Penang Nude Sports Games 2014 saga

=Initial reports=

On Tuesday, 5 August 2014, an article on a Malaysian news website based in Kuala Lumpur named The Rakyat Post drew the general public's attention to a video uploaded to Vimeo purportedly depicting Singaporeans organising a “nude sports games” on a secluded part of Penang island which had begun to make its rounds and had set tongues a-wagging. The controversy surrounding the video was also reported by Malaysiakini which spun the event with a local political slant:



The 5-minute-26-second video, which was uploaded to Vimeo by a user identified only as Axxxxx, showcased 18 nudists holding their annual “Malaysia Nude Sports Games 2014″.

Questions were being asked by the public as to how such activities could be allowed on Malaysian soil since it was clear that local by-laws had been violated, besides the event going against local culture and sensitivities.

According to the video’s description, the self-proclaimed naturists and nudists had assembled at Teluk Bahang jetty, Penang, where they then made their way to a secluded part of the island, believed to be Pantai Kerachut. The uploader, Axxxxx, claimed that the 18 of them were the only ones on the site.

The event kicked off with participants body painting each other after stripping down before going for a 2km walk and skinny dipping. The group professed to be nature lovers and nudists. “For once we really get to enjoy the natural environment and atmosphere just as how nature intended it to be,” the video's description read. The event was believed to have taken place in a single day.

A check by The Rakyat Post (TRP) later showed that Axxxxx could be Axxxxx Yxx, who was named as the director in the video. Further sleuthing led to the discovery that Yxx was a member of Naturism in Singapore where he wrote the following in his introduction: “I am a friendly nudist. I love outdoor activities. I organised nude activities in Singapore. I’m the moderator of SgNudClub. :-)”

=New Paper & Straits Times articles=

As news of the video spread across the Causeway, the Singaporean tabloid, The New Paper published an article on the same day, Tuesday, 5 August 2014, describing the huge furore that the video had caused in Malaysia. It sourced its information from the Malaysian newspapers, the Malay Mail and The Star.

The article described the video as showing a group of people, both men and women, in the buff frolicking on a beach in Penang. The Malay Mail had reported the group as apparently participating in what was termed the “Malaysia-International Nude Sports Games 2014 Extravaganza”.

Nude activities
In the video, participants could be seen indulging in body painting, relay racing one another in the nude, doing a crab walk, performing kettle bell exercises around a campfire and a “Gangnam style horse dance” where a woman straddled a man on his back as he walked forward on all fours. In one activity, a naked woman was seen trying to climb over three men as they lay shoulder-to-shoulder in the sand. Aside from taking pictures of each other in the nude, the participants strolled about and danced with one another. They also sat around a fire and camped for the night.



The Star reported that on Facebook, the video was shared over 260 times and has triggered a debate over its authenticity. It was uploaded on video sharing website Vimeo by one Axxxxx Yxx two months prior, but was taken down by the afternoon of Tuesday, 5 August 2014. According to the video, 18 nudists took part in the undated event. It speculated that the video was shot at Teluk Kampi, which was touted as the longest beach at the Penang National Park.

Meanwhile, the Penang state government said it had no knowledge of any “nude sports” event. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said that the state would not even approve a casino for Penang, let alone sanction an event for nudists. He added, “We’ll let the police investigate the matter.”

The following day, on Wednesday, 6 August 2014, The Straits Times also published an article containing additional details.

It reported that the Penang police were investigating the video which showed 18 nudists including Malaysians and Singaporeans taking part in nude events at the beach in Teluk Bahang.



Malaysia's New Straits Times (NST) had reported the police as saying that 7 of the 18 nudists were Malaysians, 4 were Singaporeans, 2 from Myanmar and 1 each from the Philippines and India. The remaining nudists had yet to be identified. The newspaper quoted state police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi as saying the police had taken statements from 10 people and groups, excluding the nudists, over the incident. "We now know what had taken place but will not reveal anything more until we have completed our investigations," he told reporters on Wednesday, 6 August 2014.

Police had taken DNA samples and finger prints from a house where the nudists were believed to have stayed in. A team of 10 personnel from the districts' forensic unit had started combing for evidence at several spots where the nudists were believed to have hung out.

If found guilty under Section 509 of the Penal Code for committing a gesture intended to insult the modesty of a person, they faced a jail term of up to five years, a fine or both, said the police.

NST reported that the person who uploaded the video, Axxxxx, thanked one Miss Cxxx for organising the event and the "naturists for coming and making it a history in Malaysia". An announcement: "See you this coming Dec 5, 2014, the Asian Nude Sport Games and Conference in Penang, Malaysia" was also found in the video.

The 2-km Teluk Kampi beach is about 4.5km from the entrance of the park and about 35 minutes by boat from the Teluk Bahang jetty.

The Star reported that one of the participants, identified only as Jxxxxx, claimed that a park ranger was told about the event before they went to a hut and stripped off their clothes.

Teluk Bahang assemblyman Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain said park officers had been instructed to check the visitor registration records for clues. He said, "The background in the clip resembles a site at the Penang National Park. But it is hard to imagine that these nudists could have gone unnoticed when about 500 people visit the park daily. We are afraid that the video may have been doctored. It is best that we let the authorities investigate and not jump to conclusions but if such a thing did indeed happen here, I feel that it shouldn't have as we are a conservative country."

=See also=
 * List of social nudity places in Asia
 * Nudism in Singapore
 * Nudity in East Asian cinema

=References=
 * Sukhbir Cheema, "Nudies in Penang: How was this allowed?", The Rakyat Post, 5 August 2014.
 * Susan Loone, "Video alleges nudist sports event in Penang", Malaysiakini, 5 August 2014.
 * "Caught on video: 18 nudists including Malaysians and Singaporeans at Penang beach", The Straits Times, 6 August 2014.
 * "Video of 'nude games' on Penang beach creates social media storm", The New Paper, 5 August 2014.