The Selangor mufti department has embarked on a leafleting campaign to deter Muslim youths from celebrating Valentine's Day, the New Straits Times reported.

The daily said that the department distributed “bright pink-coloured leaflets” outside of secondary schools in the state yesterday to inform them of a 2006 state fatwa forbidding Muslims from celebrating the love fest.

"We do not want our youth to get caught up in Valentine's Day, as it emphasises the relationship between two individuals rather than the love between family members or married couples," state mufti assistant chief Mat Jais Kamos was quoted as saying.

The daily said the leaflets were met with giggling by the teenagers although most said they were already taught in class that celebrating Valentine's Day is “haram” (forbidden).

It reported that the leaflets will also be distributed to university students at the Universiti Teknologi Mara campus today.

In the past few years, PAS Youth has conducted leafleting and awareness campaigns against Valentine's Day, usually targeting Muslim couples found courting in public areas on Feb 14.

However, there has been no indication that the wing, now under a new leadership, will embark on the same campaign this year.

Bahasa Malaysia dailies also regularly report on raids on ‘love hotels’ by Islamic enforcement authorities on Valentine's Day and the ensuing weekend.