Ahmad Marzuk: Govt Is Of the View That Organising The Plus-Size Pageant Is Not Appropriate

Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Religious Affairs, has said that the government is of the view that it is "not appropriate to organise such a programme".

Bernama reported Ahmad Marzuk saying that the government is still awaiting feedback from the plus-size pageant organiser on whether they plan to go ahead with the event.

He said the government through Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (YADIM) had met with the organiser to persuade them to cancel the programme set to take place on Sunday, 2 January.

Last week, YADIM, a government-linked group set up to promote Islam, protested against the Miss/Mrs Plus World Malaysia 2020 Grand Final Gala Night, calling it "hedonistic".

The group's president Nasruddin Hassan, who is the PAS syura council member, claimed that the events like these are "exploitative" of women and promotes "hedonistic culture".

"We are of the view that it is not appropriate to organise such a programme... firstly as it is a matter of (going against) Islamic law and secondly, because the country is still facing the COVID-19 pandemic. So, any gatherings or group meetings should be avoided," Bernama quoted him as saying yesterday.

"The organising of such events basically sends the wrong signal and appears as if the prime minister approves of such programmes when, in fact, we know the prime minister is very serious in stopping all activities that do not contribute to the building of good morals and values," the YADIM president said.

"...the concept of organising such a programme has never been allowed by any religion, especially Islam, because such programmes are more exploitative to women and akin to nourishing of a hedonistic culture by civilisations that have long been extinct," the PAS politician claimed in his statement.

"We don't want the Muslim girls to be disqualified or to feel uncomfortable. We can change the name of our pageant - no problem, but not disqualifying any contestant," the organiser said in response to the Islamic party leaders and critics who are protesting to stop its gala because it has Muslim participants.

"MPWM, which is part of the international pageant Miss Plus World (MPW), is a humanitarian driven organisation that represents the voice of all plus size ladies including the Malay Muslim ladies. Thus we cannot simply eliminate Muslim women from our programs.

"We learnt that the Islamic fatwa prohibits Muslim ladies entering beauty pageant as it considers "haram" or a sin. However, the Islamic party must look at the content and concept of our pageant instead of looking at its title only. This pageant does not have bikini show, nor does it select its participants based on their physical look only. We select our participants and queens based on their intelligence, commitment, attitudes, willingness to serve their communities, and do humanitarian work, besides the pleasant, beautiful look, nor do we request our hijabi queens to take off their headscarf," the organiser added.

The Facebook page, however, seems to have changed its name to Malaysia Plus World Icon.

During the pageant's audition on 27 October, a total of 24 participants were picked from thousands who participated. The 24 were picked for two categories — Miss Plus and Mrs Plus.

Four Miss Plus finalists are Muslims while there are six Muslim Mrs Plus finalists.

The winner of the contest will be competing at the Miss Plus World Finals 2020-2021 in the US in February.