As a Muslim woman, I do not wish for any religious institution in Malaysia to dictate my life. What Malaysians wear, do, work, and how they socialise - so long as it is legal - should reflect personal choices minus moral policing by any religious authorities.

Moral policing is not a problem with Islam but that of religious extremism. Malaysia claims to be a democracy but the recent Jawi raid - and those of the past - ensure that Muslims are only entitled to limited democracy in this country.

This has dealt a severe blow to the social cohesion and relations between the various religious communities in a country already divided along racial lines. Had I wanted a police state to regulate my private and personal life, I would surely have voted for PAS and not the Barisan Nasional!

The recent call to include women officers in the Jawi raids continues to mock Malaysia's image as a 'moderate' as opposed to an 'extremist' Muslim state. Jawi's powers must be seriously curbed and not enhanced nor legitimised by the presence of female officers - no matter how polite and well-behaved they may be.

Regardless of the nature of future raids, they will not alter their undemocratic and fascist elements. Let's not attempt to legislate morality since morality cannot be legislated. Muslims cannot peer into the personal and private lives of others, which by the way, is considered despicable by Muslims.

Nor should do they fall into the trap of serving as judge and jury as to whether a Muslim is 'Islamic' or 'non-Islamic'.

Today, we no longer have Malay Muslim beauty queens. Tomorrow, we will not have track queens, gymnasts, swimmers since participation in beauty contests, track and field events, gymnastics and swimming contravene the concept of 'aurat' as it is understood by the majority of Muslim scholars.

Eventually, Malaysian culture will resemble those of Middle Eastern nations where only the men are visible and women shoved into the background. In this 21st century, Malaysians cannot choose to ignore the international environment lest we join the ranks of the outcast nations where human rights are either extensively curbed or non-existent.

I strongly believe that the basis of Malaysian identity has to be Malaysian citizenship, and as citizens we should all be treated equally, with common dignity and respect. These tenets are fundamental to the Islamic understanding of a human being (insan) who is endowed with natural rights, reason, moral representation and dignity.