Malaysia doubles down on anti-queer laws, bans all Swatch products with LGBTQ+ elements

Malaysia’s home ministry has banned all Swatch products which contain elements pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, be it on boxes, wrappers or accessories, according to legal documents seen by A+M. The ban has been gazetted under the ‘Printing Presses and Publications (Prohibition of Undesirable Publications) Order 2023. 

The Malaysian Federal Legislation stated in an official filing that the “printing, importation, production, reproduction, publishing, sale, issue, circulation, distribution or possession of any publication which is likely to be prejudicial to morality is absolutely prohibited throughout Malaysia.”

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This comes shortly after Swatch filed a judicial review application at the High Court to challenge the government’s seizure of its Pride collection watches. Malaysian authorities from Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs raided several Swatch stores and confiscated 172 rainbow-coloured watches worth a total of US$14,000 from its Pride collection.

Thereafter, Swatch demanded compensation and the return of the watches, claiming that the home ministry’s officers acted illegally and irrationally and that their actions were allegedly disproportionate and for an improper purpose, as reported by Malay Mail.

Shortly after the incident, Swatch’s CEO, Nick Hayek Jr said that the company strongly contests that the collection of watches using rainbow colours and having a message of peace and love could be harmful to anyone. “On the contrary, Swatch always gives a positive message of joy of life,” he added.  The brand is standing its ground regarding its values despite being attacked for it in the public eye and unfortunately, lost the legal battle. 

Malaysia has been in the news for its anti-queer laws more so than ever now after The 1975's set at Good Vibes Festival was cancelled for it.

At the festival, The 1975's lead singer, Matty Healy, went on an anti-government rant and kissed his male bandmate on stage in direct protest against Malaysia’s laws against homosexuality. Following Healy’s actions, the GVF 2023 came to an abrupt halt and the festival was cancelled.

The band was recently served a seven-day notice by Future Sound Asia (FSA), the organisers behind Good Vibes Festival 2023 (GVF 2023) to pay over RM12.3 million in damages over a recent controversy at the event, according to a statement from FSA.

FSA told A+M that a Letter of Claim had been sent to the band on 7 August 2023 requiring The 1975 to pay a sum of £2,099,154.54 (RM12.3 million) within seven days as well as admit their liability towards the cancellation of GVF 2023.

The country has been gaining furore from fans internationally for having regressive laws and evidently, the country is doubling down on those laws. 

The claim also takes into account the provisions of the English Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocol which are part of English Civil Procedure Rules. This means that should The 1975 fail to meet the demands of FSA, the band will face a legal suit in the United Kingdom.

However, despite the suit, The 1975 seems keen to continue its attack on the country. Just last week, the band made its return to stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago. Healy took the opportunity to poke fun at GVF and Malaysia while on stage. According to media reports, he told the crowd, “You want my travel tip? Don’t go to...” before being cut off mid-sentence by his bandmates with the introduction of their song, ‘It’s not living if it’s not with you’.

Later on in his set, he spotted American band Blink-182’s member, Tom DeLonge in the crowd and went over to give him a hug and kiss. Delonge later posted on Instagram with the caption, “I guess myself ‘and’ The 1975 won’t be going to Malaysia – just a couple dudes kissing during their phenomenal set.”

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