Council fines pharmacy

The poster of a model not wearing a tudung or cover their aurat that put a pharmacy at a mall in Kota Baru in a hot soup on Jul 26 and issued with summons

KOTA BARU: A pharmacy inside a hypermarket here has been slapped with a summons by the Kota Baru Municipal Council enforcement officers for displaying a poster of a model who “exposed her aurat (modesty)”.

This happened on July 26, a day after the local authorities issued another summon to a watch retailer for displaying two “sexy” posters, including one of actress Aishwarya Rai – an “offence” he has apparently committed more than 10 times since the 1990s.

In the July 26 incident, an employee of the pharmacy said council enforcement officers issued a summons to the management for displaying a poster of a model that “exposed her aurat”.

"I was told the manager had to pay RM150 for the offence.

"This is the first time that we were issued with the summons after the poster had been put up recently," said the employee.

Council president Zamri Ismail confirmed that a summons had been issued to the pharmacy.

The council, he added, was very serious in getting traders to follow strict state codes concerning posters.

“I cannot understand why traders cannot comply with the conditions stipulated on their business and premise permits.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will not compromise with those who flout these by-laws," he said.

To a question why Chinese traders where issued with multiple summonses for various offences and yet their permits were renewed without fail annually, Zamri said he would have to check whether this was true.

“Give me time. I will check it out to dispel the rumour that the council victimised Chinese traders who have to pay fines for multiple summonses," he said.

Meanwhile, MCA religious harmony bureau deputy chairman Datuk Ng Chok Sin said PAS’ “moral policing” had turned into harassment against non-Muslim business operators.

Ng said the enforcement officers should have at least given time to the retailer to remove the posters and advise how the models should be featured.

“MCA opposes the action of issuing summons to a non-Muslim retailer as coercing one’s hardline religious values unto adherents of a different faith,” he said yesterday.

Ng added that non-Muslims suffered income loss not only from paying the fine but also have to re-design the posters and also risk non-renewal of business licences.

“So long as the posters are modest, and do not reveal cleavage nor are pornographic in appearance or related, neither PAS nor the Municipal Council should raise any consternation and then fault the retailer,” he said.