Malaysian town to enforce ban on 'sexy' dress

MALAYSIA: A town in Muslim-majority Malaysia has threatened to fine non-Muslim women for wearing "sexy" clothes, infuriating some women's organisations.

Authorities in northeast Kota Baru, which calls itself an Islamic city, will slap fines of up to 500 ringgit ($140) on women who expose navels, wear body-hugging outfits, mini-skirts or see-through blouses, the Star newspaper said on Tuesday.

"Such outfits are prohibited here as it smears the reputation of Kota Baru and affects its status as an Islamic city," the Star quoted municipal council spokesman Azman Daham as saying.

Some women's groups have voiced anger over the council's decision to use an existing by-law against indecent dress to curb non-Muslim fashions. In Malaysia, almost half the population is non-Muslim and national government is secular.

"It is not the job of the council to become the 'moral police'," Honey Tan, head of the All-Women's Action Society, told the Star.

Kota Baru is capital of Kelantan state, which is run by opposition Parti Islam se Malaysia, whose official platform is to turn the country into an Islamic state.

Meanwhile Malaysian lawmakers have called for foreign prostitutes to be whipped as a deterrent to others considering coming here to work in the sex industry, a report said.

Mohamed Aziz, from the ruling National Front coalition, told parliament that he had met a transvestite from Brunei who said he moved to Malaysia because the rules here were more lenient.

"He told me that in Brunei, prostitutes would be whipped," he said, according to the Star daily.

"If we can impose whipping for drug addicts, why can't we do the same for prostitutes," he said in a proposal that was supported by at least one other lawmaker.

Malaysia's government is considering introducing tougher laws against prostitution amid concerns over an influx of foreign sex workers who are using tourist visas to enter the country.

KUALA LUMPUR, Tuesday, Reuters, AFP