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Thailand considers deportation of Malaysian transgender entrepreneur
Cosmetics company owner Nur Sajat, as she prefers to be known, fled from Malaysia this year. Thai police confirmed that Sajat was arrested this month and was found guilty by a court of illegal entry and subsequently released on bail.
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Transgender businesswoman Nur Sajat was convicted in Thailand in September 2021 of illegal entry and is wanted in Malaysia for insulting Islam. (The Jakarta Post/The Star)
T
hailand is considering whether to deport a transgender businesswoman who was convicted this month of illegal entry and is wanted in Malaysia for insulting Islam, a case that has put a spotlight on Malaysia's approach to gender identity.
Cosmetics company owner Nur Sajat, as she prefers to be known, fled from Malaysia this year. Thai police confirmed that Sajat was arrested this month and was found guilty by a court of illegal entry and subsequently released on bail.
In Malaysia, she faces up to three years in jail and or a fine for dressing as a woman at a religious event in 2018, which she pleaded not guilty to, according to news reports.
Neither Sajat nor her lawyer could be reached for comment.
The case has raised concern about what human rights groups say is a worsening climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people in Malaysia, a country that outlaws same-sex acts.
In June, a Malaysian government taskforce proposed amending Islamic law to allow action to be taken https://reut.rs/39ofTdQ against social media users who were insulting Islam and "promoting the LGBT lifestyle".
The process of Sajat's deportation was underway but could take time, during which many factors would be taken into consideration, Thai deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said, without elaborating.
