The east coast state of Terengganu, known for its pristine beach and idyllic islands is not only a favourite destination for sea-loving Malaysians but also foreign tourists; the mere mention of Pulau Redang is enough to cause their eyes to light up!
Incidentally, it also happens to be the only state in the country not to have any elected opposition member in its state assembly; it is currently ruled by the conservative Malay-Muslim-based Perikatan Nasional coalition - dominated by the Islamist party PAS.
In fact its Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar is also from PAS. An aerospace engineer by profession, he is quite a popular figure in the state and is known to be a pragmatic and progressive leader.
However, being a PAS-controlled state it's not uncommon to see religion having an influence in practically every aspect of life there - including the revenue-generating tourism industry!
According to a recent news report one of its elected state assembly persons from the dominant PAS party has called on the state government to clamp down on Muslim tourists visiting the state who are not appropriately dressed.
She added that action has to be taken for any violation of dress code guidelines in the state which had been specifically drawn up for Muslim tourists there.
She also called for stricter monitoring by all state agencies on dress codes to ensure syariah-compliance, particularly in hotels, resorts, beaches, entertainment centres, cinemas and other locations.
Apparently, there are still Muslim tourists patronising its beach resorts and islands who openly contravene the state's stringent dress guidelines.
In fact, she confirmed having witnessed firsthand Muslim tourists in the state not only without tudung (scarf worn around the head) but also going about in short pants, singlets and other indecent attire, especially at tourist sites.
Furthermore, she attributed the reason for the blatant violation of dress codes in the state to lax enforcement by the relevant agencies and called for monitoring to be ramped up soon.
But wouldn't the enforcement authorities find it challenging and impolite to approach "tourists" randomly and ask them whether they are Muslims or not?
Meanwhile, another news website had reported that Terengganu will not be sending a women's gymnast team for next year's SUKMA games in Sarawak; the reason for that apparently being that gymnasts' attire is non-Syariah-compliant.
Quoting Harakah Daily, the justification given by the Terengganu Youth, Sports and NGO chairman Hishamuddin Abdul Karim is that the sport requires the gymnasts to be dressed in tight, body-hugging outfits. He added that the state will not compromise on the matter and their stance should be respected.
Meanwhile, the same news report stated that in March 2020 the Terengganu state government had launched Entertainment, Cultural Performances, Tourism and Sports guidelines which stipulated that Muslim athletes should wear Syariah-compliant attires - while non-Muslim athletes were recommended to wear outfits that are not too tight, short or skimpy.
With women's gymnastics virtually outlawed in the state, the report went on to ask if very soon swimming, diving and other pool-related sports will also be banned as most sportswear may be non-Syariah-compliant?
Furthermore, does it also mean that in the future SUKMA or other sports tournaments held in Terengganu and other PAS-ruled states may not feature certain sports due to the same reason?
That being the case, what will happen to the Muslims and non-Muslims in those states who may be talented in those sports? Do they have to move to other states to pursue their sporting dreams?
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