The LGBT Controversy

THE recent uproar over the morality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons was triggered by Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir's comment that people with such sexual orientations were dangerous influences on college campuses and should thus be barred. He later softened his stance.

Such non-hetero sexual orientations, which have existed since the beginning of time, have suddenly captured public attention. Scientists in the country have differing stances. Neurologists consider LGBT orientations to be a natural consequence of genetics that cannot be controlled by willpower. Indonesian psychiatrists, meanwhile, are divided between those who consider LGBT persons as suffering from a mental disorder and those who say the science says otherwise.