KUALA LUMPUR – Terengganu’s ban on female singers at a Chinese temple event is discriminatory against non-Muslims, besides being “ridiculous”, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng said.
Lim today slammed state executive councillor Datuk Wan Sukairi Wan Abdullah who recently defended the ban as being in line with Terengganu’s laws against performances by women before a public audience that includes males.
“Wan Sukairi claimed there was no discrimination against other religions because the non-Muslim female singers were performing… in an open space that could include male Muslim passers-by, who could watch the singers.
“Wan Sukairi’s justification is ridiculous because it is a temple event, involving only non-Muslims. No Muslims have ever been invited to attend (such an event) nor would they attend on their own accord in a PAS-controlled state.
“Further, this performance was conducted next to the temple that has organised such an event every year involving only non-Muslims without any unsavoury incident,” he said in a statement.
Lim, who is Bagan MP and former finance minister, said the ban infringed upon the constitutional rights of non-Muslims, adding that it was yet another example of PAS’ empty promises not to restrict non-Muslims from practising their religious activities or traditions.
The issue was first highlighted on August 3 by DAP vice-chairperson Teresa Kok who highlighted a news report in China Press on “new instructions” that the organising committee of the Guan Di Temple’s jubilee celebration had reportedly received from Kuala Terengganu City Council.
She added that while the PAS-led state government had previously introduced religion-based regulations, such as gender segregation in stadiums, such “Islamic-based rules” should not affect non-Muslim communities or their places of worship.
However, yesterday, Wan Sukairi clarified that the jubilee celebration in Kuala Terengganu was made to comply with the state law against women performers in public as the Guan Di Temple event was in an open space although within its compound, but could still be seen by Muslims who pass by. – August 6, 2024