Published
Fri, Nov 11, 2022, 01:00
- The officials allegedly segregated attendees according to gender, religion and race.
Local police and the Islamic authority raided a queer Halloween party at Kuala Lumpur venue REXKL, resulting in 18 arrests.
The event, Shagrilla, began at 7 PM on Saturday, October 29th. Speaking to Resident Advisor, promoter and DJ JonnyVicious said the "morality police" arrived without a warrant "to raid a fully legal and permitted party." This was at around 10 PM. The Islamic authority, AKA JAWI, were accompanied by local police and city hall officials "because they wouldn't have the jurisdiction to carry out the raid otherwise," he said.
The authorities allegedly stayed in REXKL for two hours while they picked attendees out at random and segregated them into Muslims and non-Muslims, before arresting and testing them for drugs.
According to grassroots campaign group Justice for Sisters, two of the 24 drug tests came back positive for THC—the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis—and are being investigated. Another 18 people are also being investigated for being "male" and "posing as women," according to the group, which published a statement calling for "a review of joint raids and discriminatory laws."
Jonnyvicious added: "We give space to everyone in this city, gay or straight. We open our doors based on creativity and expression. We provide a space for good music and performative art. Nothing that happens in our events pushes sexual agenda. We are champions of freedom of expression, no matter who or where you come from. This is very foreign in Kuala Lumpur and we're doing our best to make it a part of society."
Malaysia has a dual-track legal system, with Islamic shariah law running alongside civil law. Only Muslims Malays can be tried in the sharia courts on religious and moral charges. Although same-sex acts are technically illegal, convictions are rare, Reuters reports.
Local DJ LZZY, who was booked to play Shagrilla, said she managed to "sneak out through one of the fire escapes" after her ID was returned by an official. She said the party is one of few safe spaces for Kuala Lumpur's diverse community, using its platform to educate people about music, fashion and drag culture. "This would have been Shagrilla's biggest event," LZZY said.
Sharezzan Azani, a gay Muslim man, told RA that he saw gender and racial profiling of attendees while "smack in the middle of the event space were Muslim drag queens, transgender people and gay men."
When Azani asked the officials why they were being held, he was told "because you wear earrings." He said he took them off in response and threw them to the floor. "My friend tried to explain how even our parents don't judge us for what we wear, but they were obviously following some script," he said. Azani and his friend were given their IDs back and released from the venue with orders to attend a "religious lecture."
After the incident, Azani went on social media to condemn what had happened and to share details of his experience. But this led him "to be outed to the point of feeling unsafe," he said. "It's now basically a witch-hunt so I had to set my account to private."
Manja, not their real name, was among those arrested on the night. They and others were driven to a JAWI "office." Lawyers turned up to bail them out after Manja sent relevant instructions to several group chats. The group has been summoned to speak with the authorities again on January 31st.
"This was picked up by LGBTQIA+ legal aid NGO JEJAKA," Manja told RA. "While we waited, we were called by the authorities one at a time to have our photos taken so they could see what we looked like and how we were dressed. We told them if they wanted more information from us they will need to talk with us via our lawyers in court."
RA approached REXKL for comment and received this statement. "We stand in solidarity with our attendees who were affected that night. We would like to thank everyone for all the support amid the backlash and fury of hate and abuse. Thank you to the lawyers and activists who were quick on their feet to lend their support and knowledge in assisting us and the guests."
The statement also cited Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which states "every person shall be equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law." Article 8 (2) states that "there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law."
Located downtown, REXKL is a community-based cultural and creative hub, with shops, food vendors, event spaces and more. Past dance music guests include Dixon and Peggy Gou.
RA has approached the Royal Malaysia Police for comment.