Malaysian City to Fine Indecent Attire

Malaysian Muslim women traditionally wear hijab and all-covering clothes.

"indecently" dressed women, Muslim or non-Muslim, after receiving a torrent of complaints against waitresses and female shop assistants, Malaysia's Daily Star reported, Tuesday, December 5. 

"Such outfits are prohibited here as it smears the reputation of Kota Baru and affects its status as an Islamic city," said Mohd Azman Daham, public relations officer of the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB).

The official said women who are "dressed sexily or indecently" could be fined up to 500 ringgit ($178).

If the offence was repeated, the council could suspend the business permit of the outlet, he added. 

The council of Kota Baru, capital of the Northeastern Kelantan state, had received complaints that some female shop assistants and waitresses were used to taking on sexy outfits to lure male customers.

"MPKB will no longer tolerate skimpy outfits, following mounting complaints from the public," Mohd Azman said.

Enforcement officers, he added, will step up checks to enforce the regulation in various localities especially "suspicious ones" like shopping malls and restaurants.

Authorities apologized to non-Muslims for any inconvenience.

"We apologize to non-Muslims if this comes across as harsh," State Local Government Committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan said.

"But we must respect our Asian culture and religion in public." 

The vast majority of Malaysians follow Islam.

Muslim Malays comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 26 million people, while ethnic Chinese and Indians - most of them Buddhists, Hindus and Christians - make up about 35 percent. The rest are indigenous people and Eurasians.

Kelantan was the only state retained by the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS) in the 2004 elections which witnessed a crushing defeat for the conservative party.

PAS has lifted a 15-year ban on the popular games of snooker and billiards and allowed cinemas to operate -- although with the lights on to prevent any unseemly behavior.

Divided  

The ban drew mixed reactions as some hailed it a way to end indecent public behavior, while women's organizations and politicians lashed out at the "unacceptable and ridiculous" decision.

"Almost everywhere there are retail assistants or waitresses wearing sexy clothes," trader Che Suraya Hulaimi Sulaiman, said welcoming the council's "appropriate" move.

 "This is an insult to Islam."

Nevertheless, women's organizations were up in arms over the decision.

"It is not the job of the council to become the 'moral police'," Honey Tan, executive director of the All-Women’s Action Society (AWAM) said.

Tan said that AWAM was totally opposed to the move, if it was intended to improve moral standards. 

"If it (the council) is concerned about the community it serves, it should encourage men and women to respect each other regardless of their dressing," she added.

The opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), made up of mostly ethnic Chinese, also brushed the move as "unacceptable".

"Such moral policing of what non-Muslim women wear can be regarded as a transgression of non-Muslim rights," DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said in a statement, according to Reuters.

"They should not be subjected to Islamic moral code of conduct."

A furor has broken out in Malaysia recently over its morality laws, envisaging persecution for people caught in indecent and disorderly behavior.

The Federal Court has ruled that Kuala Lumpur City Hall had the authority to enact by-laws to prosecute people for indecent public behavior.

It gave the magistrate hearing such cases the authority to decide if hugging and kissing constituted indecent behavior.

Malaysia, the current chair of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), offers the image of a ideal Muslim country, heading towards the status of developed nation with huge buildings, beautiful cities and a fast track economy.