THE raid on a Halloween party should not have happened as the event had received the green light from the police, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said.

Speaking to comedian Harith Iskander on Youtube, the DAP man said it was appalling to see a private function raided by the religious authorities with the assistance from police officers.

“It was a private function and it received a private permit. There is no reason to raid a place with a police permit. It was shocking and it make no sense at all,” he said.

“Allowing religious authorities to go and raid a private function. This goes back to targeting the vulnerable and this will certainly be used by political parties as the election is around the corner.”

It was reported on Sunday that a Halloween party featuring drag queens as performers was cut short following a raid by the Federal Territories Religious Department (Jawi), police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall enforcers.

It was reported that several drag queens and transgender people were detained by Jawi for investigations.

Dang Wangi district police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya, however, said all of them, aged 22 to 34, were released on bail after the investigation was completed.

He said the 20 men arrested were locals and were being investigated under section 28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act (Federal Territories) 1997.

Asked by Harith as to why no other politician would speak up on the raid, Santiago said it might be because many of them are positioning themselves for the November 19 general election.

“I cannot answer for them. This intolerance is increasingly becoming pronounced in Malaysia. In my view, the political parties are positioning themselves before an election and through this, they are trying to say ‘I am more Muslim that the others’,” he said.

“We can clearly see this whole thing is being spun as some comments on social media have gone as far as saying that this is an Islamic state, which is not the case.”

According to local activist Numan Afifi, 20 people from the party were transported in a Black Maria by Jawi to assist in investigations.

It is understood that the event was organised legally and had all the required permits.

The raid has since been met with widespread condemnation over social media. – November 1, 2022.