Swiss watchmaker Swatch has successfully recovered its timepieces seized by Malaysian authorities. The High Court today has ordered the government to return the brand’s 172 watches, including the controversial Pride Collection series, the primary target of the Ministry of Home Affairs (KDN) raid that was conducted last year.
In the ruling, Judge Amarjeet Singh held that the home ministry acted unlawfully in seizing the watches, and ordered the government to return the watches within 14 days. The judge ruled the search and seizure are illegal as the notice issued by the KDN came after the seizure was made. However, the court denied Swatch’s request for damages, but noted the company could pursue compensation later if the watches were found damaged.
To recap, enforcement officers raided 11 Swatch shops, including Pavilion KL, 1 Utama, Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley Megamall, and Suria Sabah, between 13 and 15 May 2024, seizing the watches. The move came after social media users linked the collection to British band Coldplay’s support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
Swatch Malaysia filed a judicial review in August 2024 to challenge the government’s action. Seeking a court order compelling the home ministry to return the watches, the Swiss watchmaker claimed the seizure was illegal as the watches were not defined as a form of “publication” under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.
It’s also worth noting that KDN imposed a ban around the same time on watches from Swatch’s Pride collection, as well as its “boxes, wrappers, accessories or any other related things”. The move, officially gazetted under section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (Act 301), prohibits “any publication related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Plus (LGBTQ+)” and formalises the ban as law. The Swiss company, however, maintained that its timepieces do not qualify as a publication under the act and should not be subject to the ban.
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