DAP is offering free legal representation to the non-Muslim shop owner in Kota Bharu, Kelantan who was fined for wearing shorts.
Party chairperson Lim Guan Eng said that his deputy Gobind Singh Deo and Jelutong MP RSN Rayer can be the woman's lawyers if she chooses to challenge the matter in court.
“I've communicated with our senior lawyers, Gobind and Rayer, and they're willing to take up this case on behalf of the woman so that we can stand up and protect our rights from being eroded and deprived… of course, without any charges.
“If we do not stand up and fight together, they (Perikatan Nasional) will continue with their extreme acts that would jeopardise peace and harmony of the country,” he said during a press conference in Penang today.
Lim said the fine issued by the Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB) was an instance of PN’s “extremism and racism”.
He claimed that MPKB’s action went against the Federal Constitution, stating it showcased that the PN government would go to extreme lengths to “discriminate and intrude on the lives of non-Muslims”.
“There is no law (under the Federal Constitution) that penalises you for so-called indecent dressing in your own premises.
“Why are you imposing these rules on non-Muslims? You are harassing non-Muslims, especially women with your perverted values.
“The Federal Constitution does not give you the right to be a moral police,” he argued.
The 35-year-old woman was issued a compound on June 25. She took to social media to complain about the incident.
It sparked outrage, prompting netizens to condemn the authorities for imposing religious laws on non-Muslims.
MPKB mayor Rosnazli Amin defended the decision to fine her, claiming that the woman photographed with the compound ticket was not wearing the same clothes as when visited by enforcement personnel.
Rosnazli then shared a photograph of the enforcement personnel visiting the woman's clothing boutique, where the woman was clad in an oversized pink t-shirt that covered her shorts.
According to the notice received by the woman, the authorities invoked 34(2)(b) Business and Industrial Trade By-Laws 2019 - which states that business licence owners must ensure those working in their premises must wear "decent" clothes or, if they are Muslim, cover their aurat.
Lim said that non-Muslims should stand up against direct attacks on their personal lives and encouraged them to protect their fundamental rights against extreme ideologies.
He warned that if people remained silent over discrimination, PN will continue with their “extreme acts” - which would jeopardise national unity.
‘Not the first time’
Meanwhile, the former finance minister also highlighted that this was not the first instance where PN had faced criticism for imposing their views on women's attire.
Lim was referring to Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor’s remark on June 15, where the latter had said that nurses’ uniforms were “too tight and not Syariah compliant”.
“When you go to a hospital, you don't look at the nurses' uniforms.
“They're all dressed decently but yet they (PN) say it's indecent… It's too much,” Lim said. - Mkini
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