Forget about San Francisco. Forget about Sydney. Forget about Amsterdam.

Hang on to your tanktops, sequins and feather boas, boys! Seems like the gayest place in town these days is our very own fabulous little island of Penang. How else can you account for the nigh impossible number of gay parties being raided over there? Even caught a few boys with their pants down this very weekend making the headlines.

Seems like in a recent raid of a fitness center-cum-sauna, glowing pearl necklaces were found adorning quite a number of the patrons, presumably caught in the act. A concerned samaritan ( the twat! ) tipped overzealous vice cops off that the space had been used for clandestine trysts - and boy were they right! Not only did they manage to round up 70 unfortunate patrons - including British and Chinese nationals - the boys in blue also found gay magazines, tubes of lube, boxes of condoms and pornographic movies.

Blimey. Quite the party! Imagine the chagrin of the partygoers.

Does that shock me? No. After years of work in the gritty city - seeing the best and worst life has to offer, I’m pretty much unshockable these days. Hell I wasn’t exactly a saint before. And you guys know I’m far from prudish.

What puts me in a rage isn’t the fact that they were having a wild gay sex gala without sending me an invitation. Well, that does put me off a little - I know it’s been a while since I was out there but hey, they could have sent an invite

The line-up!
What actually drives me up the wall as usual is the sanctimonious morality police. Blame it on good old Section 377. Seriously, morality should not be governed by the law when it comes to affairs held behind closed doors between consenting adults. Not saying that we should all simultaneously hold mass roman orgies in public places but let’s just place this in context.

They’re all consenting adults. If an innocent underaged waif were to be present, I’d agree to lock the paedophilic lot up and toss away the key. But since they’re all grown men of sound mind, I don’t really give a damn what goes on behind closed curtains. What’s wrong a bit of slap and tickle? They could pretend to be furry forest creatures and indulge in humpy bunny sex for all I care.

They’re in a semi-private area. Sure, if they were out canoodling in public parks and recreational areas behind bushes and trees, they should be duly drawn and quartered. After all it’s the risk ( and the the thrill! ) that they take. But it’s in a closed private sauna dammit. I don’t recall them having an open invite.

And they aren’t making a nuisance of themselves! If the guys were yelling lewd obscenities and spanking the daylights out of each other till the wee hours of the morning, I’d certainly sound an alarm. Hell, even if they were a married heterosexual couple of 80 making loud whoopee all night long, I’d alert the police for the insane ruckus as well. But they weren’t.

So for god’s sakes, let them have their fun.

At least judging by the incriminating items found at the site, they practise commendable safe sex.

Look, I know in the general view amongst the more conservative Muslims and many non-Muslims ( especially those following Judaeo-Christian doctrines ), homosexuality is not vastly accepted. Far too liberal a view for them I’m sure. Though I never can quite understand how two guys in love can actually lead to a dramatic decline in society morals.

Fair enough though, to each his own. I don’t need your acceptance but that doesn’t mean I’d want to have your puritanical values and cultural norms shoved down my throat as well. Even less do I need a self-righteous Big Brother to come knocking on my door checking on my unnatural sexual practices. Here the question is how do you use the law ( based on prudish colonial statutes written in the Victorian era, I’m sure ) not to intrude on people’s privacy and their own private choices?

What next? Stoning adulterers? Strangling unwed mothers? Drowning pagan witches?

With such blatant discrimination ( and the infamous Section 377 forever hanging over our heads ), is it any wonder that young gay boys are driven to end their lives?