Police in the Malaysian state of Kelantan arrested 12 men during a raid on a gay party, the regional news site Sloboden Pecat reported. The arrests follow 20 that occurred in the state capital of Kota Bharu in June, amid a nationwide crackdown on LGBTQ+ people.Kelantan state police chief Mohd Yusof Mamat said that officers found no evidence of sexual activity at the party, but they did discover condoms and HIV medication, suggesting that sexual activity may have been planned for later on. Police also found that three men had explicit adult images on their phones police arrested and charged those three individuals. The officers didnt arrest any additional people because they could find neither incriminating evidence nor specific charges to press against them. Related Trans rights reach all-time low in Asia & Europe for first time in 13 years Anti-democratic U.S. forces like The Heritage Foundation are partly to blame. During interrogation, [party attendees] admitted that they belonged to a homosexual group, Mamat said. We are concerned about this type of behavior We will continue to monitor the movements of homosexual groups. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The police chief said over 100 local men attended the party, though most of them had left by the time the raid began.Like one-fourth of the world, Malaysias anti-gay laws were originallyimported by British colonizers. In the modern era, powerful Muslim clerics and politicians have used the laws to whip up outrage and support among conservative citizens. Recently, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in the country has gotten louder and deadlier.In 2023, the Malaysian government reportedly began requiring music venues to have an emergency kill switch to quickly shut down concerts following anonstage same-sex kissbetween members of the British rock band The 1975 at a Malaysian music festival. Government authorities also said that police will now conduct background checks on artists from other countries before scheduling performances to ensure that they will not promote illegal activities. In 2022, 20 local Muslims were detained by religious authorities for cross-dressing or encouraging vice during a raid on an LGBTQ+ Halloween party. Local censors also said that between 2020 and May of this year, LGBTQ+ content accounted for half of all banned publications, the South China Morning Post reported.In 2019, Malaysia caned four men between the ages of 26 and 37 for having a consensual same-sex encounter behind closed doors. The mens actions violated a Sharia law forbidding intercourse against the order of nature. The men were reportedly discovered by authorities after the government monitored their private messaging. Around 50 officers raided the apartment where the men met to arrest those involved.In March 2019, Tourism Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi claimedthere are no queer or trans people in Malaysia, a statement which drew condemnation from the countrys LGBTQ+ community. Despite the countrys anti-LGBTQ+ actions, it still hosts an annualSeksualiti Merdeka(Independent Sexuality) festival, though politicians have increasingly tried to prevent it from occurring. Since 2019, multiple trans women in Malaysia have also been beaten, hospitalized, or killed by violent mobs.In August 2018, police in Kuala Lumpur raided the gay bar Blue Boy afterwards, the Federal Territory ministryclaimed the arrests were meantto stop the spread of LGBTQ culture in society. That same month, authoritiessentenced two women to public caningfor attempted sexual relations.In June 2017, the countrys healthoffered its citizens cash prizes for making anti-LGBTQ videos. The following month, a hardline national Muslim grouptold its 50,000 members to oppose Starbucksfor the coffeehouse chains pro-LGBTQ workplace policies. That same year, an 18-year-old boy wasbeaten with helmets, burned, shot in the groin,and declared brain dead by medical authorities his classmates had attacked him for being effeminate. In 2013, the Malaysian governmentsponsored a touring musical,entitledAsmara Songsang(Abnormal Desire), to teach young people about the dangers of being queer. In 2015, Human Rights Watch criticized Malaysia forfining and imprisoning transgender women.In 2012, the countrybanned gay charactersfrom all national TV shows and radio programs. In 2011, Malaysian school authoritiessent 66 Muslim teenage boys to a correctional campto learn masculine behaviors after their teachers identified them as effeminate.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.