“Any citizen of Malaysia is free and cannot be discriminated against in their workplace.

“As far as sexual orientation is concerned, he kept quiet and did not challenge the system,” he told reporters at the Dewan Rakyat lobby today when asked to comment on the situation.

Numan had said he had no choice but to step down as Syed Saddiq’s interim press officer.

He said the backlash and threats from “opposition propagandists” had made it impossible for him to exercise his duties.

Mujahid, who is in charge of Islamic affairs, said Numan had not challenged the system.

“If he declared it openly and felt proud about it, then that would have been another issue in view of our values, society and the laws that we have in our country,” he added.

Noting that Numan had chosen to resign, he said he had no further comment.

“If there was any pressure, then he has to prove it,” he said.

Mujahid added that one way to handle such problems was through proactive dialogues with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).