KUALA LUMPUR – The Kelantan government has clarified that the seven men wearing shorts in public were given a warning, not a compound.
Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said the warning was more of an advice so the offenders would dress more decently when they are in public.
“It was just a warning to advise them to dress more reasonably. In the Shafie sect, knees are part of a man’s aurat,” he told Utusan Malaysia.
“So, a Muslim man should not wear clothes that expose his knees. It is okay to wear shorts but let it cover the knees,” he said yesterday in Kota Baru, Kelantan.
Amar said the action taken by the Kelantan Islamic Religious Affairs Department was in accordance with Section 23 of the Shariah Criminal Code Enactment (1) 2019 and in line with the Shafie school of thought practised in Malaysia.
He added that this is not new but it depends on the states to enforce it.
“The enforcement is also more to provide advice to the public. So far, we have no intention of issuing compounds or anything like that.”
Previously, it was reported that the seven men, in their late teens and early 20s, were issued a fine for wearing shorts in a village in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. – The Vibes, March 25, 2023
