The Mak Nyahs: Malaysian Male to Female Transsexuals

Her book fills a large void in sexuality literature particularly on male transsexuality in Malaysia. It demystifies the mak nyah who is seen, at best, as a deviant or an aberration of society, or at worst, a religious blasphemy.

This book would not only benefit students and researchers interested in the issue, but the general reader—for instance, parents concerned for their transsexual children—and those seeking answers to the transsexual question.”

Ong Ju Lin

Co-author of The Rape Report: An Overview of Rape in Malaysia

“The transgendered communities of Southeast Asia are little understood, either within the academic community or in the societies at whose margins they are forced to live.

Teh’s study of the Malaysian mak nyah shines a bright light on the lives of people who, apart from growing up with an identity that fails to match their body, turn out to be much like the rest of us.

In reducing our ignorance about these people, this book should contribute to reducing the prejudice and discrimination to which mak nyahs are subjected to daily.”

Sam Winter

Transgender Asia Research Centre, University of Hong Kong

This book explores the issue of transsexuals in Malaysia. Through numerous studies, interviews with relevant parties and accounts from the mak nyahs themselves, the book gives a profound insight into the world of transsexuals—the history and definition of mak nyahs, what it means to be a mak nyah in Malaysia, transsexuals in other countries, and the views of relevant parties regarding transsexuals in Malaysia, among others. For those who seek a deeper understanding of the mak nyahs, this book provides intriguing and enlightening facts and accounts, which help to broaden one’s perspective of this community who form part of the diversity of the human landscape.