Kuala Lumpur - The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry will consider setting up a special unit to address the “homosexual problem”.

Deputy Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon said the ministry would also conduct a study on homosexuel offenders.

“I will bring this to the ministry’s attention so that we can address this social problem together,” she said when winding up debate on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat here Monday.

Noriah was responding to a question by Datuk Dr Mohd Fuad Zarkashi who wanted to know whether a special unit would be formed under the ministry to provide a counseling service to homosexuals.

She said although the unit has yet to be formed, the ministry together with a non-governmental organisation had set up a social service centre in Chow Kit in August last year.

“This counseling centre provides service to Aids patients, sex workers and transvestites,” she said.

To a suggestion by Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan that a campaign be launched to draw attention to the homosexual problem Noriah said: “It is not the sole responsibility of the ministry but needs the commitment from all levels of society, the family and learning institutions.”

Jakarta - An elderly Indonesian woman famed nationwide for supernatural skills in lengthening penises has died.

Reclusive Mak Erot, famed for penis extension treatment incorporating traditional herbs and Islamic prayer, died in Caringin village on the western coast of Java island, the Kompas daily’s website reported.

Mak Erot - who reports say was aged anywhere from 101 to over 130 - prompted legions of imitations of her famous clinics, many using her famously craggy and birthmarked face to lure in anxious men.

While her legacy has been closely guarded by male descendents intent on maintaining the purity of the treatment, Mak Erot has become a pop-culture icon in everything from advertisements to teenage romantic comedy films.

Reports of he death prompted a flurry of bemused online comments from Internet users in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.

User “Jengkol” wrote on news website Detikcom: “Oh no, I didn’t have the chance to go to Mak Erot and now she’s dead. I’ll just have to buy a vacuum. Maybe that could be the solution to my problem.”

Samut Prakarn - A transvestite has been elected as a village chief (kamnan) following decades of service to the local community.

Choochat Dulayapraphatsorn, 46, beat three other candidates in the local community election late last month, and last Wednesday he was officially appointed by a district chief as the village chief of Ban Moo 3, Tambon Tai Ban Mai, Muang district.

Khun Choochat, called ”Je Kob” or older sister Kob by villagers, said he decided to run for the post after serving as an assistant. The election was held after the previous village head resigned.

He added that he believes the residents voted for him because they have witnessed what he has contributed to their community over many years.

”I’m confident that everybody here loves me and accepts me,” he said.

Over years of community service, Khun Choochat has been involved in community crime prevention activities and has assisted neighbours with tasks such as catching pythons which have entered their houses and injecting their pet dogs with rabies vaccine. ”Even though I am a transvestite, I can do hard, physical jobs just as well as the men, if not better,” he said.

Khun Choochat is now the only transvestite village chief in Samut Prakan. He said he wants to be a role model to children for his hard work in the community, irrespective of his gender identity.

Bangkok - Rainbow Sky has now determined that the next “Pride” event for Bangkok will culminate after a week of activities on Sunday 5 April 2009, just prior to the Chakri and Songkran holidays. The event will be called “Pride and Joy Festival 2009”.

Specifics are yet to be worked out because the intention is to have this be a community-driven process. The event will be expanded to incorporate a spirit of pride and celebration, which will be open to everyone in Bangkok but under the leadership of the LGBT communities. It was discussed that there will be a parade and a party, probably on that final day.

A series of meetings to discuss the events, seek partnerships and form a committee of interesting participants will be conducted over the next 8 weeks. The tentative schedule for these meeting are:

23 July Wednesday; Target group: Community 1 PM (but arriving no sooner than 2 PM is advised) RSAT office (8th floor of Beach Residence, Rachadapisek Road, Bangkok) - Confirmed

25 July Friday; Target group: NGO (Thai) 1 PM (but arriving no sooner than 2 PM is advised)
RSAT office (8th floor of Beach Residence) - Confirmed

14 August Thursday (tentative); Target group All (wider community including corporate sponsors and media) Time & located To be determined.

You are all invited to attend any or all of the meetings. It is not clear how much of any of the meetings will be accessible to English speakers so bringing someone who can translate for you is advised. If I know in advance that a large number of English speakers will be attending a particular meeting (such as the Community meeting on 23 July), We will try and see that a translator is available; however, the meetings will be conducted in Thai.

A logo design competition will be announced shortly with a 10,000 baht cash prize award. Please let all graphic designers know about this contest.

Manila - A jealous man cut off the penis of his gay lover and flushed the severed part in a toilet bowl in their hotel room in the Philippines on Tuesday, police said. The incident marked the first known case of penis mutilation involving a gay couple in the Philippines.

Jose Feliciano Valderama, 35, was arrested after the incident and told police that jealousy drove him to attack his partner of two years.

He is facing criminal charges for cutting off the penis of Marvic Manquera, 21, while the victim was sleeping inside the hotel room in Manila’s Quezon City.

Police said Valderama then flushed the chopped penis in the toilet bowl and attempted to kill himself with the knife, but Manquera stopped him.

Hotel staff rushed the victim to a nearby hospital, while police arrested Valderama who told police that he got tired of hearing stories that Manquera was having a relationship with a woman.