Perlis Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim is at it again - pushing his 'curfew' idea to keep the young away from mischief in the state.

He said he would pursue the idea at the next meeting of menteris besar and chief ministers, and hoped it would be adopted nationwide.

"Even in developed cities like London, there is a curfew to prevent children from wandering the streets at night," he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying today.

He proposed that the curfew apply to those aged 16 and below.

Shahidan argued that most negative activities that teenagers were involved in occurred at night.

"For example, night is peak time for activities such as drug abuse," he said.

In 2003, Shahidan Kassim had proposed an eight-hour curfew from 10 pm to restrict youngsters from visiting entertainment outlets such as video arcades, karaoke joints and nightclubs.

He had said the move was meant to curb negative habits, instill higher discipline among youths and discourage the culture of hanging around aimlessly.

Unconstitutional

However, his idea was shot down by the then Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of legal affairs Rais Yatim who said that "no state government could impose a curfew arbitrarily to curb a person's freedom".

"A person's right to be free is enshrined and guaranteed under the law. Curfews cannot be imposed at anyone's whims and fancy," he said.

The proposal by the Perlis state government was unconstitutional and would amount to "false imprisonment," Rais had warned.

Shahidan also came under fire some years ago from women's groups for proposing to do away with the need to obtain a first wife's written consent to a second marriage to stop men flocking across the border to marry again in less-restrictive Thailand