Hello.
I am an Indonesian citizen and will soon move in to Petaling Jaya, Selangor, for work employment. I am a Muslim but, to be honest to myself, am not that religious -- I could say I don't have any belief or religion anymore, at the very least I am not that devout practitioner.
However, I am concerned about the dual law that prevails in Malaysia. I've read that the Shari'a law is imposed to Muslims living in Malaysia, however I cannot get any confirmation whether this also apply to foreigner Muslims or not, nor the level of enforcement of the Shari'a law, particularly in my soon-to-be my new neighborhood, Kelana Jaya. In short, I am concerned about doing some activities that would be haraam (illegal) in Shari'a law but I oftentimes do back in Indonesia without anyone really cares. Such things most commonly for me are: 1) buying alcohol in stores, 2) going to bars/pubs, 3) having girlfriend sleeping over at my place, 4) not doing fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadhan, and the like.
Would I be subject to the local Shari'a penal system if I am caught doing one of those activities in Malaysia? I am particularly concerned because physically I am almost indistinguishable from a local Malaysian (similar facial shapes, similar skin tone, etc) and that my full name contains the name Muhammad (it's such a common name in Indonesia and Malaysia). If possible, please do explain on the separate things as I mentioned above, and if any, the tips or tricks to "be safe" with the activities above.
Any constructive comments, explanations or insights would be very much appreciated. Thanks!
Does the shari'a law apply to muslim foreigners?
I understand it applies to all Muslims, or so I was told by a bunch of Muslims in a bar.
Seems they're in real trouble if they get nabbed but at least one was a Saudi and a very big one it would have taken 6 or 8 police to stop if he'd really wanted to carry on drinking.
Fred wrote:I understand it applies to all Muslims, or so I was told by a bunch of Muslims in a bar.
Seems they're in real trouble if they get nabbed but at least one was a Saudi and a very big one it would have taken 6 or 8 police to stop if he'd really wanted to carry on drinking.
Do they check the ID at the bars? Or do people just generally assume from looks and language?
It's been a long time since I drank anything likely to get me merry but I didn't see or even hear of a single raid over three years.
I once asked and the dudes told me there's only ever any attention if there's trouble.
That's a bit out of date now so hope for up to date replies.
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