Couple Seats: 'Do you want to watch movies or make-out?' - Perak Mufti

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria wants the operation of movie theaters to be reviewed as it encourages immoral acts and destroys the faith of Muslims.

He said, local councils should take this into consideration when granting licenses to cinemas.

“Even the cinema itself allows people to engage in immoral activities, what more with couple seats which encourages people to make-out in the theater.

“They should not be given the license. They do not want to watch movies, but they want to make-out in there,” he told Astro AWANI.

Harussani was commenting on a ban for unwed couples to occupy the couple seats at Lotus Five Star Cinemas (LFS) in Seri Iskandar, Perak.

The notice came on the heels of the Perak Tengah district council's 'advice' to curb immoral acts among youths.

Harussani said anti-vice enforcement officers should take note of this issue and to not only focus its operations in the cinemas but also in other locations.

“Anti-vice enforcement officers should not just focus on cinemas, as whenever they see unwed couples sitting together, just apprehend them,” he said.

He added that any facilities seen as good but encourages immoral acts should not be used or promoted to the public.

“It should be replaced with other facilities, in different ways. They should look at this matter seriously and not boost immoral activities especially to Muslims.

“We spend so much money on preaching Islam but we also encourage such immoral activities.

“Even the films show make-out scenes, and the people want to make-out in their seats, I really do not know why this is happening,” he said.

In April, Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) issued gender segregation guidelines for entertainment events, which it said serves as a reference and is not forced on anyone.

He added the guidelines are to help event organisers package their events according to Syariah requirements.

“We only want to instill the understanding among the people on the types of entertainment accepted in Islam,” said its director Datuk Othman Mustapha.