The 'morality police' among religious authorities in Kuala Lumpur will need the real McCoy the next time they conduct a raid.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said OCPDs will be required to take responsibility for raids conducted by the Federal Territory Religious Department (Jawi) officers.

He said this means the raid teams would have to be accompanied by high-ranking police officers, and that a warrant would have to be obtained before the raid is conducted.

"We want the OCPD to be responsible if anything goes wrong," Nazri said, explaining there is a need to know who is accountable for untoward incidents.

Nazri, who also heads the parliamentary caucus on human rights, was speaking to reporters after accepting a memorandum from representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Parliament lobby today.

The document registered protest against recent actions to enforce morality among Muslims in particular, saying the state has no role in policing morality.

Nazri said caucus members would meet on Monday to discuss the recommendations in the memorandum.

Community dialogue

The document was endorsed by 53 NGOs, 42 individuals and interest groups including political parties DAP, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) and the pro-tem Parti Sosialis Malaysia.

Several members of Parliament from Gerakan and Umno added their signatures to the memorandum while the group was at Parliament House. Among them were Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim and Youth and Sports Minister Azalina Othman Said.

Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, also a member of human rights caucus, noted that "freedom includes our freedom for political choices as well".

She said there should be greater emphasis on education in relation to morality issues, rather than the use of methods that embarrass or humiliate individuals.

Sisters In Islam executive director Zainah Anwar said: "The strengthening of pluralism is through community dialogue around morals in our society, rather than the divisiveness bred by sub-contracting of moral policing and neighbours spying on neighbours."

The NGOs questioned the state's role in defining and controlling morality and the use of punitive religious and municipal laws. They expressed concern that the state would be more inclined to police private lives when religion is made part of the political arena.

Their memorandum protested the use of state instruments and emphasised that matters of dress and socialising are personal choices.

The NGOs called for repeal of provisions in religious and municipal laws that deny citizens their fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of speech and expression, and those that overlap the Penal Code.

In addition, they said a committee should be set up to monitor repeal of these provisions. It should include representatives of women's and human rights groups, progressive religious scholars and constitutional experts.

On Jan 20, about 100 Muslims youth - half of whom where women - were detained in a raid at a night spot in Kuala Lumpur. They later alleged that Jawi officers had humiliated them and sexually harassed the women.

In another incident on March 2, a transgender individual was arrested by religious officers while sitting in the garden of a friend's house in Taiping. It has also been reported that the Malacca Belia 4B intends to 'spy' on young people to ensure appropriate conduct.