A co-organiser of the Halloween party in Kuala Lumpur that was raided by the authorities claimed that the police initially greenlit the event on condition that it wouldn’t go viral on social media.
The drag queen, who goes by her stage name Carmen Rose, said this was the compromise reached after police questioned one of the organisers a day before the event.
“Green light was given with a little bit of compromise, as long as nothing was posted on social media that might make things go viral.
“This is the reason why we made the change to our recording policy quite last minute to protect all attendees and performers.
“Ironically though, it’s now all over the news,” Carmen said in a statement today.
The raid at the performance and event venue REXKL on Saturday (Oct 29) was conducted by the Federal Territories Religious Department (Jawi), police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall enforcers.
It captured the public’s attention, with many fixating on the presence of drag performers and transgender individuals at the party.
Carmen said the authorities and many media unfairly targeted the individuals who were detained.
“I am here to remind everyone this was just a Halloween party that was brought to you by the bold local queer community, attended by people within and beyond the community.”
Traumatising episode
When contacted, she said the raid did not only target queer Muslims but also saw the authorities segregating people by gender and race.
She also accused the police of inappropriate behaviour.
“There were cops who were gawking and flirting with the female patrons,” she said.
Though traumatised by the raid, Carmen said she would continue to champion the liberation of all.
Meanwhile, LGBT activist Numan Afifi tweeted today a list of questions that Jawi had asked those who were detained in the raid.
This includes whether the detainees had ever performed “unnatural sex”, whether they have done any surgery or taken hormone pills.
Review raids for power abuse
In a separate statement, the transgender rights group Justice for Sisters said raids such as the one on Saturday often have a detrimental impact on human rights, including violations of privacy, equality and freedom of expression.
The group called on the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the next government to review joint raids involving state Islamic departments.
“Even in the context where raids are conducted in full compliance of police standard operating procedures, the involvement of state Islamic departments in joint raids legitimises moral policing, abuse of power and the victimisation of Muslims under the law,” the group said.
They also called for a comprehensive human rights impact assessment of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act and related enactments with a review of their compatibility with the Federal Constitution and international human rights law.
In light of the election season, Justice for Sisters also called on the Election Commission and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to engage with LGBT rights groups to monitor, respond to and encourage reporting of LGBT-related discrimination online, offline and in the media - Mkini
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