"Kelantan state police chief Mohd Yusof Mamat said that officers found no evidence of sexual activity at the party, but they did discover condoms and HIV medication, suggesting that sexual activity may have been planned for later on. Police also found that three men had explicit adult images on their phones - police arrested and charged those three individuals. The officers didn't arrest any additional people because they could find neither incriminating evidence nor specific charges to press against them."
"In the modern era, powerful Muslim clerics and politicians have used the laws to whip up outrage and support among conservative citizens. Recently, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the country has gotten louder and deadlier. In 2023, the Malaysian government reportedly began requiring music venues to have an emergency "kill switch" to quickly shut down concerts following an onstage same-sex kiss between members of the British rock band The 1975 at a Malaysian music festival."
Police in Kelantan raided a gathering described as a "gay party," arresting 12 men while earlier raids in Kota Bharu had detained 20. Officers reported finding condoms, HIV medication, and explicit adult images on three phones, and those three people were charged. Authorities said more than 100 local men attended, though most had left before the raid, and attendees admitted belonging to a homosexual group. Officials pledged continued monitoring of homosexual groups. Anti-LGBTQ+ laws in Malaysia trace to British colonial statutes and have been amplified by conservative clerics and politicians, with rising hostility and restrictive measures in recent years.
Read at LGBTQ Nation
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