Amnesty International Malaysia condemns the raid by Malaysian authorities of a health centre in Kuala Lumpur on November 28, 2025, with over 200 individuals arrested and detained for more than 40 hours.
A day later, another venue was also raided by police in Perai, Penang, similarly resulting in the arrest of 13 individuals.
These raids and the resulting arrests are patently discriminatory, as they targeted people perceived to be members of the LGBTI community.
Those arrested in Kuala Lumpur were detained for more than 40 hours and were not allowed to be released without a bailor, despite their remand applications being dismissed by the magistrate a day after the arrests.
The individuals also reported limited access to food and water. The police operations also resulted in other human rights breaches, such as violations of the individuals’ dignity, right to privacy, lack of access to lawyers and prolonged detention.
While we welcome the release of the arrested individuals in Kuala Lumpur and suggestions that there will be no further action against this group, we call on Malaysian police and the religious department (JAWI) to drop all investigations against all those arrested in the two raids and immediately release those still detained.
The Madani government must urgently abandon punitive laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual conduct and laws criminalising specific gender identities and expressions, and work towards ensuring a safe, enabling and welcoming environment for all, especially groups that have been repeatedly marginalised.
Nicole Fong is Research and Advocacy Officer, Amnesty International Malaysia.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Ova
