Malaysia Bans Swatch Watches Celebrating LGBTQ Rights

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia on Thursday banned Swatch Group’s watches and equipment celebrating LGBTQ rights, saying the Swiss watchmaker’s merchandise could also be dangerous to morality and public curiosity.

Homosexuality is a criminal offense in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and rights teams have warned of rising intolerance in opposition to the nation’s lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) neighborhood. Malaysia has jailed or caned individuals for homosexuality.

In Might, Malaysia confiscated rainbow-coloured watches from Swatch’s ‘Delight assortment’ due to the presence of the acronym ‘LGBTQ’ on the watches.

The house ministry on Thursday stated it was prohibiting any LGBTQ references on Swatch watches, packing containers, wrappers, equipment or different objects.

“(Swatch merchandise) are topic to the Prohibition Order as a result of they’re publications that hurt or might hurt morality, public curiosity, and the curiosity of the state by selling, supporting, and normalising the LGBTQ+ motion which isn’t accepted by most people in Malaysia,” the ministry stated.

Promoting or proudly owning the banned materials is punishable by as much as three years in jail and a positive of as much as 20,000 ringgit ($4,376), it stated.

Swatch didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. The corporate has sued the Malaysian authorities for the Might seizure, which it says was unlawful and broken its repute.

LGBTQ rights in Malaysia have come beneath scrutiny after the federal government final month halted a music competition within the capital Kuala Lumpur. It took the transfer after the frontman of British pop rock band The 1975 kissed a male bandmate onstage and criticised the nation’s anti-LGBTQ legal guidelines.

The dialogue on LGBTQ rights come at a politically delicate time in multi-ethnic, multi-faith Malaysia.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s progressive coalition authorities will face its first main check of public assist on Saturday, when six states maintain elections.

The polls will pit Anwar in opposition to a principally conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance that’s gaining in reputation. The opposition has criticised the federal government for not doing sufficient to uphold the ideas of Islam.

Anwar has stated LGBTQ rights is not going to be recognised by his administration.

(Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi and Mei Mei Chu; modifying by Jason Neely)

Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.