Halloween means dressing up as your favorite character for a day, and while the festival is not usually celebrated on a grand scale in Malaysia, it’s still fairly easy to spot people in Halloween costumes here. However, a Halloween event at RexKL was raided by PDRM & JAWI on Saturday night (October 29), with several drag queens and transgenders detained for investigations.
Many Malaysians have expressed dissatisfaction over the raid, with comments mostly directed toward the injustice done to the LGBTQ community. Just last night (October 30), RexKL broke the silence and responded to the matter via an Instagram post.
“We do not tolerate prejudice of any kind”
REXKL made it clear that the sudden turn of events on Saturday night disappointed them, and nobody could foresee that the Halloween celebration would go haywire. With the raid that took place, certainly did not illustrate the image that REXKL has always wanted for the public.
“REXKL has been and always will be, a creative, welcoming, and most importantly, inclusive space for the Malaysian public.”
As Malaysia is a multicultural country with its own unique diversity, REXKL emphasised that the diversity of the Malaysian communities is meant to be celebrated and not destroyed, as they are what “makes us truly Malaysians”.
They also voiced their support towards the community and said,
“We stand with our community and will not tolerate prejudice of any kind.”
Malaysians show support & voiced out against the raid
REXKL’s Instagram post on the matter has gained the support of many Malaysians, who expressed their support towards the place itself, as well as the people who were caught by the authorities.
To some, the raid was seen as a “criminalisation of creativity”.
The charges being investigated by JAWI officers for the Halloween event are cross-dressing ‘for immoral purposes’ and ‘encouraging sinful acts’, respectively under sections 28 and 35 of the Wilayah Persekutuan Shariah Offenses Act.
Were you at the scene when the raid happen? Do you think Malaysians should be allowed to express themselves in any way they deserve?
Also read: PDRM & JAWI Raid Halloween Party in KL, Detained Drag Queens & Transgender People
