Malaysia nightclub cancels ‘Thai Hot Guys’ event during Ramadan after fierce backlash

The nightclub will cancel event – featuring a group of lingerie-clad cross-dressers called ‘Thai Hot Guys’ – after receiving a warning from authorities
Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail earlier called on organisers to refrain from hurting the religious sentiments of the country’s Muslim community

Malaysia

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 7:37pm, 22 Mar 2023

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A Kuala Lumpur nightclub that promoted a group of lingerie-clad Thai male performers for its opening ceremony has agreed to cancel the event after receiving a warning from authorities.

The controversy began this week when Privacy Tun Razak’s promotional material announcing its March 30 launch went viral on social media. The publicity campaign highlighted that a group of cross-dressers called “Thai Hot Guys” will be headlining the occasion.

Wangsa Maju police chief Ashari Abu Samah said police visited the bar and met event organisers and bar management, the Malay Mail reported. He added that police received 60 reports of the event as of 4pm on Wednesday.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had earlier called on the organisers to cancel the show and refrain from hurting the religious sentiments of the country’s Muslim community.

“There must be mutual respect from those living in a multicultural society. They need to be aware of certain sensitivities of respective communities,” Saifuddin told reporters.

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He added the ministry would contact the city council to seek more information on how the company got the permission to host the gathering, The Star newspaper reported.

Azman Abidin, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary, said the bar does not have a licence to conduct entertainment activities and officials are reviewing if the business had breached any rules. He said the pub’s restaurant permit also expired in 2021.

But even before the government weighed in on the issue, the nightclub had faced the ire of the Islamist party PAS and Umno, a partner in Anwar’s ruling coalition.

PAS said secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan said the promotional poster with images of the men in women’s clothing promotes “hedonism and promiscuity”.

“PAS urges the authorities, especially Kuala Lumpur City Hall, to review its approval for this event which is clearly against local culture and also insensitive to the position of Islam in this country,” Malaysiakini quoted him as saying.

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He also took exception to the company using the name of Abdul Razak Hussein, who was Malaysia’s second prime minister.

Muhammad Akmal Saleh, chief of Umno’s youth wing, said in a Facebook post that his party will cancel the event if organisers refuse to do so.

“We don’t need people who don’t know how to respect each other’s sensitivities,” he said.

Umno’s supporters rallied behind Akmal on social media and urged him to stamp out the “immoral activity”.

Some hurled homophobic comments at the nightclub for bringing “weird things to Malaysia”, while others lamented the inflammatory tone.

“The world is developing but their brains are getting saturated,” said a user.

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Members of the Thai Hot Guys serve customers at a popular Bangkok restaurant where they also perform racy dance moves in skimpy female outfits.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has seen a rise in creeping religious conservatism, catching celebrities, authors and filmmakers in the crossfire.

The government in February banned three books with LGBTQ themes, calling them a potential “threat to the moral values that are taught by religion and prevailing Eastern values”.

Last week, director Khairi Anwar’s car was defaced and he received death threats after conservatives accused his film Mentega Terbang of promoting apostasy.