A Malaysian trans woman has come under fire for competing in the Miss Equality World 2026, a trans focused beauty pageant, after a video of her giving a speech went viral on TikTok.
Malaysian Religious Affairs Minister, Dr. Zulkifli Hasan, issued a statement condemning the contestant, stating that her participation in the pageant was “regrettable and caused public concern”. JAKIM (Malaysia’s Islamic Development Department) has also stated that it “will not compromise with efforts to normalise such behaviour”, and that it intends to summon her to explore possible legal action.
As Malaysia is preparing for elections in either late 2026 or early 2027, the government has once again turned towards a tried-and-true tactic of scapegoating the queer community of Malaysia in order to gain sympathy from conservative religious voters, and covering up their misdeeds.
Political scientists have noted this as a pattern that Malaysian authorities are known to engage in, with Professor Meredith Weiss has even coined a term for it: “Pink-Blocking”.
In her academic journey titled “Scapegoating Queers: Pink-Blocking as a State Strategy”, she examines how Malaysia has heavily relied on this strategy in 2018, and similar patterns are happening again in 2026.
Examples of Pink-blocking:
2018
- Aug 2018 – Malaysian minsters remove portraits of LGBTQ artists from the “Stripes and Strokes” photography exhibition at the George Town Festival in Penang
- Aug 2018 – Malaysian authorities raid oldest gay and drag bar in Kuala Lumpur to “Stop the spread of LGBT culture”
- Sept 2018 – Malaysian women caned publicly for WLW sexual activity in Terengganu
2022
- Oct 2022 – Malaysian authorities raid a KL Halloween party with drag performers, arresting drag queens and transgender Malaysians.
2026
- Nov 2025 – Malaysian authorities raid a sauna in Kuala Lumpur catered to gay men, arresting 201 with no regard to their privacy and dignity
- Nov 2025 – A day after the raid, a spa in Penang catering to gay men was raided as well, with 13 people remanded.
- Jan 2026 – Malaysian Religious Affairs Ministers suggests that “work stress” can turn people gay
- Feb 2026 – A Kelantanese trans woman subjected to legal action by the authorities for undergoing bottom surgery
- Apr 2026 – Malaysian official suggests that the term ‘LGBT’ no longer be used, and calls for queer people and culture to be referred to as ‘deviants’ and ‘deviant activity’
- Sep 2026 – Malaysian trans woman threatened with legal action for participating in transgender beauty pageant in Thailand
We at APTN condemn the decision made by the Malaysian government as it drastically undermines the dignity and freedom of the trans contestant, and the trans community at large.
The Malaysian authorities’ continuous reliance on pink-blocking and using identity politics to divide its people not only leads to further discrimination against an already marginalised group, but also diverts the attention of its citizens away from issues that actually better the lives of the rakyat.
We call for the immediate pardon of the trans contestant, and for a stop to the scapegoating of LGBTQIA+ peoples.
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