM
(The following sessions require registration. Please email your name and the session names to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )



Tutorial: IT’S A QUEER WORLD – QUEER THEORY 101
Sun 16 Aug, 12pm, Gallery 1
Benjamin McKay, Film Studies lecturer at Monash University Sunway campus, introduces us to the joys of Queer Theory; after all, there is no norm, everything and everyone is queer! With film clips from Francois Ozon, Amir Muhammad’s Susuk and Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession. Now, you too can apply Queer Theory in your daily life!


Talk: SCREWED – THE STATE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MALAYSIA
Sun 16 Aug, 2pm, Gallery 1
Not only LGBT folks get bullied in Malaysia. SUARAM presents a crash-course into the overall human rights record of Malaysia, with an overview of the NGOs working in Malaysia. Know your basic human rights, learn about the abuses, and be outraged. Yes, we are all majorly screwed! Let’s all come together for a better future.


Talk: LEGALISING NATURE: HONG KONG, INDIA & SINGAPORE
Sun 16 Aug, 4pm, Gallery 1
Singapore gay equality activist Alex Au discusses recent court cases in Hong Kong and India regarding the repeal of the sodomy law. He also updates participants about the legal situation in Singapore and shares his thoughts about activist strategies for Malaysia.


Discussion: STEP BY STEP
Sun 16 Aug, 6pm, Gallery 1
Movies, massacres and moral policing? What does it all mean? This session is tailored for those who are all fired up and asking, "What next?" Find out how you can transform what you’ve learnt into meaningful action, and how your actions can translate into meaningful change.


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ENQUIRIES

Please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Or call: 03-2070 1137


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