Kelantan defends ban on lipstick

Kelantan defends ban on lipstick

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): The Islamic government of Malaysia's Kelantan state has defended its recent ban on the excessive use of lipstick by women, saying that such practices were a prelude to illicit sex.

"The early move by the (UMNO) leadership to stop money politics is similar to the ban on excessive use of lipstick which is an early step towards fighting illicit sex," Kelantan chief minister Nik Aziz Nik Mat was quoted yesterday by the national Bernama news agency as saying.

Nik Aziz, who was speaking on Saturday night, was referring to the dominant United Malays National Organization's ban on all forms of campaigning for party elections and its efforts to stamp out vote-buying.

Nik Aziz is also head of the northeastern Kelantan state's Malaysia Islamic Party, known by its initials in Malay as PAS, which seeks to create an Islamic society in Malaysia's only opposition-ruled state.