Shh…Diam!, a four-member punk group is a rarity in a country where gay and transgender issues are often seen as taboo, cross-dressing is illegal and sodomy is banned under a British colonial-era law. Its name, which means “shut up” in the Malay language, is meant to mock critics for seeking to silence the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. “We never intentionally set ourselves up as an LGBT band,” lead singer Faris Saad, a 34-year-old transgender man who began transitioning in 2014, says before a performance on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur. “But eventually your life experiences make their way to your music so you can’t help it. You’ve got to be honest – so that’s what we are with our music.”