Wear this Pride-themed Swatch in Malaysia and you face a three-year jail term

Luke Benedictus

A couple of weeks ago, T+T reported how Swatch were suing the Malaysian government after it seized 172 of their watches from stores. The reason for the seizure?  The watches, which come in either rainbow colours or a single colour with a rainbow trim, were released in support of Pride, the movement that promotes the self-affirmation, dignity, equality and increased visibility of LGBTQ+ people. And therein lies the sticking point, because homosexuality is outlawed in Malaysia. A ministry official told Agence France-Presse in May that the watches were seized because they bore the LGBTQ acronym and had six colours instead of the seven in a rainbow.

Swatch’s legal move was reported around the world but, rather than back down, Malaysian authorities have come out swinging. On Thursday it was announced that simply owning or selling a Pride-themed Swatch can now get you sent to prison for up to three years alongside a fine of up to US$4,000.

“The Malaysian government is committed to preventing the spread of elements that are harmful or may be harmful to morals,” the nation’s home ministry said in a statement.

These Swatch watches, it continued, “Are subject to the Prohibition Order because they … harm or may harm morality, public interest, and the interest of the state by promoting, supporting, and normalising the LGBTQ+ movement, which is not accepted by the general public in Malaysia.”

Swatch has defended its pieces as “loud, proud, uplifting and bursting with meaning” and “not in any way capable of causing any disruption to public order or morality or any violations of the law”.

Malaysia’s intolerance on LGBTQ+ matters has been increasingly in the spotlight after a senior figure in the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party criticised the fact that Coldplay were due to play their first-ever concert in the the country. “Does the government want to nurture a culture of hedonism and perversion in this country?” he posted on Facebook alongside a picture of singer Chris Martin holding a rainbow flag.

Subsequently, British band The 1975 were banned from Malaysia after the frontman kissed a bandmate on stage and criticised the country’s anti-LGBT laws.