I would like to represent Malaysian Youth Rights Movement (Youth NGO) to condemn against PAS Youth Nik Abduh Nik Aziz ( PAS Malaysia Deputy Youth Chief ) for claiming that women that wear swimsuits and bikini are “animals”, in reference to a recent pool party that was organized recently. The full quote (translated) from the statement of the DPPM of PAS was “Humans can now be considered animals that hang around wherever they want doing whatever they want”. The statement from Nik Abduh Nik Aziz also mentioned that the pool party “insulted Islam, and and tears apart the dignity and norms of humanity”. It then went on to say that “Nothing can be expected from society other than unrestrained sex, sex outside of marriage, prostitution which leads to children born out of wedlock, abortion, baby dumping and the like”.
The pool party had a dress code of “stylish, sexy, trendy & tasteful, swim wear allowed”, thus swim wear was not a requirement – participants could choose what to wear and whether to enter the pool or not.The Pool KL has responded to this issue with a statement on their Facebook page (http://fb.com/thepoolkl), saying that the event was organized by a third party event organizer, and that they believe in a free and democratic Malaysia with freedom of religious choice. They apologized if they have offended any party that found it offensive, and in addition the event emcee made announcements that Muslim women should refrain from wearing outfits deemed inappropriate to the Muslim faith.
It is an insult to all the young men & women of Malaysia to equate them to animals. At the same time , PAS should also apologize for accusing the party venue (The Pool KL, Jalan Ampang) for claiming that they are organizing a “sex party”. The Pool’s main draw is a swimming pool in the middle of the club, hence the name. The event is basically just a pool party – it is out of line for PAS to even bring up things like prostitution, abortion, abandoning babies in the same speech condemning the event, all because of what is essentially just an event at a licensed entertainment outlet that caters to people of legal age.
Malaysia has long enjoyed freedom – be it dress code & fashion, or even choices of lifestyle and entertainment. However in the states that PAS has held power for a long time, the freedom to dress and even mingle with others is severely restricted.
PKR claims that hudud law will not happen in Malaysia because they need a 2/3 majority in order to implement hudud in the country, however before they are even are in federal power, they have tried to ban Valentine’s day celebrations in Malaysia, and in Kelantan they have instituted seperate supermarket checkout lanes for men and women, seperate park benches for men and women, and even requiring unmarried men and women to sit seperately when watching movies. There is also a ban on bikinis in Terengganu and Kelantan, and in addition, the Kota Bahru council has forbidden their employees to wear lipstick and certain types of high-heeled shoes to work.
This is an issue for every Malaysian to take note of, even in Selangor where PAS is the least dominant political party under the Pakatan Rakyat administration, Lotus Five Star, the only cinema in Kuala Selangor, has put up notices saying that unmarried Muslim couples are banned from sitting side my side. The controversial ruling was issued by the Kuala Selangor District Council, and was believed to have been advocated by the local authority’s PAS councillors, who have already implemented regulations like that in Kelantan.
We are not alone in questioning these restrictions. A recent survey among 20-year old youths in the New Straits Times regarding the proposed gender segregation in cinemas quoted a law chambering student, Oazair Tyeb, as saying “the idea would also be questioned and opposed not just by Muslim youth but also those from other races”. Another, Kishore Ramdas said that imposing such a controversial ruling on Malaysians would set the country back another 50 years and “I think Malaysians are mature enough not be told how to behave, where to sit and stand or even what to wear”. Programme officer Mohani Niza, 25, is of the view that Islam should not be “hijacked” to control moments in people’s daily lives. Though the rule is not enforced, we might be on a slippery slope towards a more intolerant society.”
An article posted just yesterday in Sin Chew Daily has PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu saying that if the Pakatan Rakyat were to win the next general election, PAS would seek to get the Parliament to amend the Constitution to implement the hudud law. Pakatan Rakyat continue to manipulate the public that hudud law is only for Muslim and non-Muslims will not be affected but they have shown their intent by speaking out against a simple pool party like this. It is already a law in Malaysia that every entertainment outlets in Malaysia is for non-Muslims only. In this case PAS already show their desire to impose their values even in non-Muslim’s lives where even non-Muslims are not allowed to wear bikinis or swimsuits.
We would also like to call out DAP & PKR being silent on this issue and fail to stand up for the rights of the youth, women and & non-Muslim community in Malaysia. We sincerely urge all the Malaysian youth , women and non-Muslim community to Vote Against Pakatan Rakyat for the upcoming General Election unless they clarify their stand.. Unfortunately, a vote for DAP & PKR is also vote for PAS, and PAS has a disturbing track record on imposing upon Malaysians’s personal liberties.
We will be launching a campaign and movement to enlighten all Malaysian Youth regarding the danger to their personal liberties if they were to vote Pakatan Rakyat into power.
Shen Yee Aun
President, Malaysian Youth Rights Movement
- 1sya.com
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