Rights groups reacted angrily Thursday to a Muslim Malaysian state's plans to hire spies to catch couples engaged in extramarital sex.
Sisters in Islam, a Muslim women's group that champions gender rights, urged authorities in northern Terengganu state to scrap the plan, saying, "moral policing by state religious authorities and their auxiliary services have often led to rampant abuses of power."
"The public funds that will be wasted on this can be put to better use, particularly for public education."
Under the plan, spies trained by Terengganu's religious officials will be located in hotels and parks to tip off authorities about couples caught in compromising situations.
Rosol Wahid, chairman of the state's Islam Hadhari and Welfare Committee, said the move was aimed at curbing the rising number of couples committing khalwat, or "close proximity"— a huge sin in Islam.
Khalwat also applies to men and women caught together in private or showing affection in public, such as holding hands. It applies to Muslims only.
Lim Guan Eng, secretary-general of the opposition Democratic Action Party, warned the plan would drive away foreign tourists and threaten the way of life of ordinary people in multi-racial Malaysia.
"Malaysians have seen what happened when religious authorities abuse their power in Langkawi last year," he said.
Officials raided the apartment of a retired American couple living on Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi on suspicion of khalwat, although it was not clear why the home of non-Muslims was targeted.
Malaysia's population of nearly 27 million is made up of 60 percent Malay Muslims, 26 percent ethnic Chinese and 8 percent ethnic Indians.(AFP)
1. extra-marital adj.
婚外的 (hun1 wai4 de5)
例: An extra-marital affair is grounds for divorce.
(婚外情是離婚的基礎。)
2. scrap v.t.
廢除 (fei4 chu2)
例: I suggest you scrap this questionable plan and think of a better one.
(我建議你放棄這個不可靠的方案，想個更好的方法。)
3. opposition n.
反對 (fan3 dui4)
例: The opposition party proposed a different budget than the ruling party.
(反對黨提出與執政黨截然不同的預算案。)
4. raid v.i. /v.t.
突擊 (tu2 ji2)
例: The police raided the company's office on suspicion of fraud.
(警方依詐欺罪嫌突擊那家公司的辦公室。)
信奉伊斯蘭教的馬來西亞一處州政府打算雇用偵探來抓婚外情，人權團體上週四強烈反對。
鼓吹性權運動的伊斯蘭女性團體「伊斯蘭姊妹」呼籲北部丁加奴州的相關單位放棄這項計畫，並說「州政府的宗教部門及其輔助服務的道德監督，往往導致權力濫用」。
「花在此用途的公共經費可挪到更佳用途，特別是公共教育之用。」
計畫中，由丁加奴州神職人員訓練的偵探將部署在旅館與公園，向當局告發行為不檢的男女。
丁加奴州的「文明伊斯蘭暨福利委員會」主委羅索爾．瓦西德表示，這項行動是為遏止不斷攀升的犯了伊斯蘭教一大罪「khalwat（男女親密關係）」的男女人數。
khalwat也適用於私下見面、牽手等公然流露情感而被逮到的男女；僅限於伊斯蘭教徒。
馬國反對黨「民主行動黨」的秘書長林冠英警告說，這項計畫可能會嚇跑外國遊客，威脅到種族多元的馬來西亞百姓生活。
他說︰「馬來西亞人民都看到了，去年蘭卡威宗教單位濫用權力的後果。」
官員在馬來西亞北部度假小島蘭卡威，突然搜查一對疑似犯了「khalwat」的已退休美國夫妻之公寓；雖然為何鎖定非伊斯蘭教徒家庭的原因仍不明。
馬來西亞人口將近兩千七百萬人，60% 為信奉伊斯蘭教的馬來人，26%為華人，8%為印度人。
（法新社╱翻譯︰賴美君）
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