JAWI gives girls in K-Pop ‘molest’ one week deadline

An arrest warrant will be issued if the girls refuse to cooperate with the religious authority.

PETALING JAYA: The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) plans to go after several tudung-clad Malay girls for their “indecent” behaviour during a K-Pop concert held at KL Life Center, last Saturday.

Jawi’s director, Paimuzi Yahya said the girls would be given one week from today to come to the office to explain themselves, reported Utusan Malaysia.

He added that if the girls refused to cooperate, an arrest warrant would be issued.

Paimuzi admitted they did not know the identity of the girls as the case was still under investigation.

He hoped that after the girls had given their statements, the controversy could be sorted out as soon as possible.

Jawi would not make any decision or mete out any punishments until the case had been decided by the court, explained Palmuzi.

According to him, in previous cases, the court would usually send the guilty parties to Jawi for counselling sessions.

Jawi had earlier taken offense after clips of the mini K-Pop concert by Korean band, B1A4, had been circulated via the Internet.

The video showed three young Malay girls allowing themselves to be touched, hugged, and kissed by the band members, and even returned their affection with hugs.

NGO, Sisters in Islam (SIS) in a statement made yesterday, cautioned Jawi about investigating the girls.

Suri Kempe, SIS’ programme director said that while Section 29 of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act made it legal for Jawi to investigate the women, the provision was “unduly broad”.

She added that the law could open itself up to abuse as it could be widely interpreted to apply to “any behaviour that the religious authorities deem indecent, apparently even retrospectively”.

She asked, ”If Jawi holds that re-enacting a scene from a Korean drama with a band member as indecent, what about actors who play roles that require physical contact, or Muslim couples who hold hands in public, or those riding motorcycles?”