It’s late January in Sydney.
In Malaysia, Nur Sajat Kamaruzzaman isn’t just Instagram famous.
By 2015, Sajat had built a successful cosmetics company calledNur Sajat Beautician.
Courtesy of subject
Sajat’s growing success fueled more and more interest in hergender identity.
The questions just kept coming.
It was a blouse and a headscarf.
Courtesy of subject/Allure
“If you wear women’s attire, you’re free to be fined and/or imprisoned.”
What is sharia law?
Let’s back up for a second: Malaysia has a dual legal system.
Courtesy of subject/Allure
There are separate police forces and courts; the religious police, JAKIM, enforce sharia law.
“Trans health care was provided for free, including hormone replacement therapy andsex reassignment surgery.”
Says Robertson, “Islam has been politicized in Malaysia.
Courtesy of subject/Allure
That’s the reality of it.
You’re dealing with successive governments that have used religion to [drum up] support.”
Sajat was ultimately charged again, this time with obstructing a civil servant.
“It was an excuse to hold her there,” Robertson believes.
“It’s not that I felt embarrassed to be trans.
I worried for my family, my career.”
Why did Malaysia go through all this trouble?
The country has had three different prime ministers since 2018.
“I became a scapegoat for these politicians and their corruption,” Sajat says.
“The citizens of Malaysia are all victims of the current situation everyone.
So: Why is Malaysia afraid of Nur Sajat?
“There’s always a second chance in life.”
That kind of image is threatening to the Malaysian authorities.
I can also be successful.
I can be who I am and I can live my dreams.'”
“When I reached Australia, I felt peace,” she says.
And her new team is starting to feel like a family.
“It’s kind of sad, but at the same time it’s empowering.
I want to prove to the trans community that there’s hope,” she says.
But she can’t forget how she was targeted at home.
