PETALING JAYA: Local government development minister Nga Kor Ming has urged the Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB) to look into amending certain local council by-laws to prevent instances of non-Muslims running afoul of the by-laws.
Nga said he has asked the director-general of the local government department, Noor Ihsan, to hold discussions with Kota Bharu mayor Rosnazli Amin to see if it is possible to amend any of the council’s by-laws.
He said this was to prevent incidents such as the one involving a hair salon from recurring.
On July 9, the council fined a hair salon owner in Kota Bharu RM100 for allowing a female worker to cut the hair of a Muslim male customer.
Nga said Malaysia was a multiracial country and that mutual respect was important to preserve harmony.
“Local council by-laws which go against the spirit of the Federal Constitution should be avoided,” he told reporters after event.
“Last month, a shop owner was fined for wearing shorts in her own shop. It is a private premise and the shop sells shorts, yet she isn’t allowed to wear them.
“What is she supposed to do? How does she do business or earn a living? The PAS-led Kelantan government must be more understanding.”
He was referring to the case involving a 35-year-old non-Muslim who was fined by the council for wearing “indecent clothing”.
Then, Rosnazli said the woman committed an offence under Section 34(2)(b) of the Business and Industrial Trade By-Laws 2019, which states that non-Muslim business owners and their non-Muslim employees must wear “decent clothes”.
