Forum not to change LGBTs but to foster goodwill, says USM student body

GEORGE TOWN: A Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) student body has defended a recently organised forum which it said was aimed at fostering understanding with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) undergraduates.
The forum was just to build casual ties and not to impose social norms on the community, it said yesterday.
A spokesperson with the student development affairs and alumni division denied reports that portrayed the forum as an attempt to convert the community back. It was held at the request of LGBT students, he said.
The forum called "Back to Fitrah" (back to the preordained path) took place last week on campus and it was organised by the USM Muslim Students Association with the intention of fostering closer friendships with the LGBT student community in USM.
"There was no intimidation or brainwashing; or anything forceful about it. It was a cordial setting, and certainty not like what was portrayed by certain media outlets," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the association president Ahmad Rifhan Mujaddid issued a statement, saying it was a programme demanded by Islam and it had met the constitution of USM and the country.
It is part of a long-term campaign to reach out to the LGBT, and it was aimed at helping troubled Muslims to return back to the true path, but it was done voluntarily; there was no force applied, he said.