ROS, 23, is a transsexual woman from Seremban who says she was assaulted by Negeri Sembilan Islamic enforcers on 31 May 2010. The part-time wedding hairdresser spoke to The Nut Graph in this exclusive phone interview about her experience later that same day. She said she was required to appear in the syariah court on 3 June.
We agreed to publish her story under a pseudonym to protect her safety in part four of a series of stories on victims of moral policing.
TNG: Boleh tolong ceritakan kepada kami apa yang awak sedang buat sebelum operasi jabatan agama Islam?
Ros: Ros baru lepas minum dengan seorang kawan kira-kira pukul 1:30 pagi, pada 31 Mei. Lepas minum kami pun berjalanlah ke kereta kami di kawasan Taman AST, Seremban. Sambil berjalan, kami perasan ada beberapa orang lagi yang melepak dengan motosikal mereka dan berlagak seperti bakal “customer”.
Mereka mengurat Ros dan kawan Ros?
Ya, betul. Kami pun melayanlah sebentar, tetapi tak sampai 10 minit, tiba-tiba Ros ternampak ada van tiba di perkarangan kawasan itu. Salah seorang lelaki motor itu memegang tangan kawan Ros. Dia menjerit, “Wei, kau jangan lari!” Kemudian dia membaling helmet dia ke arah Ros. Tapi Ros memang larilah. Ros lari ke sebuah hotel murah dan menyorok di dalam bilik stor.
Penjaga kaunter ada datang menjenguk Ros dan bertanya kenapa. Ros kata, “Ada pegawai jabatan agama tengah kejar saya.” Penjaga kaunter itu pun minta Ros sembunyi diam-diam dekat bilik stor itu. Tapi sekejap selepas itu, Ros terdengar pegawai jabatan agama menjerit-jerit dan memukul-mukul pintu bilik stor itu. Ros boleh dengar penjaga kaunter hotel itu berkata, “Kalau awak pecahkan pintu itu, awak kena bayar!” Dia juga meminta waran daripada jabatan agama. Ros terdengar pegawai jabatan agama menengking balik, “Kami akan panggil polis untuk pecahkan pintu ini!”
Jadi masa itu, Ros pun ambil keputusan untuk keluar. Ros berkata, “Saya menyerah dan bekerjasama.” Tapi bila Ros keluar dari bilik stor itu, seorang pegawai merentap rambut Ros dan mengheret Ros keluar. Kemudian dia menampar muka Ros dua kali. Bila Ros dekat-dekat nak tersungkur akibat tamparan itu, dia cuba nak memijak buah dada Ros. Tapi ada kawan sebelah dia menahan dia daripada memijak Ros.
Ada berapa orang pegawai penguatkuasa ketika itu?
Semuanya ada empat orang lelaki Melayu ketika itu. Mereka tidak berkata bahawa mereka penguatkuasa jabatan agama, tapi mereka memakai vest jabatan agama.
Adakah mereka orang sama yang “mengumpan” Ros dan kawan Ros atas motosikal di Taman ATS?
Bukan, mereka ini lain.
Ros kenal Rina?
Kenal.
Adakah orang yang menyerang Ros itu orang sama yang menyerang Rina bulan Mac lalu?
Saya rasa memang orang yang sama.
Lepas itu apa yang mereka buat?
Mereka pegang Ros dan menyuruh Ros masuk ke dalam van untuk dibawa ke jabatan agama. Dalam van, Ros cuba tanya, “Kenapa awak pukul saya, sedangkan saya memang menyerah diri dan berkata saya akan bekerjasama?”
Mereka menjawab, “Memang kami kena guna kekerasan.”
Lepas sampai di jabatan agama, apa pula?
Mereka letakkan Ros dalam bilik kurungan bersama kawan Ros. Bilik itu dikunci dari luar. Di luar ada pengawal. Pegawai berempat itu kemudiannya keluar lagi untuk membuat operasi. Kira-kira pukul 4:30 pagi, Ros dipanggil keluar.
Mereka ada mengambil kenyataan apa-apa dari Ros?
Dari Ros, mereka ambil sehelai baju. Mereka membuat satu salinan bahan bukti dan memberi kepada Ros. Pada ketika itu, Ros ada nampak mereka menahan couple lelaki dan perempuan. Tapi Ros nampak pegawai penguatkuasa bercakap dengan mereka baik-baik saja.
Ros ada kawan-kawan yang cuba membantu?
Ada, mereka cuba membantu, tapi sekadar mencari salinan baju, pakaian lelaki dan sebagainya. Mereka tidak dibenarkan menemani Ros ke dalam jabatan agama, mereka terpaksa menunggu di luar saja.
Kemudian?
Kemudian Ros diberi tarikh mahkamah, pada 3 Jun.
Mereka ada memberitahu apa dakwaan yang dikenakan ke atas Ros?
Ros didakwa di bawah Seksyen 66, undang-undang jenayah syariah – “lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan”.
Adakah ini kali pertama Ros didakwa di mahkamah?
Tidak, Ros pernah didakwa sekali bulan Mac lalu. Masa itu Ros tengah turun dari butik di Taman AST – Ros bekerja sebagai mak andam – untuk pergi ke kereta. Ros terkejut ada van jabatan agama dekat sana, dan Ros pun lari. Masa itu pun mereka menggunakan keganasan untuk menangkap Ros.
Kemudian Ros kena pergi juga mahkamah atas dakwaan lelaki berlagak seperti perempuan. Ros mengaku bersalah dan didenda RM700. Masa itu, Ros sendiri minta pergi kaunseling dan telah menghadiri kaunseling.
Masa itu, Ros ada peguam untuk membela Ros?
Tidak, masa itu ada pendakwaraya, hakim dan Ros saja.
Apa yang Ros akan buat kali ini?
Ros tak tahulah. Ros tak minta hidup macam ini. Lagipun Ros ada tanggungan, iaitu adik Ros yang masih bersekolah. Ros anak yatim piatu. Ros belajar sampai Tingkatan Empat saja.
Ros pernah cari kerja lain dekat kedai handset di Terminal One. Tapi bila mereka nampak saja Ros, terus mereka halau Ros keluar dari kedai mereka. Ros menangis masa itu.
[Editor’s note: The Nut Graph was unable to do a final fact and quote check with Ros before publishing this interview. From 2 June onwards, she began ignoring our calls. Instead, she sent a text message explaining how afraid she felt even to leave her house. However, she thanked us for agreeing to tell her story. We were later told she didn’t turn up in court on 3 June and went into hiding. On 15 June, however, The Nut Graph managed to speak to her again in which she consented for her interview to be published. Ros also said she was lying low and hoped she wouldn’t be caught again.]
Related posts:
Part 1: Married but busted for khalwat
Part 2: “Is Chinese penis really that good?”
Part 3: “Diam, pondan!”
Coming up next: The arbitrariness of moral policing
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DAPHNE IKING says
How unfortunate that Ros had to endure what she endured despite surrendering herself to the authorities. I used to work as a cabaret dancer back when I was studying in USM Penang (to help pay for my degree and Masters degree). I met a lovely bunch of men who dressed up as women, and I had many, sweet gay friends who were only kind to me. One, who turned out to be my best friend in the end (but who has been murdered because of his sexual orientation) was also a sweet lad who served the church on a weekly basis – either arranging flowers for the alter or being part of church plays/activities which we all looked forward to participating in and getting our hands dirty with.
Ros, if you are reading this. Stay strong. It’s a delicate matter, but ultimately, it’s between you and God. To the authorities, if you are of the “normal” ones conforming to the book of law – then good on you. But there will be bound to be someone else you will know who is close to you who might choose a different sexual path. What if that person was your child? Do you expect the same treatment for that person you care for? God bless and happy thoughts, everyone.
Ming says
Manusia lebih biasa menilai dari memahami, dan buta dengan konstruk sosial kerana minda mereka tidak berkembang. . . kesian kan?
Azizi Khan says
Reading these stories only tells me one thing. In the race to be “more Muslim than other Muslims”, these religious authorities have sold their soul to the devil. How else can you explain such inhumane behaviour? And we are supposed to follow these Muslims as an example ?
I have said it once and I say it again, many of these religious authorities in Malaysia are practising a “deviant” religion which is far from Islam.
The Prophet Muhammad said that a prostitute will go to heaven because she gave a thirsty dog a drink of water. These “religious” [persons] will go to hell for torturing a poor soul who is helping her dependent kid brother.
dayana says
Setiap orang berhak menentukan kehidupan jenis apa yang ia mau..saya yakin Ros pasti juga tidak menghendaki jalan hidup seperti ini..tapi kadang pengaruh desakan ekonomi membuat orang lupa akan jalan yang baik dan benar..
Thank you for the information, its great!
[…]
Trimakasih^^
stewoolf says
Oh! How I miss Yasmin Ahmad… So much material in Shanon’s articles! More Hollywood than Hollywood!! Maybe Shanon could collaborate with Nabila (one of the victims) to come up with a screenplay. We’ll have “Sepet Lagi-lagi!!” or something about “The Chinese Penis”!? We can weep, laugh, smile and break down at the same time! With a movie of Yasmin’s quality, it would generate economics that provides jobs, taxes, returns on investments, and inform the Malaysian society about moral policing. Who knows… with prayers and Yasmin’s help from above, the censorship board might blink and the script might pass through… 😉
ywc gabrielle says
Just want to say thank you so much to The Nut Graph for doing this series, knowing how combustive the issue of moral policing can be in our cultural climate, and the difficulty in securing interviews with willing respondents.
Yeo Kien Kiong says
Be strong, Ros. You are not alone in this struggle for independence.
siew eng says
Yes, police also use force even you’re surrendering peacefully. That’s how they provoke you so that they can say in their statement that you were resisting arrest. And that’s why people flee when the police are giving chase to them – because we don’t trust the police anymore, with the bad public record they have when it comes to treatment of detainees. It comes to our word against theirs and the mainstream media certainly wouldn’t publish ours. Their position is to go with the ‘official’ version, i.e. that of the authorities.
So don’t be so quick to think that people who flee from the police deserve dying in their hands. Don’t think that your innocence will save you. Certainly, in Ros’s case, what was her crime?
Hakim says
Dear Shanon,
Don’t you want to interview me as well? I was detained for no reason when I was dating with my partner in 2006, and was beaten, and forced to pay RM4000 in fines, both me and my partner.
I am not from a rich family, and my father left me when I was still a kid, at that time we were not doing anything. I stopped nearby restaurant in Manjung because she wanted to go to toilet.
And they came and beat me, even when I tried to explain to them, they beat even more.