Muslim girls should not be forced to wear headscarves in schools, Malaysia's education minister said according to a report today after children were punished for going bare-headed during sports.

Education authorities are investigating the actions of a school principal in northern Penang state who withdrew two netball teams from a local tournament because some players removed their headscarf, or tudung, during the competition.

"According to education ministry rules and regulations, it is very clear there is no compulsion for students to wear the tudung," Education Minister Hishamuddin Tun Hussein said according to the Star newspaper.

"For those who wear the tudung, there are also rules and regulations to follow," he said.

Religious devotion

The growing influence of Islam on Malaysian society over the past two decades has seen a sharp increase in the number of Malay Muslim women and girls wearing headscarves as a sign of religious devotion.

Malaysia's population of 25 million people is dominated by some 60 percent of Muslim Malays, with Chinese and Indians making up 26 percent and eight percent respectively.

Malaysia's government promotes a moderate version of Islam, but last year it endorsed a university's ruling that required non-Muslim women to wear headscarves on its campuses, saying it was an issue of uniform regulations, not human rights.