Permits for Kelantan unisex hair salons take ‘forever’ to be issued

KOTA BARU: Amidst the controversy on council by-laws prohibiting hair salon workers from attending to patrons of different gender, there appears to be a move not to give new permits.

Kelantan MCA information chief Tan Ken Ten said he had been told that no new licences or permits would be issued by the municipal council for unisex salons.

“I double checked with council insiders and they confirmed this to be true. I was shocked to find out about this because it will greatly affect the hair-dressing industry.

“The council must address the issue immediately and clarify its stand as it involves non-Muslims, who are dependent on this industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nice Hair Salon's owner, Alice Ong Lee Ruong, said she was issued a summons on Friday by council enforcement officers.

“I have been applying for a business premises licence since 2011. Until today, I have yet to receive it because I was told that the application was still being processed by its Licensing Department.

“One of the council officers even asked me if I preferred one or two summonses for operating without a licence. Of course, I told him one would be enough.

“Somehow, I feel that this has something to do with the ongoing issue on hair salons,” Ong told reporters at her salon located on the same floor as E-Life Hair Salon in KB Mall, whose owner had settled 11 summonses since it opened in 2010.

The fines were imposed under Section 107(2) of the Local Council Act by-laws which prohibits a woman from cutting the hair of a man and vice versa, regardless of religion.

“I have paid numerous compound and fines and I am still waiting for the council to issue me a licence. In the meantime, I have no choice but to pay the fines,” Ong said.

State Islamic Affairs, Education and Dakwah Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Amar Abdullah said he was in the dark over the controversy.

However, he was confident that the council had its reasons.

“In my opinion, such by-laws were introduced to prevent Muslims from taking advantage of such establishments as a cover to commit immoral activities.

“We have also received complaints that hair salons were a hotbed for Muslims to commit all sorts of activities against Islam.

“The by-laws were enforced and designed not to leave any room for this.

“I cannot comment on the by-laws covering non-Muslims,” he said.

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP is worried that hudud law will be extended to non-Muslims, with the latest controversy involving hair salon operators in PAS-led Kelantan.

Its chairman Karpal Singh said he was surprised that Kelantan decided to enforce a ruling prohibiting non-Muslim women from cutting the hair of men and vice versa.

“The Kelantan Government has publicly declared that Islamic laws will not be extended to non-Muslims. PAS has also stated that hudud will only be applied to Muslims.

“There's a lot of concern among the public on what has just happened in Kelantan. If hudud is allowed, they will come to be extended to non-Muslims,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Karpal, who is the Bukit Gelugor MP, said the municipal council ruling was unconstitutional.

“In fact, it should be challenged in court. Those concerned should not pay the fines imposed. It is unlawful.

“The municipal council in Kelantan is collecting fines on the basis of an unlawful law.

“I hope that the PAS leadership will intervene on this matter and do something about it as soon as possible,” he said.

Karpal said Barisan Nasional should not be presented with issues that could be exploited with the general election looming, likening the law relating to hairdressers as an “unkind cut”.

On the upcoming two-day DAP national conference from Dec 15, he said 66 party members had been nominated for 20 positions in the central executive committee.

PUTRAJAYA: The gender-segregation regulation by the Kota Baru Municipal Council is a clear sign that PAS is not sensitive to the non-Muslim community, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

“This lack of tolerance and imposition of by-laws that are meant for Muslims on non-Muslims reveal the true face of PAS.

“It is a clear sign that PAS will not distinguish between Muslims and non-Muslims in applying other laws, like hudud,” he said yesterday.

The council's controversial regulation caused a stir among hair salon operators in Kelantan after they had to pay many summonses for allowing female workers to attend to non-Muslim men, which they thought was permissible.

A salon manager said she settled 11 summonses, with fines of between RM200 and RM350, since she opened her business at the KB Mall in 2010. The fines were imposed under Section 107 (2) of the Local Council Act by-laws which prohibits a woman from cutting the hair of a man and vice versa, regardless of religion.

“This is also a clear sign that the PAS for All slogan will mean Hudud for All,” said Khairy, referring to the PAS slogan introduced in 2009 to portray itself as a party for all, including non-Muslims.

In Kuala Lumpur, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ruling was unfair to hairdressers and would raise the ire of the public.

“PAS always say Muslim laws only cover Muslims but their actions say otherwise,” he said.

MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker said the ban on female hairstylists cutting the hair of male customers and vice-versa proved the effect of PAS rulings on non-Muslims.

He said the state government also seemed to discourage unisex salons by refusing them licences.

PAS, he said, was clear in what it was pursuing, adding that non-Muslims should not encourage PAS by voting their candidates in the coming elections.