By Sofia Nasir
SHAH ALAM, March 19 — The Selangor government is taking a tough stance on Muslim men who cross-dress, following the lead of the Selangor Mufti Department’s fatwa on the matter.
State executive councillor for Islam and innovation Dr Fahmi Ngah said the department’s fatwa is clear and comes with guidelines and laws around transgenders.
“Selangor has already issued a fatwa on transgenders, or men who dress as women.
“We have very specific laws and guidelines surrounding that fatwa, which will act as a reference should we need to prosecute an individual,” Fahmi said.
He was speaking at the launch of the 2025 Selangor Turath Islami Festival in conjunction with the Nuzul al-Quran celebration held at the Menteri Besar’s official residence here, last night.
When asked about controversial figure Muhammad Sajjad Kamaruz Zaman — or better known as Nur Sajat — who has returned to Malaysia, Fahmi said the matter will be referred to the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).
The Seri Setia assemblyman, however, said Sajat may be in trouble with the law as he may have pending cases in court.
“I am not sure about his previous cases, for those I will need to check with JAIS. If he’s coming back to this country, he might be facing some issues with the immigration department as well.”
Sajat, 40, fled Malaysia in 2021 after being charged by JAIS with insulting Islam for cross-dressing and for uploading an indecent photo of himself on his Instagram account. He sought, and was granted, asylum in Australia.
