Unless JAIP officers have the ability to see through walls, I'd really like to know how they even knew what the singer was wearing, much less what her breath smells like, before they even went inside. Was this done on spec? Did someone complain? Or did they send in someone to recce first, presumably undercover since nothing would stick out more than a JAIP officer in a nightclub, who then ran out to get reinforcements, having determined that what she was wearing was indeed too revealing. I suppose every time she turned her back, he got a bit of a jolt and by that scientific measure, decided she was being immoral.
The Star had this additional bit:
Siti Noor Idayu said an officer even told her that the money she earned working in the outlet was duit haram (illicit money) and that her parents, children and future generations would all be tainted for using such money. (My, my, sounds like this officer's got some issues...)
“They finally wrote me a notice accusing me of dressing sexily and encouraging immorality just because I sang there,” she said.
The notice ordered her to appear before the Syariah Court here on Aug 6.
When contacted, JAIP director Datuk Jamry Sury said he was confident that his officers had not acted outside of their jurisdiction in issuing the notice.
“According to Islamic laws, a Muslim woman is not allowed to serve or entertain a man who is not her husband in a place where immoral activities usually take place,” he said.
I'd like to know which Islamic laws he's referring to. If this is correct, then perhaps they should now arrest Siti Norhaliza who, until she married Dato K last year, entertained lots of men (and women) with her singing talent for many many years.What's the difference between the two Sitis then?
And if a Muslim woman is not allowed to serve a man who is not her husband in a place "where immoral activities usually take place", whatever that means, do we now demand that all Muslim women working as waitresses, salesgirls, flight attendants, etc etc stop working?
Let us now wait for the silence from all politicians. Is there some deal going where religious department officers and their bosses are allowed to go around acting like thugs supposedly in the name of religion, as long as they don't touch their political masters? It is ironic that this should happen on the same day that the Raja Muda of Perak makes a speech telling ulamak they should stay neutral and be above politics if they wanted people to continue to respect them. Which seems to suggest that he thinks they have been dabbling in politics.
2007/07/06
Is this too revealing?
By : Shahrul Hafeez
Singer Siti Noor Idayu Abd Moin was told she has to answer to charges of ‘revealing her body’ for wearing this top when singing.
IPOH: How should a Muslim singer dress if she’s singing with a band in clubs?
Singer Siti Noor Idayu Abd Moin, 24, posed this question after she was apparently detained by the Perak Religious Department officers at the Rum Jungle Club in Sunway City, near here, last Tuesday.
Sporting the same top she wore during the raid, Noor Idayu asked if it was too sexy as alleged by the officers. The sleeveless top has a triangular pattern which showed a part of her back.
"I was surprised when the officers told me that this top was too revealing. Sometimes I wear something similar when I go out in the day. This is sexy? I do not think so," she said yesterday.
Noor Idayu claimed that during the raid, the male officers had taken a lot of pictures of her from almost every angle.
"When I was taken to the department’s headquarters in Ipoh, my pictures were taken again. When I asked why they needed so many shots, they said, ‘It’s procedure’.
"Really? It did seem like I was being singled out," she said.
Noor Idayu was released on Wednesday morning on a RM1,000 bond in one surety. She was told to appear before the Ipoh Syariah Court on Aug 6 to face charges of "revealing her body" and "promoting vice" under the Perak Syariah Penal Code. The singer was picked up together with four of her band members.(and what happened to them?)
"I felt so insulted when one of the officers, who was holding our MyKad, put them together with some beer glasses and said ‘najis’ (filth). What gave him the right to demean us when it is not clear that we were guilty of anything?" she asked. (Well, yes. Very Islamic behaviour indeed!)
Noor Idayu, who has been singing in clubs for the last three years, said she did not take any alcoholic drinks and even her breathalyser test was negative.
"When I passed the test, the female officers seemed disappointed and asked me to do it again. I did so willingly as I knew that I did not drink. Not once in my three years of singing in clubs have I drunk liquor," she said.(Awww...spoilt their night, did it? Did their KPI depend on getting a positive result?)
There was a twist to the incident, though. Noor Idayu’s father, who contacted the department, was apparently told that the charges would be dropped.(Sounds like a case of "whoops, did we go too far?")
"However, I will still appear at the court on Aug 6. Whether the charges are dropped or otherwise, we shall see. I am prepared to fight my case," she said.(Good on you!)
Her manager, K. Selvaraj, said he was seeking legal advice to protect Noor Idayu’s career and the band’s reputation.
"Band members are not all bad. They are people earning a living for their families."
