PDAs not allowed

Early yesterday morning I was greeted with such … absurdity.

I am sure many other blogs have picked up on this also. I wanted to post this up yesterday, but couldn't as I took half day off work to spend time with CF.

From the Sun:
The Federal Court has ruled that local governments have the power to prosecute citixens who behave in a disorderly manner in public.

The court ruled that Section 8 (1) of the Park By-Laws, the section invoked by the Datuk Bandar to punish persons caught behaving indecently in public was constitutional.

Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz said: “So they should be given freedom to live as they like? The constitution allows all citizens to do that (hugging and kissing) even by the roadside, in public park?”

“In England those acts are acceptable to the people in the country but is kissing and hugging acceptable to Malaysian citizens? Is the act according to the morality of the Asian people?”

What constitutes kissing? How do you define it? There are simple pecks on the cheeks / foreheads and lips-to-lips kissing and French kissing and so on.

Does this mean that even simple pecks are not allowed? What about those kissing the air left and right of the cheeks?

Another thing is, who defines what is acceptable to Malaysian citizens? Was a vote conducted?

I am also wondering what is Asian morality? Does it include couples not show any affection at all towards each other? It’s known that Malaysians don’t express themselves verbally (how often do parents say I love you), especially the men. Now expressing it in action also cannot.

Then how lar? In the bedroom?

Are we a society where people are frigid and reserved in public spaces, but wild and unrestrained in the bedrooms? I doubt all those repression of emotions will do any good to any lovey-dovey couple. For all we know, it might lead to more sexual activities.

I mean, all those sexual needs and urges must come out somewhere. Perhaps what is happening in Arab would arise here as well.

As everyone knows, people won’t stop doing something just because someone else tells them to. There has to be a motivation or an incentive for them to act.

And punishment has never been a good motivator or disincentive to act, if at all.

The more perplexing thing is that, apparently tourists can kiss and they will not be harassed.

This part, from the BBC report, is really funny:
Malaysia has a Muslim majority, but people of all religions are broadly conservative in their outlook.

Local television channels reflect this by censoring kissing so viewers are left to fill in the gaps when characters about to embrace suddenly appear in different parts of the room looking shocked or emotional for no apparent reason.

Am I correct to say that the whole world can kiss and is acceptable for them to, while here in goody goody Malaysia, we don't (or at least not in public)?

I suppose we want to be different in the eyes of the world. Different species of humans maybe who don't kiss or hug or show any loving emotions at all.