Transgender case: Negeri Sembilan govt to appeal on two legal aspects

The Negeri Sembilan government will appeal on two legal aspects on the Court of Appeal's decision in declaring the Negeri Sembilan Islamic religious enactment barring cross-dressing by Muslim men in public places as unconstitutional.

Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the state government was discussing the facts of the case with the lawyers and hoped to file the appeal before Dec 6.

On Nov 7, the Court of Appeal, in a landmark decision, declared as invalid a provision in the Negeri Sembilan Syariah Law criminalising cross-dressing.

A three-member panel chaired by Justice Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, ruled that section 66 of the Syariah Criminal (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 1992 was unconstitutional because it discriminated against Muslim men suffering from a medical condition called gender identity disorder (GID).

He also said the desire to dress as a female and to be recognised as a female was part of the medical condition and there was no scientifically proven pharmacological treatment or psychological therapy for such a condition.