The Kota Baru municipal council (MPKB) has insisted it is right to issue a summons to a retailer for displaying 'sexy' posters at his watch shop, The Star reported today.

"The question here is not whether the model is Muslim or not. For Muslims, such attire (as seen in the posters) is sexy.

"We do not allow the display of posters with sexy models at public areas," MPKB president Zamri Ismail was quoted as saying.

The posters provided by the brand manufacturers were displayed at Swee Cheong Watch & Pen Co. at Aeon Mall in Kota Baru.

One of the posters depicted Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai in a strapped black dress, wearing a Longines watch.

The other poster showed a man and a woman next to each other with their arms interlocked, with the woman wearing a checkered red-and-white sleeveless dress. They both displayed Guess watches prominently.

The shop owner, Lee Kuan Chuan, said he had gone to the council to apply for a permit for the outlet, but was told to settle previous fines for supposedly similar offences in the past.

"I was hit with a total RM2,000 in fines but the amount was reduced to RM400. I had to pay the sum before I could get the new permit," he said.

Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday that Zamri had said outfits that did not adhere to the Islamic dress code were deemed 'indecent', though he added that this would not apply to non-Muslims in Kelantan.

These remarks came after he held a dialogue with Kelantan Chinese Chamber of Commerce representatives on the issue.

Zamri also said he would hold a briefing with businessmen in Kelantan on the issue soon.

"We will make clear the conditions for business permits including a proper dress code for female models in posters," he was quoted as saying.

The chamber had said that they hoped such regulations would not hinder their business.

MCA slams encroachment

Meanwhile, Kelantan MCA Youth said that the fine against the watch retailer showed that PAS' syariah dictates were being formalised as public policy via local council by-laws.

"By coercing syariah codes on non-Muslims in Kelantan, PAS' actions and motives affect the rights and daily lifestyles of non-Muslims in this state, who are not or may not be familiar with matters deemed an offence under syariah," Kelantan MCA Youth chairperson Chong Swee Wee said in a statement yesterday.

He said Kelantan PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari's defence that the fine was not due to hudud was a "feeble and lame" attempt to divert attention from MCA's concerns that PAS' "ultra-conservative" religious values are being imposed on non-Muslims.