LGBTQ characters give new face to Southeast Asian history and literature

Genre-bending Malaysian fiction crosses borders

What sets the works of Zen Cho, left, and Joshua Kam apart from other Malaysian and Southeast Asian novelists is their exploration of nonconformist sexual orientations and controversial episodes of their country's history. (Nikkei montage/Source photos courtesy of Zen Cho and Joshua Kam)

MARCO FERRARESE, Contributing writer

May 28, 2021 08:00 JST

KUALA LUMPUR -- Khidir, a century-old Islamic saint clad in a green robe, appears at the Jamek Mosque in modern day Kuala Lumpur to resuscitate the body of a political blogger found drowned in a canal, then travels to Pekan, in Pahang State, to save the world from an evil force called "The Mouth."