PAS Youth has slammed MCA for “discriminating against women” for supporting a recent belly dancing show in a mall in Segamat, which allows women to be “ogled by men”.

“Belly dancing at a supermarket is clearly discriminatory against women. These women were dressed in sexy clothes, half-nude, and danced by moving their captivating bodies to the rhythm.

“Women should be venerated ( dimuliakan ). This is not a woman's place. They have a higher place (in life) as leaders, managers and respectable people.

NONE “Putting them there to be oggled by men is an insult towards women,” its secretary Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil ( left ) said in a statement.

Supporting Segamat PAS who first slammed the belly dancing show, he also censured MCA's Segamat chairperson Dr Lee Hong Tee who said that belly dancing is a healthy and artistic activity.

“If so, is pole dancing in night clubs, which also feature half-naked women, also a healthy and artistic activity?” Khairul Faizi asked.

He said that PAS is only “protecting” society from vice as studies have shown that among factors of sexual crimes are women's revealing clothing and “bedroom antics which stimulate desire”.

PAS is also supported by Persatuan Belia Islam Malaysia (Pembina) which said that MCA's statement is insensitive and extreme.

“I see this as an attempt by an extremists to label Islamic teachings as negative. It is out of line,” its president Azril Hanafi said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in a statement today, Lee challenged PAS' fellow Pakatan ally, DAP, to speak up on the matter.

"DAP’s strange silence against Segamat PAS disparaging the organisers and audience of the belly dance at a mall in Segamat as having sinned, indicates that the Rocket is avoiding the issue altogether," wrote Lee.

Belly dancing is purely a cultural performance common in Islamic countries like Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, argued Lee, accusing PAS of "imposing its hardline values" on others as an indication of the Islamic party's "ultra-conservative stance, authoritarian leanings and regressive approach".

"I urge DAP to provide the public with an explanation - what is your stand on this issue? Do you agree with PAS’ views," asked Lee.