Malaysian religious authorities have raided a transvestite beauty pageant and arrested 80 Muslim contestants and guests. State religious officer Abdul Rahim Mahmud said yesterday that his team of men, backed by police, stormed the "Queen of Paperdolls 2002" contest in Muar, a small town in southern Johor state. He said the transvestites ran helter-skelter and some tried to evade arrest by hiding in secret compartments in the lounge. Abdul Rahim declined to say how many people were arrested but The Star newspaper reported that 80 of the nearly 200 transvestites, many dressed in elaborate satin gowns and jewellery, were detained. He said those arrested would most likely be charged with wearing female clothes and acting like a woman in a public place, an offence under Islamic Sharia law. If convicted, they face a fine of up to 1000 ringgit ($A470) and six months imprisonment.
Thank Allah for the religious police! If they'd been proper Muslims, those perverts would have been wearing burkas, so who'd have known? Only thing I can't figure, though: if these rubes goobers Muslims are so much against the pleasures of the flesh, how does their population keep increasing?
Several women, who were arrested, were being investigated for "being at the vice den" and may be charged with behaving indecently under the same law, he added.
Oh, let 'em go. They were just offering hair and makeup tips... |