Kuala Lumpur: The High Court here will hear Swatch Malaysia’s bid to commence judicial review against the government’s seizure of 172 watches, including the Pride Collection series, on Aug 23.
Justice Amarjeet Singh fixed the hearing date today after lawyer Nizam Bashir informed the court the Swiss watchmaker needed to amend its cause papers.
Senior federal counsel Irmawatie Daud, appearing for the government, said they have no objections to the amendments.
Officers from the home ministry had seized the watches from various Swatch outlets between May 13 and 15.
The watchmaker was informed through the ministry’s notice of seizure the watches have elements of promoting the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community.
Swatch claims the seizure is illegal as the watches are not defined as a form of “publication” under the Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA).
It said that under PPPA, the term “publication” is used only for documents, newspapers, books or any materials in printed form.
“The said watches have yet to be defined as a prohibited publication, thus the officers have no powers to enter the applicant’s (Swatch Malaysia) outlets to seize them,” it says in its application for leave.
Swatch Malaysia also says some of the timepiece models among the 172 seized watches have been sold in Malaysia for more than a year. It says it had not been notified of any complaints regarding the watches by the ministry either.
The company also says its lawyers had written to the ministry last month demanding that the government return the watches, but the ministry did not do so.
“The applicant also contends that the government’s action was done for improper political motives, given the state elections will be held soon. The minister was seeking to show his ‘Islamic’ credentials for political purposes,” it claims.
It was reported that officers from the ministry seized the Pride Collection watches, featuring rainbow colours, after social media users linked the collection to British rock band Coldplay’s support for the LGBTQ community.
