KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — A ban prohibiting unmarried couples from choosing “couple seats” in a Perak cinema is limited to just Muslims, a state executive councillor (exco) has said in a bid to allay fears among non-Muslims.

In a report by English daily The Star, Dr Mah Hang Soon also rejected a call on the authorities to revoke cinema licences, after a suggestion from Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria who claimed that Muslims only frequent them only to indulge in “hanky panky”.

“Respect is key for the religion and culture of others, and I am totally against the idea of revoking the cinema’s licence,” said Dr Mah, who is the state’s non-Islamic affairs committee chairman.

“The cinema is just following instructions from the local council,” he added, referring to the directive by the Perak Tengah District Council.

The council’s president Mad Dan Hassan told The Star that the notice was decided during a full board meeting almost two years ago, and was subsequently issued to the Lotus Five Star (LFS) cinema on September 26, 2013.

“So far, we have not received any complaints from the public nor the cinema, and we have also not issued any summonses to the cinema if it had violated the notice,” he said.

News portal Astro Awani reported on Tuesday that the cinema has banned unmarried Muslims from selecting couple’s seats which are adjoining seats without an armrest separating the two.

The ban has so far only been enforced at LFS’ Seri Iskandar outlet, a township with several tertiary education institutions, and not in the cinema chain’s three other outlets in Ipoh, Kampar and Parit Buntar.

It is unknown what by-law authorises the council to advise LFS’s management to implement the ban. It is also unclear how the cinema enforces the ban or what action will be taken for those who defy it.

LFS operates over 25 cinemas across the country, and is popularly known for showing Hindi and Tamil films.