Police in Kelantan detain over 20 for ‘gay party’, condoms and HIV pills found
More than 100 men were believed to have attended the first such event uncovered in Kelantan, according to local police
A police raid on a private bungalow in Kelantan has led to the detention of more than 20 men in what Malaysian authorities have described as a “gay party” – the first such case reported in the deeply conservative northern state.
The raid, which took place in June but was only disclosed on Thursday, also turned up hundreds of condoms and several boxes of HIV medication, according to Kelantan police chief Mohd Yusoff Mamat.
“Investigations found that there was no sexual activity on location during the raid, and that all the suspects were fully clothed,” Mohd Yusoff was quoted as saying by national newswire Bernama. “However, the discovery of the condoms and HIV medication showed that preparations were in place if [sexual activity] were to happen.”
Three of the men were subsequently charged with possessing obscene content found on their mobile phones, he added.
Homosexuality is a crime in Malaysia and punishable by jail time under civil law.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer (LGBTQ) individuals from the Malay-Muslim majority also face the added risk of persecution under a parallel Islamic legal system, which could lead to public caning or “corrective” rehabilitation.
Mohd Yusoff said police believed more than 100 local men attended the party, although most of them had already left by the time the raid was carried out.
He said this was the first time such an event had been uncovered in Kelantan, where about 95 per cent of the population was Malay Muslim and had been under the rule of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) since 1990.
“Police will continue to monitor the movements of gay groups such as this as we fear they are becoming more active and brazen,” Mohd Yusoff said.
Malaysia has a history of cracking down on activities involving or linked to sexual minorities.
In 2023, the government shut down a music festival after the lead singer of British band The 1975 kissed a male bandmate on stage. That same year, the government confiscated a line of ‘Pride’ watches sold by Swiss watchmaker Swatch.
About 20 local Muslims were detained by religious authorities during a sting operation on an LGBTQ Halloween party in 2022, on charges of cross-dressing or encouraging vice.
In 2018, two women were caned in a packed courtroom in northern Terengganu state – also a PAS stronghold – after they were found guilty of attempting lesbian sex.
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Local censors have also actively clamped down on the spread of LGBTQ content, with rights groups estimating that it accounted for nearly half of all banned publications between 2020 and May this year.
