MALAYSIA Terengganu resort fined for ‘non-Muslim’ Hawaiian party

The Summer Bay Resort was sanctioned by Islamic authorities for a party it hosted on May 20 to mark Chinese Valentine’s Day. According to the accusation, he has violated a 2002 law. In the state ruled by Islamists, accusations of this type are not new. The amendments approved in December last year sparked protests by human rights activists.

Kuala Lumpur () – The Summer Bay Resort in Terengganu received a fine of 25,000 ringgit (about 4,900 euros) from the State authorities for having organized a Hawaiian-themed event called “Aloha Party” on May 20. One of the accusations is the “non-Muslim” nature of the party, which included DJs and dancers and men dancing on stage with women in bikinis. The government of the sultanate, whose capital is Kuala Terengganu, is in the hands of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and has not tolerated what happened. The party would have violated point 6 (1) of the Terengganu Entertainment and Places of Entertainment Enactment 2002, which establishes a license to present programs of this type.

This was made known by Razali Idris, president of the State Committee for Tourism, Culture, Environment and Climate Change, in a statement reported by TRDI News. He also claims that authorities will continue to investigate further, even though the resort has permits to operate. “We also want to check if the resort has committed other crimes on the island. The Summer Bay Resort has organized this type of show every year for 10 years, without the knowledge of the authorities,” said Razali Idris. The fine will be followed by a meeting between the owner of the complex, the Terengganu religious department and the mayor of Kuala Terengganu. The first will have to give explanations about the “Aloha Party”, organized on the occasion of the “520” festival, the Chinese Valentine’s Day, which was celebrated precisely last Monday.

The Malaysian state of Terengganu is no stranger to accusations of this type. Last month, a single mother was found guilty of having committed the sin of “khalwat” (closeness) and sentenced to six strokes of the rotan. It is not known whether the authorities carried out the flogging sentence set for May 6. The woman is called Nurfifi Amira Nawi, 37 years old, mother of one son and was charged under Article 31 (b) of the Syariah Criminal Offenses Enactment 2022, for having been alone with a 40-year-old man who was not her husband. .

On December 1, the state Assembly approved several amendments to the document issued in 2022. The changes include new repressive measures against women, including a fine of up to 5,000 ringgit (980 euros), imprisonment for a maximum of three years, flogging up to six times, or any combination of the three, for any woman who becomes pregnant out of wedlock. Fines of up to 2,000 ringgit (390 euros), or up to one year in prison, or both, for women who wear men’s clothing and behave like men. For subsequent offences, they can be flogged up to six times or imprisoned for up to three years, or both, and fined up to 5,000 ringgit (980 euros).

In an immediate reaction after the amendments were passed, ten human rights groups, including Sisters In Islam and the Center for Independent Journalism, asked the Malaysian Human Rights Commission to conduct a review of the latest version of the Law. The group highlighted that the amendments to the law further exacerbate the already existing harmful impact on women, youth and LGBTQ+ people. In this context, the amendment criminalizing extramarital pregnancies has been the subject of extensive debate, with mixed opinions among Muslim doctors. However, the chairman of the state Commission for Implementation of Sharia, Education and Higher Education, Satiful Bahari Mamat, said that “the well-being of Muslims, especially in Terengganu, will be better protected” thanks to these measures. He also stated that the section on women behaving like men was necessary as existing legal provisions only applied to men behaving like women.