Having made the headlines by banning an exhibition about ghosts, ghouls and supernatural beings as 'haram' (forbidden) last year, news of Malaysia's National Fatwa Council's latest edict banning "tomboys" in the Muslim-majority country has reverberated worldwide.

Media reports have quoted Harussani Idris Zakaria, the mufti of northern Perak state, who said that the National Fatwa Council has banned girls or women behaving or dressing like boys or men, following a meeting last Thursday in northern Malaysia.

Harussani clarified that although the council's ruling was not legally binding, tomboys should be banned because their actions are immoral.

"It doesn't matter if it's a law or not. When it's wrong, it's wrong. It is a sin," Harussani told The Associated Press. "Tomboy (behaviour) is forbidden in Islam."

"They must respect God. God created them as boys, they must behave like boys. God created them as girls, they must act like girls," he said. Boys should also not act like girls, he added.

Harussani said an increasing number of Malaysian girls behave like tomboys, and that some of them engage in homosexuality. Homosexuality is not explicitly banned in Malaysia, but it is effectively illegal under a law that prohibits sex acts "against the order of nature."

Abdul Shukor Husin, chairman of the National Fatwa Council, was quoted in the UK Telegraph as saying: "It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear. (Masculine behaviour) becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender, that is woman and woman."

"In view of this," Dr Abdul explained, "the National Fatwa Council which met today have decided and taken the stand that such acts are forbidden and banned."

Same-sex relations between men is illegal in Malaysia under Section 377 of the Penal Code and punishable with up to twenty years in jail. The Telegraph further added that although there is no provision banning lesbian sex in Malaysia's civil code, the latest fatwa appears to be an attempt to push lesbianism towards illegality.

It is unclear what the penalty is for not complying with the latest edict. Sixty percent of its 27 million people are ethnic Malays who are regarded as Muslims by definition and subject to Sharia law and the council's edicts, even if the rulings have not been enshrined in national or Shariah law.

Islamic authorities in Malaysia frequently issue guidelines with regards to what women should or should not wear. In June, authorities in a northern Malaysian city of Kota Baru have forbidden Muslim women from wearing bright lipstick and noisy high-heeled shoes, saying the directive is intended to prevent sexual assaults and "illicit sex." Kota Baru, the capital of Kelantan state, which is ruled by the hard-line opposition party Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), also issued a directive calling for Muslim women to wear non-transparent headscarves that cover the chest, long-sleeved and loose blouses and socks. Those who flout the guidelines can be fined up to RM500 (U$153).

Update (Nov 10, 2008): Protestors marched from Ampang Park LRT station to the vicinity of KLCC to protest fatwa on Nov 7, 2008