A Malaysian Muslim political party is demanding that Elton John be barred from performing in the country later this week because he is homosexual. Nasruding Hassan Tantawi, head of the youth wing of the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic party (PAS), said the concert “must be cancelled”. “Artists who are involved in gay and lesbian activities must not be allowed to perform in Malaysia as they will promote the wrong values,” he said. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, where almost two-thirds of the 28 million population are Muslim, and is punishable by caning and up to 20 years in prison. Mr Nasrudin said that the PAS “will demand that the authorities cancel this immoral performance to protect our society from social degradation.” Malaysia has a history of banning performers who are regarded as being gay and lesbian advocates. In 2011, Lady Gaga’s concert was cancelled after the Malaysian authorities said her song ‘Born This Way’ promoted homosexuality. She was also barred from performing in neighbouring Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, in 2012. ohn, who is scheduled to perform at a resort outside of Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, is an outspoken supporter of gay and lesbian rights. In 2005, he married his partner David Furnish in a civil ceremony and in 2010 they became parents to a son born to a surrogate mother. He has already courted controversy on the Asian leg of his current world tour. On Monday, he dedicated his concert in Beijing to the dissident artist Ai Weiwei. It is unlikely, though, that the PAS’s call for a ban will succeed. In November 2011, Mr John performed to a sell-out crowd in Malaysia despite similar protests from the PAS, a fundamentalist Islamic party who have called for the introduction of Sharia law in Malaysia.