'Sexy' clothes banned in Malaysian state

[PhiPsiRuss]

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Non-Muslim Malaysian women in opposition-run Terengganu state will not be able to wear short-sleeved blouses, tight-fitting jeans, long skirts with slits or mini-skirts to work in the future.

They are also barred from wearing figure-hugging or revealing dresses, said assemblyman Sulaiman Abdullah.

"The PAS (Islamic Party) government will not tolerate females, including those from different religions, wearing such clothes during working hours," Sulaiman, who is also Kuala Terengganu municipal council president, was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

Sulaiman said non-Muslims, although free to wear skirts, must wear them to their knees.

Muslim women working in the private sector would now have to adhere to the Islamic dress code and wear headscarves and loose clothes, he said.

The council will distribute circulars on the dress code to businesses and visit premises with Islamic preachers to advise Muslim women who flout the ruling.

Employers whose workers are found to be wearing improper attire could be fined up to 250 ringgit (66 dollars) or lose their licences, he said.

The hardline Islamic Party controls just two of the 13 states in multicultural Malaysia, which has large non-Muslim minorities of ethnic Chinese and Indians.

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Assuming that prostitution is illegal, and someone hires a callgirl in a really skimpy cheerleader outfit, and he is busted, does he get the death penalty?

[Taualumna]

They never indicated what the definition of "mini skirt" was. How short does a skirt really have to be before it's considered a mini? In any case, mini skirts really shouldn't be worn to a more conservative office anyway. Real life isn't Ally McBeal.

[AGDee]

The original article said.. skirts had to be at the knee and without slits.

Dee

[honeychile]

The laws have been strict in Malaysia for years. One of my sisters went to Malaysia to meet her fiance's family, and she discovered that she could not leave the country without marrying him (I never heard the complete story here). She couldn't marry him without converting. Why she didn't go to the Embassy, I don't know - love? She did get a written promise from him that any children they had would be schooled in the US, though (they met while he was in college here).

Anyhow, all was wonderful for 7 years: they had 2 kids, they were considered quite wealthy, they had a summer home in Viet Nam. When the elder child turned five, she started reminding her husband of his promise. They put it off a year. Just prior to coming back to the US to put the child in school, he murdered her, and was never procescuted because he did it to "maintain family honor."

While there, she was forbidden from even going to a mall that had a "Christian" store in it, and had to wear the headscarf etc. The last letter I received from her was smuggled out of the country. The very last line said, "No matter what happens in your life, NEVER give up your US citizenship! You will NEVER realize how much it means until you lose it!"
**chills**

I haven't used any names because her family wants to still be able to see her children... We've named a chapter award in her memory; she was only 30 when she was murdered. A more loving, kind, creative, and gentle woman, I have never met. Forgive my bitterness - but don't be fooled into thinking this is something new. Maybe even more strict, but certainly not new.

[Rudey]

Just another culture and religion imposing its will on people. Idiot people.

-Rudey
--Honeychile that upsets me a lot. I'm sorry.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by honeychile
The laws have been strict in Malaysia for years.

I don't think this is necessarily true for non-Muslims living there. I have a friend who was raised Buddhist in Kuala Lumpur and her upbringing was very very Westernized. She grew up speaking English, went to a British school, wore jeans and tee shirts (obviously she didn't wear a headscarf), went to the malls all of the time, listened to British and American rock music, followed the NBA, and ended up at an American university (Duke) . . .

It sounds like the major difference is that while the rules once only applied to Muslims, now they apply to everyone.

[Taualumna]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
I don't think this is necessarily true for non-Muslims living there. I have a friend who was raised Buddhist in Kuala Lumpur and her upbringing was very very Westernized. She grew up speaking English, went to a British school, wore jeans and tee shirts (obviously she didn't wear a headscarf), went to the malls all of the time, listened to British and American rock music, followed the NBA, and ended up at an American university (Duke) . . .

It sounds like the major difference is that while the rules once only applied to Muslims, now they apply to everyone.

From what I understand, this isn't being applied to the entire country, but just two states.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
I don't think this is necessarily true for non-Muslims living there. I have a friend who was raised Buddhist in Kuala Lumpur and her upbringing was very very Westernized. She grew up speaking English, went to a British school, wore jeans and tee shirts (obviously she didn't wear a headscarf), went to the malls all of the time, listened to British and American rock music, followed the NBA, and ended up at an American university (Duke) . . .

The official religion of Malaysia, from a political standpoint, is Islam. However the vast majority of its inhabitants (something like 97 percent?) are Buddhist.

It sounds like the major difference here is that the dress code, which formerly only applied to Muslims, will now apply to the entire population -- which is a big jump when 97 percent of the population of the country isn't Muslim.

Uhm the country is heading towards extremism and the leaders are far from accepting and I thought the demographics were different but I'll look later.

-Rudey

[moe.ron]

Originally posted by Rudey
Uhm the country is heading towards extremism and the leaders are far from accepting and I thought the demographics were different but I'll look later.

-Rudey

In correct sir. The country is not heading toward extremism. In case you didn't know, Mahatir is no longer the prime minister. The new Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is hardly an extremist. He was known as one of the prominent anti-corruption figure which won him many fans around Malaysia. He is the member of UMNO (political party)

[Rudey]

Originally posted by moe.ron
In correct sir. The country is not heading toward extremism. In case you didn't know, Mahatir is no longer the prime minister. The new Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is hardly an extremist. He was known as one of the prominent anti-corruption figure which won him many fans around Malaysia. He is the member of UMNO (political party)

Mahatir is not the only person there...give me time and I'll post great articles for you.

-Rudey

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by Rudey
Uhm the country is heading towards extremism and the leaders are far from accepting and I thought the demographics were different but I'll look later.

-Rudey

You're right about the demographics -- I looked up one source and posted that but then realized that the statistics given sounded pretty farfetched so I went and rechecked them with some other sites and deleted what I wrote because none of the sites could agree on their numbers.

The most popular percentages quoted, though, seemed to be about 50 percent Muslim, 20 percent Buddhist, and the rest divided among Taoist, Confuscian, Christian, and a few more that I can't remember. So I have no idea where that one website got 97 percent Buddhist.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
You're right about the demographics -- I looked up one source and posted that but then realized that the statistics given sounded pretty farfetched so I went and rechecked them with some other sites and deleted what I wrote because none of the sites could agree on their numbers.

The most popular percentages quoted, though, seemed to be about 50 percent Muslim, 20 percent Buddhist, and the rest divided among Taoist, Confuscian, Christian, and a few more that I can't remember. So I have no idea where that one website got 97 percent Buddhist.

And what is the fertility/reproduction rates?

-Rudey
--The really remind me of Lebanon.