KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's new women's affairs minister warned women on Thursday of the danger of Malaysia becoming an extremist Islamic state.
"Ladies, I don't mean to frighten you, but tomorrow you could wake up (under a government) like the Taliban in Afghanistan," said Minister of Women's Affairs and Family Development, Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
"I'm worried that if we're not careful, if someone takes over, the group that suffers most would be women," she told about 100 businessmen and women.
Shahrizat's governing United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is battling its strongest opposition threat in this multi-cultural but officially Muslim country since coming to power after independence in 1957.
Since an election in 1999 the opposition challenge has been led by the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), which preaches a strict brand of Islam but rejects other Islamic countries as models, specifically Taliban-led Afghanistan where womens' rights are strictly limited.
Leaders of the Taliban movement say they are creating the world's purest Islamic state.
In the PAS heartland of Kelantan state, bordering Thailand, Muslim women have been ordered by the government to dress modestly. However, there is no legislation to this effect and many young women continue to wear casual clothes such as shirts and jeans.
Elections in 1999 saw PAS win control of Terengganu, its second state in northern peninsular Malaysia, and rise to opposition status nationwide.
Muslim Malays account for 55 percent of the country's 22 million population, with Chinese and Indians making up 30 percent and 10 percent.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government has appointed women to high-profile positions such as governor of the central bank and attorney general in what is seen as an attempt to lure Muslim women away from PAS.
In January it created the women's ministry and appointed Shahrizat to head it.
06:15 03-01-01
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