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A scandal involving allegations of a “gay sex party” rocked the ultra-conservative northern state of Kelantan recently.
According to news reports, police raided a bungalow in the village of Kampung Kemumin last month and found a group of men believed to be part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community attending a dinner party.
The information was only disclosed last Saturday (19 July) by local authorities, who reportedly found condoms and HIV medication at the site.
Kelantan police chief Datuk Mohd Mamat Yusoff said in a statement that the raid involving more than 100 individuals from the LGBT community was based on strong evidence, New Straits Times reported.
However, only around 20 men were reported to have been arrested at the scene, as the police arrived when the event had just ended.
NGOs deny illicit activities at the event, saying it was a health outreach programme
A coalition of 31 non-government organisations issued a joint statement to refute claims that the event was a “gay sex party”, and insisted that it was in fact a legitimate HIV awareness and health outreach programme.
The joint statement, published by LGBT rights group Justice for Sisters (JFS) and endorsed by Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO), and Amnesty International Malaysia, among many others, called for a correction of misinformation by Kelantan police.
“JFS together with 21 groups and 9 healthcare professionals call on the Kelantan police to check the accuracy and veracity of the facts shared with the media in connection with an alleged gay party that the police broke up last month, in June 2025,” the group said in an Instagram post.
According to the joint statement, none of the participants were providing sexual services or were there to provide sexual services. Instead, they attended the event to seek sexual health information and tests.
How important is sexual health education and information?
Sexual health education is something adults and youth should not brush off.
Proper information on the subject, if distributed legitimately with professional guidance, can benefit many people.
For one, it can teach safe sex practices, including the use of condoms and contraception methods. This can help prevent and reduce sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and unwanted pregnancies.
Such programmes, if hosted by certified medical practitioners, can also provide accurate, age-appropriate, science-based information.
If group programmes are not your thing, you can find many clinics and NGOs out there who provide sexual health information and services.
Knowledge is power, and every individual must have power over their own bodies.
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