Courtesy of today's Independent:

The Malaysian authorities are at the centre of an increasingly heated row after it emerged that 66 Muslim boys identified by teachers as "effeminate" had been dispatched to a special camp to discourage them from becoming gay.

In an incident that highlights the difficulties faced by gay people in a country where homosexuality is officially illegal and homophobia widespread, educators in the conservative eastern state of Terengganu sent the children aged 13-17 for counselling on so-called masculine behaviour and self-development. They also received religious guidance and physical education sessions.

"[The camp] is to guide them back to the right path in life before they reach a point of no return," Razali Daud, the state's director of education, told the Associated Press. "Such effeminate behaviour is unnatural and will affect their studies and their future."

Searching the web for other news sources, BBC News goes into more detail:

The schoolboys allegedly displayed "feminine mannerisms" - though educators in the conservative state of Terengganu did not detail what they were, the BBC's Jennifer Pak reports from Kuala Lumpur.

State officials say that, if left unchecked, the students - aged between 13 and 17 - could end up gay or transsexual. They blame parents for encouraging boys to develop feminine traits, by dressing them up in girls' clothing at a young age.

Terengganu state's education director, Razali Daud, said the students were invited to join the camp and were not compelled to do so.

"As educators, we have to do something about it before the young ones misunderstand people and reach the point of no return," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times. Mr Razali says although homosexuals and transvestites exist in Malaysia, the authorities want to limit their number.