Drag at Malaysian awards show riles conservatives over LGBTQ culture

A red carpet event at a Malaysian musical awards show over the weekend has caught the attention of the country’s Islamic authorities after several attendees were spotted in drag, in a country seen to be clamping down on LGBTQ expression.

Malaysia has a secular constitution, but it enshrines Islam as the state religion and allows Islamic law to operate alongside civil legislation in matters affecting the majority-Muslim population – more than 60 per cent of the nation’s 34 million people.

The controversy erupted on Sunday at the Anugerah Juara Lagu (Song Championship Award), an annual competition aired on Malaysia’s TV3, after images of a male attendee in a heart-shaped dress adorned with roses hit social media.

Others were seen wearing gowns and veils, drawing criticism from conservative groups and religious authorities.

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‘We are not deviants’: Drag queens battle growing conservatism in Malaysia

‘We are not deviants’: Drag queens battle growing conservatism in Malaysia

The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), an agency under the Prime Minister’s Office said it would summon those involved and was treating the matter with “grave concern”.

“Jakim has contacted and referred this issue to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which regulates media content in the country under existing legal provisions,” its director general Sirajudin Suhaimee said in a statement on Monday.