It is sad that minorities such as the gay community are not accepted by Malaysians, billionaire philanthropist Richard Branson lamented.

He said business leaders should speak up on such issues, where governments are failing to perform as they should.

"I think now that some governments are not fulfilling their role - in America, in some countries - the way they should be, I think business leaders need to be brave and speak out.

"If you take somewhere like Malaysia, I think it's sad that minorities like the gay community are not accepted," the told the audience at the Global Transformation Forum in Kuala Lumpur today.