A row erupted over a court decision upholding a ban on schoolboys wearing Muslim turbans.

The opposition Islamic party PAS denounced the decision, likening it to France's recent controversial ban on schoolgirls wearing Muslim headscarves.

The landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal ends seven years of legal dispute after three boys aged between 10 and 13 were expelled from a government-run school in 1997 for wearing turbans, known here as serbans.

Their parents took legal action and the High Court ruled in 1999 that the boys should be allowed to wear the serban after lawyers argued that the constitution allowed freedom of religion.

The government appealed against the decision, arguing that the school's action was in line with government regulations. The appeal court agreed, saying dress codes were for the government and school administrators to decide, local media reported.

"If the courts were to interfere, we might as well manage the schools," judge Gopal Sri Ram was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times . "We have to interpret the constitution sensibly and in the context of a multi-racial society."

Muslim Malays make up some 55 percent of Malaysia's 25 million population, with ethnic Chinese accounting for 25 percent and Indians 7.5 percent.

Islam is the official religion but the constitution is secular.

No different from France

The PAS opposition wants to change the constitution and impose Islamic rule, but suffered a heavy defeat in March elections amidst fears of Islamic extremism in the wake of terror attacks around the world.

PAS central committee member Hatta Ramli told AFP the court ruling was "moving backwards from a decision allowing freedom of expression for the children.

"If people start to ban such kinds of freedom of expression, we would be no different from France where they have banned headscarves in schools," he said.

Under a controversial new law prohibiting the wearing of conspicuous religious insignia in state schools and colleges in France, Muslim headscarves are banned, along with Jewish skullcaps and Sikh turbans.

A spokesman for the Education Ministry said that under a dress code for state-run schools, Muslim girls can wear headscarves but not veils, Muslim boys can wear Malay caps and Sikh boys can wear turbans.

Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian Strategic Research Centre, told AFP : "The serban is symbolic of someone who is religiously inclined. It's a sign of someone who appears to be pious. Mainly old people.

"The fear is that they are very young, and could be easily manipulated by others. That's dangerous."