A transgender beauty entrepreneur who fled Malaysia after being charged with insulting Islam by wearing a dress has opened about her experience – claiming she was ‘hit, beaten and stamped on’ by officers in her home country.
Nur Sajat, 35, as she prefers to be known, ran away from Malaysia to Thailand after she was charged with dressing as a woman at a religious event and insulting Islam, which she pleaded not guilty to, in an Islamic court in January.
On September 8, the Thai immigration authorities arrested the owner of a glamorous cosmetics business, who has 381,000 Instagram followers. She was accused of illegally entering Thailand.
In Malaysia, she faced up to three years in jail – most likely in a men’s facility – and a fine for reportedly wearing a baju kurung, the traditional long-sleeved costume worn by Malay women, at a private religious ceremony in 2018.
As a transgender woman, she was given refugee status and allowed by Thailand to seek asylum in Australia. But in the eyes of the Malaysian authorities, Nur Sajat is considered male, and under Islamic law, men cannot dress as women.
Speaking to the BBC from Sydney, Nur Sajat said she was forced to leave her country after being assaulted by officers from JAIS, the religious affairs department in the state of Selangor, which had brought the charges against her.
Nur Sajat (pictured), 35, as she prefers to be known, ran away from Malaysia to Thailand after she was charged with dressing as a woman at a religious event and insulting Islam, which she pleaded not guilty to, in an Islamic court in January
The glamorous cosmetics company owner (pictured) – who boasts a following of 381,000 fans on Instagram – was arrested by Thai immigration authorities on September 8 on the grounds that she allegedly entered the country illegally
Malaysian authorities sentenced her to up three years, most likely in men’s prison, and fined her for wearing a bajukurung, a traditional Malay long-sleeved dress, during a 2018 religious ceremony. Pictured, Nur Sajat
‘I had to run away. I was treated harshly, I was hit, pushed, handcuffed, all in front of my parents and family. I gave them my cooperation, but they still did that to me,’ she said.
‘Maybe it was because they see me as a trans woman, so they did not care if I was held, beaten, stamped on. We trans women have feelings too. We deserve to live our lives like normal people.’
Nur Sajat also discussed being separated from her adopted son and daughter, who are being looked after by her family in Malaysia.
‘As a mother, I am distraught when I am away from my children. I have never been separated from them in the past but this year I was separated from them for about eight to nine months. I couldn’t contact them or talk to them.
‘I don’t think I’ll ever go back to my home country because I believe they won’t let [transgender people] live peacefully in Malaysia. To me, when I am here, I am freer to be myself as a trans woman.’
She was a transgender female and she was granted refugee status by Thailand. This allowed her to apply for asylum in Australia. Malaysian officials consider Nur Sajat (pictured), a male. Under Islamic law, it is forbidden for men to dress in women’s clothes.
Nur Sajat started her cosmetic business seven years ago, promoting herself on social media, where she soon gained hundreds of thousands of followers and became a ‘national celebrity, according to the broadcaster.
Nur Sajat shared photos online showing her in a hijab covering and answered questions about her gender. She is an observer Muslim who also shares photographs of her with her.
Nur Sajat, however, revealed that she is now a fully-female woman in 2017. Authorities decided to investigate.
JAKIM, the Department of Islamic Development, allegedly said it would need proof that she was born intersex and offered to help her with what it labelled ‘gender confusion’.
Then last year, even more controversy surrounded Nur Sajat after images were published of her dressed in women’s prayer garments during a pilgrimage to Mecca with her family. The BBC reported that she later apologized, and within one year, was facing criminal prosecutions.
BBC requested comment from the Malaysian Religious Affairs Department on Nur Sajat’s situation, but was not able to get one.
Nur Sajat, a Sydney-based journalist, said that she had been assaulted in her homeland by JAIS officers. This was the state’s religious affairs division. She has since faced the allegations against her.
Abd Jalil Hassan, director of Malaysian Criminal Investigation Department, stated that police, foreign ministry, and attorney general were working together to bring Nur Sajat home in September 2021.
In a news conference, during which he referred to Nur Sajat by her formal name, the director said Malaysia recommended Nur Sajat ‘returns to the country in a good way to face the cases’.
Malaysian officials were also accused of Nur Sajat, for separate offences of obstruction and threat to a public official.
Malaysia’s legal system is dual-track. It has Islamic family and criminal laws that are applicable to Muslims as well as civil laws.
Justice for Sisters in Malaysia, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, stated that calls for more restrictive measures have been rising and anti-gay sentiments are on the increase since Nur Sajat was detained.
Human Rights Watch reports that transgender Malaysians are subject to arbitrary arrest, sexual and physical assault, imprisonment and discriminatory denials of healthcare and employment.