A major Halloween celebration at REXKL in Kuala Lumpur attended by the LGBTQ community was disrupted by local police recently (Oct. 29), who then detained 20 people for allegedly inciting vice and cross-dressing, human-rights activists said on Sunday.
The raid was “traumatising and frightening,” according to activist Numan Afifi, who was among those arrested at the gathering in Kuala Lumpur late Saturday.
“About 40 religious officers backed by the police came into the venue with some 1,000 participants, and they stopped the music and dance,” he told AFP.
According to Numan, the authorities separated partygoers into two groups: Muslims and non-Muslims.
Subsequently, 20 Muslims were taken to the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department where “our identity details were recorded.”
“Some were alleged to have committed offences under cross-dressing while others, including me, for encouraging vice,” Numan said.
All 20 were released a few hours later but are required to return next week for questioning.
Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with sharia courts handling some cases for Muslim citizens, who make up around 60 percent of the population.
In Malaysia, it is against the law to be homosexual, and laws that make sodomy a crime can carry penalties like jail time, beatings, and fines, albeit rarely are they really enforced.
Human rights lawyer Siti Kassim criticised the raid and said that “moral policing must end.”
“These people are not criminals. The oppression and discrimination against LGBT people must end immediately,” she told AFP.
The raid was described as “harassment against a marginalised group” by opposition politician Carles Santiago.
“When will we learn to respect and accept people for who they are?” he tweeted.
Rights groups have on numerous occasions slammed Malaysian authorities for discrimination and coming up with programs to “cure” LGBTQ people.
“These programs jeopardize the equality, dignity, and rights of those who attend them, but also send a dangerous message to the wider public that LGBT people can and should change their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” Human Rights Watch said in August.
Meanwhile, social media users also criticised the move, saying it infringed on the rights of LGBTQ people.
In a statement, REXKL said nobody could have predicted that the Halloween celebration would haywire and they were dismayed by the unexpected turn of events on Saturday night.
It said the raid that occurred most definitely did not portray how REXKL has always intended to be perceived by the public.
“We stand with our community and will not tolerate prejudice of any kind.”
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