True Or Unfounded Claim Netizens Lambast Keretapi Sarong Event Hijacked By Transgender Crowd

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A CLASH of cultural or at the very least lifestyle values.
This is the claim by certain online commenters that the recent Keretapi Sarong 2025 event had drawn large numbers from the LGBTQ+ community.
As reported by the Malay Mail, 11 major train stations in the Klang Valley took on a different look on Sept 13 when over 20,000 participants of the Keretapi Sarong 2025 event arrived clad in sarongs of various colours and designs in conjunction with Malaysia Day on Sept 16.
Organised by cultural group LOCCO with the support of Rapid KL, the event carried the theme Serumpun (literally “similar root”) as a symbol of ASEAN unity.
As early as 8am, the stations came alive with sarong-clad crowds, turning into mini carnivals filled with laughter and cheers as participants boarded trains bound for a secret location at Raintree Plaza in The Exchange TRX.
While colourful selfies were aplenty on social media, not everyone was pleased with a perceived high turnout from the LGBTQ+ community.

Some posters on X such as Azha (@ahzaazzahra) and kamaghul deghaman (@kamaghul) made their displeasure known with entries which insinuated that the event was no longer promoting Malaysian culture but one that is seemingly loaded with an LGBTQ+ agenda.
Describingthe event as “Keretapi Songsang” (abnormal), the latter’s post even had a short video clip as proof of the candid observation that “many transgenders/cross-dressers seem to be attending the Keretapi Sarong event this year”.

Host and emcee Azha also declared Muslims who “support and normalise this immoral behaviour are sick”.
Strong words indeed with the sentiment seemed to gain plenty of traction with the Universiti Malaya’s education graduate’s post already generating 1.2M views at time of writing.

Some commenters claimed that previous editions of the event had already attracted a sizeable following from this demographic though one did notice it was mostly in the capital city given the event in Kelantan had an “OK vibe”.

While some saw it as an opportunity to bash the LGBTQ+ and by extension “liberal” crowd, there were those who questioned the posters’ motives.
One argued it was unbecoming to forcefully shove one’s religious values onto others while another contended that it was the poster who was reading too much into a normal cultural event.

One commenter wondered where was the supposed LGBTQ+ content that these participants were promoting?

It was also argued that to cast aspersions was “fitnah” (slander) and thus a sin. It cannot be assumed that just because certain males display effeminate characteristics, it does not automatically denote them as gay.

It was also pointed out that to speak ill of others was in itself an “immoral behaviour”.

This episode highlights the very polarised forces pulling at Malaysian society today. On the one hand, there is the conservative faction that wants to promote religious values.
Anything perceived to do with an LGBTQ+ agenda is obviously anathema with this segment seeing this as potentially leading to openly LGBTQ+ “Pride” events.

On the other, there are those who simply cannot countenance such divisive rhetoric and believe such judgmental pronouncements to be archaic and outmoded.

It will be interesting to see who wins the hearts and minds of young Malaysians. –  Focus Malaysia

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