Last May, the Malaysian police seized 172 rainbow watches from 11 Swatch shops across the country. The Malaysian Home Minister said that the brand's Pride collection are "detrimental to morality" and threatened anyone caught wearing one of the watches with fine and jail time. Although noone has yet to be jailed for wearing rainbow and a variety of gay venues in Kuala Lumpur, LGBTQ people are facing more repression due to rising Islamic fundamentalism.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has met with his Malaysian counterpart Seri Anwar Ibrahim at the Sadao immigration in Songkhla Province to discuss and promote cooperation in border development between Thailand and Malaysia.

<p>Thai Embassies have issued warnings to Thai people about taking cannabis and hemp into Indonesia and Vietnam, where penalties include fines, life imprisonment and capital punishment.</p>

<p>On International Day of Democracy, Southeast Asian lawmakers called on governments in the region to end all forms of threats and harassment against opposition MPs, following the&nbsp;publication of a new report&nbsp;that documents such reprisals. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) also called for solidarity among lawmakers from across the political spectrum.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUZ0Azcvksdm7RxiDj2FVh-2FFBk-2F92kMN5rb2qpw56nz8zv9--_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxD9YgVxja4kSNsQVQG1LPOW5XhQlFMnHg9Iz3k8puqt6ohi3alUEfrPMbKRqeqCxG1x-2BtqY1zU6B3Pnpaz5f4QKUjgHbpdRf9Wa95ZDTb-2BVHTkDux2HEVREtR0NVh9FOf3-2FvCEsDbNVtZ2EovrpstvA-3D-3D&amp;data=02%7C01%7Crobertp%40hrw.org%7C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%7C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%7C1%7C0%7C637275168226129298&amp;sdata=J5BIcc5Vzc6gDkKC4ndeb0CCqsET8hqg1rUT%2BJnDU7Y%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Malaysia</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%252Fls%252Fclick%253Fupn%253D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUbA1oLOz52YcIopaZrT4FkZRQ1RbZYoRU1HMostZB-2FqpabfL_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxsRPU2GVE7387-2FW-2FeZxmOElEoWIIrCoxauv-2B9sdVIj793qoOrebMU9-2BW05M6CCzmTHLh3WH0-2B18pADRx-2BakfwAjDUiAYuaNIlxjdaaw6t02yxiM87SEedkII29ZaYAuUzksFGP9m9iAT6iybibhpAyA-3D-3D%26data%3D02%257C01%257Crobertp%2540hrw.org%257C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%257C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%257C1%257C0%257C637275168226129298%26sdata%3Diz1EpNT7EJ%252Fnpp4c1iwOKmsY0v1AiUqJM%252BnHVYPXlZk%253D%26reserved%3D0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1592029067209000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEexkiQXvfpi-2BUoSx94QKzqauNg" href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%2Fls%2Fclick%3Fupn%3D4tNED-2FM8iDZJQyQ53jATUbA1oLOz52YcIopaZrT4FkZRQ1RbZYoRU1HMostZB-2FqpabfL_62i4ZQidJAut2vx9TYnJ83eSNeOvZZUp6-2BTeWSRd8xJKcxdxYGOMp3gsUGuf-2FK6kYlMVQaxOS53YDh0ZcnPz-2FaL51QwkhmVC7eboQcYcp94RfoIKxqJE2BZFukAya75Lh5IGKGs6-2Flu4D2B4OdYEsHlWW8nSTgjT4ESXiIhTTWa3dkv5r3GBF-2F79TkIWQxgxsRPU2GVE7387-2FW-2FeZxmOElEoWIIrCoxauv-2B9sdVIj793qoOrebMU9-2BW05M6CCzmTHLh3WH0-2B18pADRx-2BakfwAjDUiAYuaNIlxjdaaw6t02yxiM87SEedkII29ZaYAuUzksFGP9m9iAT6iybibhpAyA-3D-3D&amp;data=02%7C01%7Crobertp%40hrw.org%7C479432c750014527be0808d80e6399d2%7C2eb79de4d8044273a6e64b3188855f66%7C1%7C0%7C637275168226129298&amp;sdata=iz1EpNT7EJ%2Fnpp4c1iwOKmsY0v1AiUqJM%2BnHVYPXlZk%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">Thailand</a>&nbsp;should urgently rescue Rohingya refugees stranded at sea and provide them with assistance and access to asylum, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p>I took a taxi from Kuala Lumpur's bustling shopping centre at the Petronas Twin Towers in the heart of the city. It was taking me along one of the busy highways which cuts through the city to a tom yam restaurant. Thai food is very popular in Malaysia but what most people are unaware of is that most of the owners and workers of the thousands of tom yam restaurants across Malaysia are Patani Malays from across the border in Thailand's Patani region of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), Fortify Rights, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), acting as international observers of the Bersih 5 rallies and related events, are calling on the Malaysian authorities to drop all charges against the Bersih organizers and activists. The authorities should return all items confiscated from the Bersih offices and stop making further arbitrary arrests in connection with these events.</p>

<p>A member of the Malaysian Parliament has urged the Malaysian government to acknowledge the recent confiscation of the land of an Islamic school in the Deep South by the Thai authorities while questioning Malaysia’s role in the peace process. &nbsp;</p>

<p>(BANGKOK)—Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should immediately coordinate search and rescue operations for Rohingya asylum seekers and possible survivors of trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are stranded at sea,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fortifyrights.org/">Fortify Rights</a>&nbsp;said today. The governments of these three countries should open their borders to asylum seekers and provide survivors with access to asylum procedures, protection from detention and forced returns, and freedom of movement.</p>