Malaysian Opposition Party Urged To Retract Ad Boycott Call
KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The opposition alliance Alternative Front (AF) is set to be rocked by another crisis after the Democratic Action Party (DAP) urged the Pan Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) to retract its ad boycott call on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader of the PAS and chief minister of Kelantan, called on party members and Muslims in general to boycott consumer goods whose advertisements depict women in un-Islamic dress.
The DAP is linked with the PAS in an opposition alliance but said the call would fuel fears that Islam is an intolerant religion in Malaysia.
The Malaysian government has stepped up criticism towards Nik Aziz, pointing out that he is prone to engage in controversies and continuously blames women as those responsible for all calamities.
Commenting on the ad boycott call, the government suggested that Nik Aziz was anti-female and called on him to retract the call.
Nik Aziz earlier urged members of the PAS and all Muslims to observe the boycott in order to press on these companies using anti-Islamic ads to respect Islam.
He added that these ads tend to promote free sex and adultery in an Islamic society like in Kelantan where he said the trend was for more women to wear headscarves.
"'The DAP is concerned that in the wake of the insensitive destruction of historic statues by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the call by Nik Aziz...will further lend credence to fears that Islam in this country is one of intolerance," said party secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock.
He also said there should be no compulsion in dress codes.
"These comments by Kerk Kim Hock show a direct interference in Islamic affairs by a non-Muslim. Kerk is the like of Minister Lim Liong Sik who is called the National Front (NF) expert on Islam," A PAS supporter said.
Female Muslims working in public places in the state must cover their bodies except for their hands and faces and wear headscarves. Last year, local authorities in Kelantan fined 23 Muslim women for breaching the rules.
PAS, the largest national opposition party, controls the state governments in Kelantan and neighboring Terengganu.
Nik Aziz had also said his boycott call was to teach companies that flouted state government regulations banning such advertisements that Islam does not allow women to expose their bodies.
