Being young and in love in a place like the Malaysian city of Ipoh is not always easy, as college student Sukdave Singh learned the hard way.

In November, Sukdave and his girlfriend were having what they thought were private moments in a park when they were interrupted by a someone who took their pictures, and told them that they had been caught in "indecent behaviour".

The intruders turned out to be enforcement officers from the municipal council of Ipoh, a city in the Perak state. Sukdave and his girlfriend ended up being summoned and fined.

Since Ipoh's newly appointed mayor took office in November, the city's municipal council has dug up an old bylaw on parks and is now enforcing it in the city's 400,000 people. The bylaw, enacted in 1985, says that "improper behaviour" is prohibited in parks.

City mayor Sirajuddin Salleh says the rule was "for the good of the people of Ipoh". The mayor, who has come under strong criticism for his moral cleansing campaign, defined indecent behaviour as "excessive hugging, groping or kissing". Holding hands, he said, was not included in that list.

Public uproar

From November to early June, council officers have been roaming around parks in search of ''improper behaviour'' among couples. From January to June, at least 170 couples were summoned and fined between RM30 and RM100 ringgit (US$8 to US$26).

However, a public uproar generated by complaints to opposition parties and the media prompted the Ipoh council to tone down its campaign this month.

An angry Sukdave himself had lodged a complaint with the opposition Democratic Action Party.

Malaysian Chinese student Lai Kar Liong and his girlfriend, who had been summoned by the Ipoh council, told the media they were only talking and holding hands. In another incident, Indian Malaysian college student Remesh Thanasegaran complained that he and his girlfriend were accosted and forced to pose for photographs.

In truth, being watched or warned by moral police is nothing new for Malay Muslims who make up nearly 60 percent of the 24 million people. But the codes of what are considered acceptable behaviour are not always enforced in this cosmopolitan Muslim country.

But many fear that Ipoh's measures might be the beginning of an effort to impose strict Islamic moral guidelines on non-Muslims as well.

Ipoh municipal officers, without citing figures, said majority of the people who had been summoned and fined so far were non-Muslims, since Muslims fell under the jurisdiction of the state religious department.

Why so obsessed?

Twenty-five year old Yoon Szu-Mae (photo), who was born in Ipoh, said that the measures were frustrating for a non-Malay like herself. "It is scary because it seems to me that the officers don't think much of allowing people freedom to live their lives. Why did they become so obsessed about it without having much look into the culture of the day?" she said.

The Ipoh council policy is an attempt to impose one's morality on others, stresses Nora Murat from Kuala Lumpur-based Sisters in Islam (SIS), a non-government group on women's rights in Islam.

"They (Ipoh law enforcers) should not impose our (Islamic) morality on them (non-Muslims)," she said, adding that ambushing or taking pictures of couples without their permission or knowledge are violations of people's rights.

"What is Islamic morality anyway? Morality is so subjective it should not be law,'' Murat said. ''I don't think behaviour like peeping on people is considered the right thing to do in Islam.''

She adds that it remains unclear how many states in Malaysia had similar laws being enforced on non-Muslims - a key reason behind why many people did not even know that what they did was considered wrong by authorities.

"We knew about the Ipoh bylaw only when people protested, but we don't know if there is such a law in other states. There is no advertisement, therefore many people are not aware of them," Murat said.

While modern civil and criminal laws are used in Malaysia, Malaysian Muslims fall under Islamic law on issues such as family affairs and courting. Islamic law is enforced by religious departments in Malaysia's states.

Too close proximity between unmarried or unrelated people, called 'khalwat', is a crime akin to adultery. Unchaperoned meetings, especially in 'suspicious' times or places between unmarried men and women, are considered illegal and can be brought to Islamic courts. The suspects could

face months in prison.

Shameful

A Malaysian woman who did not want to be named recalled an unpleasant experience during a date with her now-husband. "We were walking in a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur holding hands. Then a man standing far away blew his whistle and shouted, 'Stop holding hands, stop it!' I was very confused and embarrassed," she said.

In a society where Islam holds people together, many fear most the rejection that may come with being seen to have committed 'khalwat'. "It would be very shameful, and I don't know how my community would take it," said 23-year-old Amirudin Shar, who had been questioned by police while talking with his girlfriend in the car.

But non-Muslims, such as the ethnic Chinese and Indian communities, and rights groups and opposition politicians have been protesting the Ipoh bylaw.

Commentator Jane Mun said that the measures had made the city "a laughing stock". A politician from the Chinese opposition party DAP called its officials "overzealous''.

Even the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysia's biggest Chinese party that is part of the ruling coalition, feels that the moral campaign is a bit too much. The Perak chairperson of the party, Ong Ka Chuan, was quoted as saying there are different interpretations of what makes indecent behaviour among different groups in society.

"Non-Muslims like Chinese may consider holding hands, putting hands on hips or shoulders acceptable, but a Muslim may treat it as an indecent and unacceptable behaviour," he said.

Public pressure has prompted the chief minister of Perak, Tajol Rosli Ghazali (right), to talk to ethnic Chinese and Indian community and announced the suspension of the measures against immoral behaviour last week.

But Mayor Sirajuddin says that the council's good intentions have been misinterpreted. "We simply believe it's not right for Malaysians to kiss and hug excessively in front of others," he said. - IPS