Court orders return of 172 ‘Pride Collection’ watches to The Swatch Group

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today ordered 172 ‘Pride Collection’ watches seized by the Home Ministry (KDN) last year to be returned to the watch importer and seller, The Swatch Group (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh made the decision after allowing a judicial review application filed by The Swatch Group (Malaysia) as the applicant against the secretary-general of the Home Ministry, the secretary of the Home Ministry Enforcement Division, the Home Minister and the Malaysian Government as the first to fourth respondents.

Amarjeet said the court also allowed an application by the applicant to quash the seizure notice on the grounds that the seizure was made without a warrant and was invalid.

“Therefore, the court orders that the 172 watches be returned to the applicant within 14 days starting today. If there is damage to the watches, the applicant can claim compensation,“ said the judge.

In today’s proceedings, lawyer Nizam Bashir represented the applicant while federal counsel Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali represented all the respondents.

On June 24, 2023, The Swatch Group (Malaysia) filed a judicial review application to challenge KDN’s action to seize 172 watches including the ‘Pride Collection’ series which were allegedly associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

In the application, the applicant said the seizure of all the watches in question was unlawful because the items were not a ‘publication’ which could be prohibited under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

According to the company, the watch from the 2023 design is one of the six colours of the rainbow and is only visible on a small part of the watch’s bezel and does not promote any sexual symptoms.

On May 13 and 14, 2023, KDN raided 11 Swatch brand watch boutiques in several states and seized a rainbow-themed collection which was allegedly associated with LGBT.