Articles on Moral Policing

Rights groups slam Malaysia's morality Tuesday 22 March 2005, 16:32 Makka Time, 13:32 GMT A group of Malaysian civic organisations have launched a campaign against what it called the state's increasing role in moral policing and snooping into private lives. "We question the state's role in defining and controlling the morality of its citizens and its use of punitive religious and municipal laws," said a statement by 50 rights and women's groups. "Forced and fearful compliance with such laws results not in a more moral society but a mass of terrified, submissive and hypocritical subjects," said the statement, which also bears more than 200 names of individuals, including journalists and members of parliament. The statement highlighted incidents such as a recent raid on a nightclub in the capital, the detention of about 100 Muslim patrons by religious officials, and the arrest of a non-Muslim couple for holding hands in a public park two years ago. The incidents created an outcry in Malaysia where 60% of the population of 25 million are Muslims, and there are large non-Muslim minorities. Action needed Arutchelvan Subramaniam, spokesperson for Suaram, an independent Malaysian human rights group and one of the main groups behind the statement, told Aljazeera.net: "When the state uses moral issues to violate the human rights of individuals that is when action needs to be taken."These violations have been going on for a number of years, but lately a lot of religious officers have been more outrageous in carrying out their duties. For example arresting people holding hands in the streets, or people - mainly Muslims - found in a pub, even though they may not have been drinking alcohol. "Subramaniam said he thought Malaysia needed to adhere to the United Nations Human Rights Declaration rather than the moral police taking a "very narrow interpretation of Sharia Law." Unreported "In the past, many similar incidents went unreported because those who were charged pleaded guilty without legal representation for fear of the shame and discrimination of a prolonged public trial," said the statement, which was signed by both Muslims and non-Muslims. "It is clear that public opinion has changed, and that laws must be changed to reflect our increasingly open and progressive society." Given the multi-religious and multi-ethnic composition of our society, any attempt to regulate a person's conscience, faith or private life has grave implications for all citizens and communities," it said. Violations The use of Muslim youths to spy on other Muslims as proposed and implemented in southern Malacca state "violates not only Quranic injunctions but also common standards of community trust," it said. "We are against the use of these state instruments, and the individuals and groups enlisted as their surrogates, to regulate morality. How people dress and where, how and with whom they socialise are personal choices. "The groups called on the government to repeal "provisions in religious and municipal laws that deny citizens their fundamental right to privacy, freedom of speech and expression" and those that overlap with the federal penal code. (Aljazeera + Agencies) --------------------------------------------------- Stop the policing of morality, say NGOs The Star Online > News Wednesday March 23, 2005 KUALA LUMPUR: The state has no role in policing morality, declared a group comprising 50 non-governmental organisations and trade unions. In a joint statement yesterday, the group and more than 200 individuals urged for the repeal of religious and municipal law provisions that denied citizens their right to privacy, and freedom of speech and expression. They also called for the setting up of a committee, which should include women's groups, human rights groups, progressive religious scholars and constitutional experts, to monitor the process of repealing these laws. The statement follows the recent cases, including the alleged misconduct of Jawi officers during a raid here in January and the arrest of a transgender person by religious authorities in Taiping in March. Among those in the group were the Malaysian Trades Union Congress(MTUC), All Women's Action Society (Awam), National Human Rights Society(Hakam), Sisters in Islam (SIS), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Women'sDevelopment Collective (WDC), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), International Movement for A Just World (JUST) and the Malaysian AidsCouncil. Suaram executive director Zaitun Kasim said the increase in monitoring only "adds to the mentality that Malaysians cannot be trusted". "Otherwise, why do we have to be monitored all the time?" she asked. Various individuals and Members of Parliament also endorsed the memorandum, including Kota Baru MP Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok. Puteri Umno representative Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid said while the movement agreed to most parts of the joint statement, it did not agree with the proposal to repeal the laws. ----------------------------------------- Call to act against policing of morality Adrian David, The Star KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 22 More than 40 non-governmental organisations and about 190 individuals today endorsed a move against the policing of morality. They called for a repeal of provisions in laws that deny citizens their fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of speech and expression, and which overlap the Federal Penal Code. Speaking on their behalf, lawyer and National Human Rights Society representative Raja Aziz Addruse said they also wanted a committee to be appointed to monitor the process of repealing such laws, with representation from women's groups, human rights groups, civil society organisations, progressive religious scholars and constitutional experts. He also called for the strengthening of pluralism through community dialogue, rather than the divisiveness bred by the "sub-contracting of moral policing" and neighbours spying on each other." This is in line with the spirit of our democratic and pluralistic society." It is the responsibility of the Government to uphold and protect the rights of its citizens to justice, equality, freedom and dignity at all times," Raja Aziz told reporters. He was speaking at a Press conference at a hotel in Jalan Klang Lama here after the discussions themed "The state has no role in policing morality". Present were Malaysian AIDS Council president Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok. The conference was held following a number of incidents which demonstrated how moral policing violated the personal dignity of humans and their rights as citizens. Among them: The arrest of a trans-sexual in the garden of a friend's house by religious authorities in Taiping earlier this month; the Malacca 4B Youth campaign last month to spy on young people on the pretext of controlling morality; the Federal Territory Religious Department's raid on a city nightclub with the detention of 100 young Muslims in January; and the case of the couple booked by City Hall enforcement officers for holding hands at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre park in August 2003. Raja Aziz said that given the multi-religious and multi-ethnic composition of Malaysian society, any attempt to regulate a person's conscience, faith or private life had grave implications for all citizens and communities, as well as the relationships between communities. -------------------------------------- Malaysians condemn 'state spying' By Jonathan Kent BBC News, Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, 22 March, 2005, 05:17 GMT Campaigning groups in Malaysia are asking their government to put a stop to what they are calling "state snooping" into people's private lives. A statement by some 50 human rights, labour and women's groups calls for private lives to be just that. The move follows attempts by a leading government politician to encourage young people to spy on Muslim couples. Dozens of people have been arrested recently for visiting night clubs or even holding hands. The protesters say the issue has been brought to a head by recent events. In one incident in January, dozens of young Muslim women were allegedly sexually harassed by Islamic Department officers after being detained during a raid on a fashionable nightclub. The chief minister of Malacca, who is the vice-president in the prime minister's party, has angered liberals by encouraging members of a local youth movement to spy. The protesters also want laws abolished that infringe citizens' rights to privacy, freedom of speech and expression. Moral conservatism However, there are plenty of groups here who will oppose any attempt to limit the state's power to regulate the private lives of citizens. Many Malaysian Muslims believe that all followers of Islam should be strictly subject to religious law. They are backed by the conservative Islamic opposition party (PAS), and by sections of the government. However, the issue is further complicated by fears that Malaysia's growing moral conservatism may be imposed on non-Muslims. That could threaten the delicate balance between the country's races and religious groups that has kept the peace here for more than 30 years. ------------------------------------ Back to Press Statement Back to Home