LETTER | On the occasion of International Women's Day, it seems that a march in Kuala Lumpur also saw the shouts for the recognition of the LGBT community.

It has certainly riled up many feathers.

In a country where Islam is the majority religion, the issue of the LGBTs will remain a dilemma.

In a country where race and religion are interwoven with politics, the issue of the LGBTs will always remain a critical sociopolitical currency.

A government in power walks a thin plank in Malaysia.

This dilemma is one that is going to be exploited to the maximum in the years ahead.

Those in power cannot afford to lose the conservative Muslim population vote (largely the rural population) otherwise these voters will migrate to the lap of the theocratic PAS.

Those in the opposition will exploit the LGBT issue to the hilt to bolster the Malay Muslim sentiment and swing it to their favour.

Meanwhile, the LGBT wave in the world is destined to go the same way as that of the environmentalists' war these past five decades.

As civilization clocks time, the LGBT issue will become a real but tricky problem that governments around the world will have to face and risk unprecedented challenges if they are not in tandem with the global wave of thoughts.

Back in our own space, Malaysia, we know that the LGBT community is real as daylight and has been around even before independence.

But with progress, modernisation and the liberating new mediascape that no government can escape, LGBT challenges have surfaced with a more felt presence.

In all likelihood, the LGBT dilemma is going to be a major, politically- fought battle.

Without taking sides - for or against the LGBT community - one thing that is certain is that this issue is real and growing.

As the years progress, the LGBT challenges will change not only the social fabric of a country but certainly the political and economic frontiers too.

When investments and trade become aligned to the recognition of the LGBT community's right to a livelihood, just like what we now witness in the global environment agenda, nations that fail to deal with this wave will be seriously caught in a dilemma beyond comprehension.

What would Malaysia's stand be in a decade from now?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.