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Terengganu chief minister denies issuing controversial Islamic dress code to tourists

KUALA LUMPUR — Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman denied that the state issued an Islamic dress code barring tourists from wearing revealing attire, claiming today (March 2) he was surprised to hear that the story went viral.

Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman shown here in his Facebook profile picture. Photo: Facebook

Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman shown here in his Facebook profile picture. Photo: Facebook

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KUALA LUMPUR — Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman denied that the state issued an Islamic dress code barring tourists from wearing revealing attire, claiming today (March 2) he was surprised to hear that the story went viral.

He added that such rules to police tourists’ attire were unnecessary as there were already sufficient laws to ensure public modesty.

“I’ve already asked the exco chairman to explain the statement...The state government has never planned to issue dressing guidelines for tourists,” Mr Ahmad Razif said as quoted by news portal Sin Chew Daily, referring to State Tourism and Cultural Affairs executive committee (exco) chairman Mohd Jidin Shafee.

“If someone dresses indecently, there are existing laws to deal with it, and the government does not intend to introduce new rules,” he added in a separate story that was published by English portal The Star Online.

The guideline that was specifically addressed to tourists was initially publicised in an article on the state government’s website, Teganukita. It has since been removed.

In a report earlier today, The Star quoted a source telling the newspaper that both men and women need not dress entirely according to Islamic requirements, but their attire must be “decent”. Failure to comply will result in offenders being sent to “counselling”.

The east coast state of Terengganu is almost entirely Malay-Muslim, with only a handful of other ethnic minorities residing there. It is popular with tourists for the marine turtles that visit the state to nest, and for its beautiful beaches and islands such as Redang and Perhentian.

Terengganu recently made headlines, also for its enforcement of Islamic rules, when it announced that it will punish Friday prayer truancy by parading absentees in hearses to shame them.

Separately, Johor’s Islamic authorities have responded to rumours online that the Johor Islamic Religious Council was planning to impose new rules on Muslims’ attire. Chairman Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim said the allegation was false and malicious.

“The posting, which has been circulating online for the past few days, is completely untrue,” he was quoted as saying by The Star on its website today. “I would like to reiterate that this is not true as we have other pressing issues concerning Muslims in the state,” he said further in the report.

According to the rumour, Johor Islamic religious authorities would implement a dress code that requires Muslim women to don head scarves under threat of fines. It also added that unmarried Muslim men and women riding together on motorcycles would also be penalised. MALAY MAIL ONLINE

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