The PAS denied it had imposed or intended to impose an Islamic dress code or vote any laws that would enforce such a move in the city

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Correspondent

TERENGGANU, January 15 (IslamOnline.net) - The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) denied it had imposed or intended to impose an Islamic dress code or vote any laws that would enforce such a move in the city of Kuala Terengganu, north of  Terengganu state, accusing international and local media of exposing the issue out of proportion.

Dr. Syed Azman, PAS Member of Parliament for Kuala Terengganu, told Islamonline.net on Wednesday, January 14, that "the state government did not impose such dress codes that have been making waves in the media".

"The PAS did not impose or vote any laws regarding a dress code here in Terengganu, the so called new rules banning moderate clothing or the imposition of such values on non-Muslims are not true and we deny this vehemently," Azman said, speaking on the behalf of the government in Terengganu.

"This sort of things should not have happened if the international and local media did not bloat this thing out of proportion. What we talked about was guidelines, not laws or written statements," he added angrily.

Media reports claimed on January 10 that the PAS had imposed its own dress code for non-Muslim women working in the private sector, sending shock waves through the largely Muslim country.

Azman further categorically denied that his party had issued a written statement imposing the alleged dress code.

"There are no written statements, it’s the media that said there were such a statement and the PAS as well as the state government never issued such written statements, the accusation is just a play to undermine the Islamic party," he stressed.

He made clear that the whole thing was just an idea about a campaign to tell people to follow Islamic codes and urge non-Muslims not to offend Muslims in the state by wearing offensive clothes.

"[But] the PAS is not forcing anyone to wear anything that they do not want, it’s just that we want people to learn, to be educated about Islam. You can go around town and even see non-Muslims drinking beer freely in restaurants," he averred.

Azman also said the PAS intended to launch a public campaign to educate Muslim women on the necessity of covering their "aurat" – the parts of the bodies which should not be exposed in front of others.

He said that the campaign will also raise the awareness of the non-Muslim tourists on the Malay culture how to avoid offending people.

"Tourists are welcomed in this state, be they Muslims or non-Muslims but they must not expose their aurat in such a way that it offends the Malays here, that is all we want to say," he explained.

Misunderstood

Advertisements of beer and Chinese action films appear in the state

For his part, PAS Youth chief Salahudin Ayubi told IOL over the phone on Wednesday that his statements about the Islamic dress code were "misunderstood". 

Ayubi said that the whole issue of the dress code was made public by a United Malays National Organization (UMNO) top official in the nearby state of Kelantan, who said the PAS was "inhuman" and abused "human rights" by imposing a dress code in Terengganu.

He added that he responded to the "untrue" statement by the UMNO official by saying that the PAS had a right to tell Muslim women to wear the headscarf.

"However, I must say that my statement was not necessarily with regards to the issue of ‘dress code’ but was more on the mentality of the UMNO member who made the issue of a ‘dress code’ in Terengganu," Ayubi said.

He also asserted that there were no such "dress codes" in the state of Terengganu where the PAS is ruling.

Aida, a PAS activist from Kelantan told IOL that the PAS would never impose such codes on anyone.

"Since there is no dress code, the PAS youth chief could not possibly have argued over it, and since the PAS is ruling in Terengganu, there is no reason for it not to issue mere guidelines to workers," she told IOL.

"It’s normal for Muslim women in Malaysia, especially in Terengganu and Kelantan to wear the [head]scarf. You can see for yourself how many women wear the scarf here and how many don’t," Aida said.

"I never heard of any dress code, there is no such thing but yes there is advice given by some heads of departments that Muslim women should wear the [head]scarf, but nothing is said to non-Muslims and they are not forced to wear such things," she asserted.

The mother-of-two activist further said she wears hijab not because of the PAS but because of Islam.