Morality Report

"pak toh pun sekarang tak bolehkah?"

(Translation:Are couples not even allowed to court nowadays? Note: pak toh is Cantonese for courting or dating)

That was the question posed to Perak Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali after an outcry broke out over the issue of a Chinese couple who was issued a fine for "indecent behaviour" at the Ipoh Padang. Apparent since the new mayor of Ipoh, Sirajuddin Salleh came on board, the Ipoh City Council has been asked to enforce these "indecent behaviour" by-laws strictly. What did this young couple do to warrant their act indecent in the eyes of the law? Well, they were just doing what all other young courting couples do in parks - hugging and kissing.

Facing criticism from both the press and the public, Datuk Tajol Rosli has asked the City Council to suspend enforcement until views of all concerned parties have been sought. Critics say that it is not the job of the City Council to be the moral guardians of the people.

In Malaysia, it is common for unmarried Muslim couples to run the risk of being caught for khalwat (close proximity) or even zina (adultery) by the religious authorities. One reason why there was such an outcry over the Ipoh incident was that non-Muslims fear that Islamic laws are slowly being enforced on the general population, though in this case, the government insists that the couple was fined based on the City Council's park by-laws which have been around since 1985.

This slow creeping-in of religious intolerance is a concern for many in Malaysia. Perhaps Malaysia should take a cue from Indonesia on such matters. Even though religious extremism does rear its ugly head here every now and then, the general population is far more open and tolerant over such things. One can find non-halal food like sate babi (pork satay) being advertised and sold everywhere; screen kisses among local artistes are also common and Indonesian singers dress far sexier than their Malaysian counterparts. No one makes a big fuss over such things. Yes there was an outroar over the sexy hip gyrations of dangdut singer Inul Daratista recently but the massive public support that rallied behind her only proved that moderation still has the upperhand.

And there are certainly no religious policemen who go around snooping on pak toh couples in Jakarta parks.