Malaysia
— I feel that as a researcher in this area, I should
speak out. Why is it so difficult for people to accept a
person who is different from the norm even though this
person has not done anything bad or hampered their
quality of life? Why must people always be so judgmental
and think that they are better than others?
They judge not only the
transsexuals, but also physically challenged people,
mentally-ill people, etc. Don’t forget that when you
judge others and create hell for others, you are also
being judged by God. God tells us to be kind and
compassionate to others; not to take away the quality of
life of others. At the end of the day, transsexuals
themselves are going to answer to God, not to other
people. So, please let God be the ultimate judge and not
us.
As a researcher, there is
already enough scientific research in the area of
transsexualism to convince my colleagues and I that
transsexualism refers to a biological phenomenon. This
research is published in reputable journals as well as on
the Internet. The debate on this issue goes on because
people, especially those in authority, refuse to accept
these scientific findings.
MCA’s Wanita chief
Dr Ng Yen Yen did speak as a medical doctor once in
support of transsexuals’ rights sometime back
because she is aware of these scientific research.
The myths that male to
female transsexuals are influenced to be one by their
peers, that their parents dressed them up as girls when
they were young because they wanted a daughter, that they
were the only male child and were influence by their many
sisters or that they were sexually abused when small, are
still widely believed in society, including among
professionals, as shown in TV3's ‘Wanita Hari
Ini’ programme on Nov 30 last year.
My research on 507
transsexuals in 2001, which has been peered reviewed
internationally and accepted by the international
academic community, shows nothing of the sort.
Transsexuals start feeling different at a very young age,
some as young as four or five years old. Their parents,
especially their mothers, could not accept their
cross-dressing let alone dressing them up as girls when
they were small. They have both brothers and sisters as
their role models. Many transsexuals were not sexually
abused when small.
Researchers overseas that
I know, including researchers like myself, started out
wondering whether transsexualism is a social phenomenon.
After carrying out our research, we all ended up
believing strongly that you cannot ignore biological
factors.
Concerning religion, I
have spoken to an ustaz at Jakim (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam)
<http://www.islam.gov.my/>
and he said that if transsexualism is a biological
factor, then Islam will have to reinterpret the matter. I
hope the relevant authority will open up to the fact that
transsexualism does have a biological factor. In Iran,
the government has accepted the existence of transsexuals
and pays for the sex change operation as they believe
that quality of life is important to this community
<http://www.atsnn.com/story/182797.html>.
Lastly, I hope the media
will be more balanced in their talk shows on marginalised
communities as bias reporting will be very detrimental to
their quality of life, creating more discrimination and
marginalisation of these communities - like what TV3 has
done with their ‘Wanita Hari Ini’ programme. I
have already voiced out my dissatisfaction to them. Also,
if everyone tries to have a friend among the
transsexuals, you will have a different opinion about
them.
Dr Teh Yik Koon
