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:: Misconception about transsexuals By Ong Su Lynn - Star Publication

HER* roommate found her body hanging by a towel around her neck from the ceiling. Her long hair covered her pale face, like a curtain drawn over an empty stage.

Po Po (her nickname) took her life at 26, when others her age are building families and careers. She was born a male child to the Teoh family but had never found peace in her male body. Rejected by her family, she became a teenage runaway.

As manager of Ikhlas, Pink Triangles programme on sex workers and drug users, Sulastri Ariffin (right) counsels transsexuals on their problems.

Without skills or qualifications, she turned to sex work to support herself, and to save enough money for a sex change operation. In the day, she worked in a beauty salon as a shampoo-girl, hoping to learn some skills that can eventually bring her out of prostitution.

In addition to emotional pressure over the years, her friends say that she killed herself because she was cheated and left in the cold by a man she trusted.

Po Po's case conforms with statistics, that one out of 10 transsexuals surveyed in this country has attempted suicide. According to a study on transsexuals conducted by Associate Professor Dr Teh Yik Koon of Universiti Utara Malaysia and funded by the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry, transsexuals are more likely to commit suicide, to be fired from their jobs, and to be hurt in many ways--some as blatant as open ridicule, others as insidious as non-hiring. And such discrimination is similar in other countries as well.

Dr Teh and co-researcher Khartini Slamah, former senior manager of Pink Triangle, a community-based organisation which assisted in the project, surveyed over 500 Mak Nyahs across Malaysia--the youngest 16 and the oldest, 70.

"Transsexuals are marginalised by society and are blamed for social ills. Ignorance is one of the reasons why people are prejudiced against transsexuals. I hope my research will shed some light on the matter,'' says Dr Teh.

More than half of Mak Nyahs are involved in the sex industry. "We are considered unacceptable for other forms of employment,'' says Khartini. "Even when we do have the qualification or the experience, we are still not offered jobs because of our appearance and sexual orientation.''

Take Sharon, 38, for instance. She has been a sex worker for 10 years. "I started out selling cassettes, then I worked in a beauty salon, and then moved on to many different jobs. I turned to sex work because things just didn't work out. I just couldn't get a good-paying job. It's either I couldn't get the job or there's no job advancement because of the way I look,'' she says. Sharon now earns between RM2,000 and RM3,000 a month entertaining local men, some of them married, and immigrant workers. She is saving up for a sex change operation.

Frequent raids by the police and religious authorities have driven Mak Nyahs underground, observes Dr Latif Kamaluddin of Universiti Sains Malaysia's School of Social Sciences.

"Many used to work as waiters but frequent raids which started a few years ago have put a stop to that. Now employers are afraid to risk employing Mak Nyahs. It's little wonder why Mak Nyahs turn to sex work,'' he says.

Male clients looking for a good time in Penangs red light district. More than half of male transsexuals in the country are involved in the sex trade. Dr Latif, who has also done research on Mak Nyahs and organised a support network project for them, says sex work allows them to sleep in the daytime so they do not have to be so visible to attract unwarranted attention.

Dr Teh's research shows that 55.2% of the respondents have been arrested by the police at least once. They were commonly arrested and charged under the Minor Offences Act 1955 for cross-dressing, which is interpreted as indecent behaviour.
Most of them pleaded guilty and paid the fine of RM25 on first conviction. Subsequent convictions may carry a three-month jail term and a maximum fine of RM100. But transsexuals fear the police lock-up more than the magistrate's court; 70% of the respondents who had been arrested said they were forced to strip before other people in the lock-up, while 20% said they had been asked to expose their breasts and genitals.

These findings have been presented to the police, at a dialogue last year between
Dr Teh and Pink Triangle, and representatives from the police, Welfare Department and the Pusat Islam (under the Prime Minister's Department). Dang Wangi officer-in-charge ACP Mohamad Bakri who attended the dialogue gave the assurance that the police are trying to change the department's image and transsexuals can report directly to him if such abuse of power happens again.

The dialogues with the police have yielded results. Says Sharon who has been arrested in raids more than 20 times: "They used to arrest us just because of our cross-dressing. We can be picked up even while we are just having a meal in a cafe. But no longer. Now, if you're a non-Muslim, you will be arrested only if you are soliciting or, of course, commit a crime.''

Head of Bukit Aman's Sexual Unit ACP Rubiah Abdul Ghani says arrests are made only if there are public complaints that Mak Nyahs are behaving indecently in public. The raids are to bust vice dens and drug rings. "We don't simply arrest them for cross-dressing.''

Efforts to integrate Mak Nyahs into society are not new. In the late 1980s, the Welfare Department under then director-general Professor Abdullah Malim Baginda had a special programme to assist Mak Nyahs in setting up businesses and getting jobs.

During Prof Malim's tenure, the Welfare Department offered financial help to transsexuals to set up tailoring shops and beauty salons, in addition to organising support groups and counselling sessions for them.

"With jobs, they can be useful and accepted in society. We tried to help them to lead as normal a life as possible,'' says Prof Malim who is now special assistant to the CEO of Pintas, an advisory panel to the National Unity and Social Development Ministry.

"We're not interested or concerned over how they dress or behave, as long as there is no criminal activity involved. The principle is that, no one should be excluded from society,'' he says. Unfortunately, the Welfare programme later fell through because of the transsexuals' inexperience and lack of management skills.

At present, there is no aid programme for Mak Nyahs, but the Welfare Department assures that if they approach the department for help, they will not be turned away. "We do not discriminate against Mak Nyahs,'' says a Welfare officer who did not wish to be named.

Welfare Department assistant director Mimi Zaidah, who was present at the dialogue last year, says transsexuals can obtain a "launching grant'' of RM2,000 from the department, upon approval of application.

While the police and Welfare Department have shown flexibility in their approach to transsexuals, the same cannot be said of the religious authorities.

"That's because of adherence to the religious tenets,'' points out USM's Dr Latif.

In Islam, transsexuality is not recognised. Male to female transsexuals are considered males, because they are physically male. "According to the fatwa (religious decree), males are not allowed to wear women's clothing. It is also against Islam for them to undergo sex change,'' says an officer in the Islamic Progress Department (JAKIM) of the Pusat Islam.

For singer Regina Ibrahim, 38, she has since come to terms with her male body.
"I would consider surgery if I were younger, and if it wasn't for my mother. But religion has a lot to do with my decision not to go through with it.''