The Malaysian government deserves congratulations for reforming its policy of quotas in favour of ethnic Malays. There is a pleasing symmetry in the fact that Najib Rajak, the current prime minister, is overhauling ethnically-based policies that were introduced almost forty years ago by his father, Abdul Razak.

Now if Malaysia really wants to jump head first into the 21st century, can I suggest another reform – abolish the law making sodomy a crime. This law is not some irrelevant and forgotten anachronism. Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the Malaysian opposition, is about to go on trial for allegedly having sex with a male aide. He has already served a long jail term after being convicted of sodomy in 1998 – a conviction that was over-turned in 2004. The new case is being tastefully referred to in the Malaysian press as “Sodomy Two“. Read more