KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — The PAS administration in Terengganu must clarify if women have been prohibited from performing in Chinese temples there, DAP vice chairman Teresa Kok said over a report alleging such a restriction today.
Citing a China Press article on the matter, Kok said it mentioned new regulations at the Kuala Terengganu Municipal Council (MPKT) prohibiting female singers from performing within its jurisdiction.
“I request that the state government say if this ban on female singers is a new policy and whether restrictions on entertainment programmes now encompass non-Muslims including their Taoist and Buddhist temples,” she said in a statement today.
Kok said that although the PAS government there has introduced more religious-based regulations such as gender segregation, these only applied to Muslims.
While PAS leaders previously insisted that their religious by-laws and policies would not affect Muslims, Kok said the alleged ban on women singers at the Guan Di Temple in the state showed that this may no longer be true.
Kok called such a prohibition unconstitutional and unlawful, before reminding the PAS government of its obligation to preserve multiracial unity and interreligious harmony in any policy introduced.
“I urge the PAS government in Terengganu to revoke these orders and policies and respect the culture and values of the non-Muslim community, fulfilling PAS's slogan ‘PAS For All’ in its administration.”
