The organiser of a Pride Day event held last Saturday has explained the reasons behind conducting the programme.

Pelangi Campaign president Numan Afifi was responding to an article by a portal which called the programme a "big gay iftar (breaking of fast)" event.

Admitting that he was bombarded with questions from his family, colleagues, friends and the public following the event, Numan explained that the original idea for the programme was to "unite people from various backgrounds through a breaking of fast event".

"It was aimed to go back to basics by having a dialogue with each other and getting to know one's beliefs, culture and identity," he said in a Facebook posting.

The programme was also organised to remember the lives of 49 people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community who were killed in a nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, the United States on June 12, 2016.

"It is only through such programmes that we can prove to the extremists and terrorists that they cannot break our sense of brotherhood and humanity."

The programme attracted more than a hundred who came to savour the various Malaysian delicacies and dates imported from the Middle East, he said...