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People caught eating, drinking or smoking during Ramadan daytime will be fined RM20 (six dollars) |
CAIRO — A Malaysian state has set up a squad to look for Muslims who eat, drink or smoke during Ramadan daytime, The New Straits Times reported on Monday, September 17.
"This is the first time the council is taking this action as we have received numerous complaints about those who eat openly during the fasting period," said Azman Dohd Daham, a municipal spokesman in Kota Baru, Kelantan.
During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex.
A 10-member squad from the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) in plainclothes has been deployed to keep watch at food outlets, said Azman.
The Kelantan Religious Department’s enforcement unit is also on the prowl for the same purpose.
People who fall foul by eating, drinking or smoking during Ramadan daytime will be fined RM20 (six dollars).
Food outlets in Kelantan, the only state ruled by the opposition Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), are allowed to operate after 3pm.
Muslim food outlets caught violating the ban will be fined up to RM500 (144 dollars).
Last year, PAS introduced fines for women wearing revealing clothes as mini-skirts or see-through blouses.
The party 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.
Muslim Malays make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 26 million people, while ethnic Chinese and Indians – mostly Buddhists, Hindus and Christians – making up about 35 percent. The rest are indigenous people and Eurasians.
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