Malaysian deputy education minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi said yesterday that 'there is nothing wrong' with taking a musical with negative stereotypes of LGBT characters (who turn straight in the end) to schools and universities.

'We don't want our children to be involved in such activities and if the content of the musical helps our children understand it, then there is nothing wrong,' said Puad to the Malay Mail.

Malaysia's education ministry held 21 seminars over the last six months about how to 'curb' LGBT behavior, reaching 16,000 parents and teachers.

Deputy education minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said the ministry would be holding more seminars across the country, The Star reports.

At a seminar last week in Seberang in northwestern Malaysia, Puad said:

'It is like a disease but it can be cured with early intervention.'

Human Rights Watch has criticized Malaysia in its annual report published today.

'The Malaysian government’s promised human rights agenda fell far short in practice in 2012,' said Asia deputy director Phil Robertson.

'As elections approach, the government will need to demonstrate its willingness to uphold the rights of all citizens, whatever their political views.'

Malaysia's deputy education minister has told parents 'intervention' can help lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children 'return to the right path'.

Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi was speaking at a parenting seminar organized by teachers' group Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad, the same group who caused derision the world over for producing guidelines on how to identify LGBT children.

Malaysia's deputy education minister has made a po-faced response to last week's tongue-in-cheek protest, National Wear V-Neck Day.

The Malaysian deputy education minister said yesterday that the government is taking ‘this LGBT issue seriously’. 

Mohd Puad Zarkashi was speaking to the Malaysian Insider about controversial guidelines distributed at a parents and teachers seminar called ‘Parenting in addressing the issue of LGBTs’ last week.

One of the groups in Malaysia who issued stereotypical guidelines for parents to tell if their children are gay has said they ‘never meant any harm’.

Yayasan Guru Malaysia Berhad, a teachers’ group, and Putrajaya Consultative Council of Parents and Teachers Associations organized the seminar ‘Parenting in addressing the issue of LGBTs’  last Wednesday.