October 28, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 1, 1424

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27: A roadshow planned by a Malaysian state government to teach women to dress in “proper Muslim attire” has been criticized by a minister as “ridiculous and embarrassing”, newspapers said on Monday.

“I had to take a breather ... I found the idea by the Kelantan government simply ridiculous,” Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

Northern Kelantan state, ruled by the hardline opposition Islamic Party (PAS), is embarking on a 60,000 ringgit (15,789 dollar) roadshow next month to educate women on what it says is correct Muslim dress.

“The objective is to show Muslim women how they should be dressed,” said Kelantan Information, Women, Youth, Sports and Consumer Affairs Chairman Abdullah Ya’kub.

The state government had distributed about 1,000 posters depicting “the proper attire for Muslim women” to heads of government departments, he said.

Typical attire for many Muslim women in Malaysia consists of a headscarf and a traditional two-piece dress known as the ‘baju kurung’.—AFP