Last year, Tourism Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi told German reporters that he wasn't aware of gay people in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country.
"I don't think we have anything like that in our country," he said, responding to a question as to whether Malaysia would welcome gay travelers, according to German national broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
He also sidestepped a question concerning the safety of LGBT and Jewish travelers in the country, according to the broadcaster.
Mohamaddin later posted a statement on Twitter stating that his response to the reporter's question referred to the non-existence of specific LGBT-focused tourist campaigns in the country.
He added that the country adopts an open policy in welcoming foreign tourists and would "never (place) any unnecessary obstacles to our guests based on their sexual orientation, religion and cultural practices."
The statement added that the country has, as a sovereign nation, its own views on both the LGBT community and Israel, and expected other nations to respect the country's sovereignty.
An aide told Malaysian online news portal Malaysiakini that the comments were made in a personal capacity, but were in line with official Malaysian government policy, which does not recognize the LGBT community.
The aide, who was not named in the report, added: "Tourists coming to Malaysia like any other country are welcome regardless of their creed, sexuality, religion or color."
Homosexual sex is illegal throughout Malaysia under colonial era criminal law.
Veteran politician Anwar Ibrahim has been jailed twice on sodomy charges - once by Mahathir's government, and gay people are routinely punished by public lashing in Terengganu, a Sharia-practicing state to the east of the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
An August 2018 raid on one of Kuala Lumpur's only gay clubs saw around 20 men charged for "illicit behavior," and came shortly after a brutal attack on a trans woman in a city close to the capital.