Thursday July 12, 2012

Cineplex notices are just a reminder, says Dr Rani

By TEH ENG HOCK and CHRISTINA LOW
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

SHAH ALAM: The notices put up at a Kuala Selangor cineplex stating that unmarried Muslim couples should not sit together are merely reminders, said Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Rani Osman.

He said the decision to compel the cineplex operator to put up the reminders was made by the licensing department of the Kuala Selangor District Council (MDKS).

“However, the matter has not been brought to the full board meeting yet,” he said at the lobby of the state assembly yesterday.

It was reported that Lotus Five Star, the only cineplex in Kuala Selangor, had put up notices informing unmarried Muslim couples that they would not be allowed to sit next to each other.

State executive councillor Ronnie Liu had immediately asked for the ruling to be deferred and discussed further at MDKS' full board meeting.

Selangor PAS deputy commissioner Khalid Samad admitted that PAS' MDKS councillors had made the proposal but insisted that it would not apply to non-Muslims.

“The cinema is a public space for family entertainment. Families go to the cinema and they complain of seeing couples behaving indecently.

“So we want to remind the public to behave. We do not want to make the cinema a poor man's nightclub,” said Khalid.

Selangor MCA Youth chief Dr Kow Cheong Wei said the ruling should be rescinded and not merely put on hold.

“A temporary freeze still leaves the possibility of the gender segregation policy to be enforced in the future,” he said, urging the state government to issue a public declaration that no gender segregation ruling would be implemented.

MCA's Sungai Pelek assemblyman Yap Ee Wah said it would be difficult for Pakatan Rakyat to earn the trust of the people if it kept flip-flopping on its policies.

“While MDKS has withdrawn the directive in the wake of public criticism, the issue serves as an example of how PAS can create and enforce rulings at will while DAP and PKR sit idly by,” he said in a statement.

Klang MCA chairman Datuk Teh Kim Poo questioned why the state did not overrule the MDKS decision.

“This is a clear indication of the Pakatan government moving towards an Islamic state or adopting Islamic values if it retains power in the next general election,” said Teh.

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Thursday July 12, 2012

Cineplex notices are just a reminder, says Dr Rani

By TEH ENG HOCK and CHRISTINA LOW newsdesk@thestar.com.my

By TEH ENG HOCK and CHRISTINA LOW
newsdesk@thestar.com.my