3. The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (referred to as “the Commission” is responsible to promote and protect human rights for all sectors of society in Malaysia as per the functions and powers enshrined under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999. Specifically stated under Section 4(1) and (2) of the Act, the Commission is tasked to promote awareness of human rights and to undertake research by conducting programmes, seminars and workshops and to disseminate and distribute the results of such research. 4. Referring to this provision, the Commission had taken up several initial works on the LGBT community since 2010 which served as a starting point for this study. Upon considering all views and the sensitivities of discussing issues pertaining to LGBT openly, the Commission choose to adopt a step-by-step approach to engage with stakeholders in a closed-door discussions. These activities included: a. b. c. d. e. 5. Meeting with various Islamic groups, LGBT groups as well as individuals working and advocating for LGBT rights. This was followed by a meeting with representatives of non-Muslim groups in February 2011. The Commission also co-organised a RTD on Gender Equality: unaddressed women’s right issues with Selangor Community Awareness Organisation (EMPOWER) in 2011. Aside from that, in 2014 the Commission met with Human Rights Watch (Asia Division) to discuss the findings of their report on the alleged human rights abuses against transgender groups in Malaysia. In January 2015, the Commission met Justice for Sisters to discuss the trial involving Muslim transgender women related to Section 66 of the Syariah Criminal (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 1992. In July 2018, the Commission organised a workshop on Human Rights and Justice where gender issues was one of the issues discussed in the panel discussions. During the 2015 meeting with Justice for Sister, the activist group suggested that the Commission conducted a public inquiry into the violation of human rights of the LGBT community. However, after taking into consideration the Commission’s limited resources, the Commission had instead decided to embark on a study to identify the types of discrimination faced specifically by transgender persons based in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor and understand how their basic rights have been violated. The Commission decided to focus on transgender persons due to the visibility of their gender expression, exposing them to a greater number of discriminatory practices. Report On Transgender Persons In KL And Selangor | 9