A pro-LGBTQ+ group said 2025 has been an abysmal year for the community’s rights, with over 307 arrests between January to December based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
In an Instagram post regarding LGBTQ+ issues in 2025, Justice for Sisters said about 236 people were arrested under federal laws, while 170 had been arrested under state syariah laws.
"LGBTQ+ people continue to be criminalised under both federal laws (Sections 377A and 377B of the Penal Code) and various state syariah laws, with overlapping, arbitrary, and inconsistent application - often in violation of legal precedents and the rule of law," it said today.
The highest number of arrests occurred in Kuala Lumpur (220 people), followed by Pahang (31), Kelantan (21), Penang (13), Terengganu (12), Sabah (six), and Malacca (four).
Kelantan led the numbers in court charges (18), then Penang (13), Terengganu (12), and Pahang (10), while Sabah and Malacca had four each. Nobody was charged in court in Kuala Lumpur.
Notably, Penang and Terengganu had charged all of those arrested.
On Nov 28, the police raided a health centre in Kuala Lumpur, following public tip-offs and a two-week surveillance. About 201 men between 19 and 60 years old were arrested.
Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Azani Omar was quoted as saying that intelligence gathered showed there were “immoral activities” at the premises involving gay men.
Those arrested included 80 Muslims and foreigners from South Korea, Indonesia, Germany, and China, he said.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus had also said that the authorities could not charge any of the detainees, as none of them claimed to be victims of exploitation, prostitution, or unnatural sex.
Being targeted
Commenting further, the queer rights organisation said that recent amendments to syariah laws have turned trans women into a target.
"New and amended state syariah provisions explicitly criminalising gender expression have made trans women especially vulnerable to arrest in both public and private spaces, reversing protections gained through earlier judicial reviews," it said.
Justice for Sisters co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh told Malaysiakini that this occurred in Kelantan and Terengganu, where the gender expression of trans women has been prohibited in public and private spaces.
"Most of the cases that we are seeing in Terengganu are in private spaces. The amendments happened a few years ago," she explained.
The group raised concerns about how the authorities had, within this year, turned public complaints into legitimising repression of the queer community, such as with RTM pulling the children's cartoon “Santiago of the Seven Seas” off the air after viewers expressed worries about LGBTQ+ influences.
"Prejudiced public complaints, often amplified through social media, are increasingly used to trigger state actions - censorship, investigations, and even raids - creating a toxic feedback loop where state agencies feel 'compelled' to act against LGBTQ+ expression and gatherings," the NGO said.
It also found that federal and state authorities, along with religious and political actors, have intensified anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns by exploiting HIV, religion, and moral narratives to spread misinformation about the community, entrench stigma, and justify harmful so-called rehabilitation practices.
It noted a considerable increase in censorship of LGBTQ+ content in media, arts, and culture, citing the ban of publications, stricter performance guidelines, and gendered dress codes.
In July, Justice for Sisters released a report stating that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) has been increasingly wielded against LGBTQ+ media and local publications in recent years.
It said LGBTQ+ media accounted for 42 percent of all banned media between 2020 to May 2025.
Media coverage
In its statement today, the group said publications related to the community have been banned over concerns of public morality.
The NGO also pointed to an increasing trust deficit among the queer community in the police, public institutions, and healthcare systems, due to the rise in enforcement actions and legal reprisals against them.
Another factor was sensationalist media coverage of LGBTQ+ issues, it added.
In July, a coalition of 31 NGOs and individuals pushed back against police claims that a recent raid in Kelantan targeted a “gay sex party”, insisting instead that the event was a legitimate HIV awareness and health outreach session.
Kelantan police chief Yusoff Mamat had defended the raid, saying it was based on intelligence and public complaints regarding a food-themed gathering believed to cater to the gay community.
However, the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) confirmed that it had conducted a field outreach session on June 17 in Kota Bharu under the Health Ministry’s Differentiated HIV Services for Key Populations (DHSKP) model.
‘Continue standing up for each other’
Justice for Sisters said such moves over the year have resulted in reduced participation in health programmes and enacted barriers to access life-saving medication such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
It urged the local LGBTQ+ community to continue to stand up for each other.
"Despite raids, arrests, and stigma, LGBTQ+ people, human rights defenders, health workers, and allies continued to organise, provide legal and emotional support, challenge injustice in courts, and create safer spaces for one another.
"Every act of care is an act of resistance. When institutions turn on the people, we answer with courage and accountability," it asserted. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.