Swatch Malaysia Sues M’sian Government Over Seizures of Their Rainbow Watches

Swatch Malaysia has filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian government at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, after the authorities had confiscated 172 of the brand’s watches in May.

During that time, enforcement officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) had raided 11 Swatch stores in several states and confiscated watches from the rainbow-themed collection, which are often associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

According to a report by Malaysia Gazette, High Court Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh will hear the judicial review application on July 20 (Thursday).

KDN had initially raided Swatch stores and confiscated watches as the collection was alleged to be in violation of the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984.

In a judicial review submitted, Swatch Malaysia claimed that the seizure was invalid because the watches in question were not defined under the PPPA. The company added that the act is more of a limited publication for documents, newspapers, books and any material in printed form.

Swatch explained that KDN officials should not have the authority to enter Swatch Malaysia’s branches to seize the watches.

On top of that, the company claimed that some models of the 172 seized watches had been sold in Malaysia for more than a year, and there were no notices of complaints about them.

“We have also requested that the watches be returned last month through our lawyers but the Ministry of Home Affairs did not do so,” Swatch Malaysia shared.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Also read: Malaysia Ranked Second Worse Country in the World For Transgender Community