BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Malaysia curbs heavy metal music

Heavy metal has long been accused of corrupting youth

The government and Muslim clerics fear "black metal" has encouraged some young people to dabble in the occult.

The government last week ordered state-run radio and television to play less heavy metal music, and began requiring foreign groups to submit videotapes for approval before playing concerts in Malaysia.

Reports say some schools have started strip-searching students to look for tattoos linked to the music - a move denounced by the country's Bar Council.

An annual meeting of government-appointed clerics in the predominantly Muslim country called for a blanket ban on black metal music and associated images at the beginning of the month.

On Friday, the south-western state of Negri Sembilan announced it would issue a fatwa, or Islamic edict, banning the music.

Cabinet discussion

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called a special cabinet meeting on 8 August to discuss the alleged involvement of youth in anti-social activities.

The school searches were intended to uncover evidence of participation in such activities.

But some parents are reported to have been angry that their children were subjected to body searches, and Bar Council Chairman Mah Weng Kwai told the New Straits Times newspaper the searches were "a gross violation of the individual's privacy".

"The Bar Council is mindful that school authorities have to maintain good conduct and discipline among students," he said, but added that even police were not entitled to conduct random searches without suspicion that a law had been broken.