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Kuala Lumpur. Organizers of an ethnic Chinese festival on the resort island of Penang said on Tuesday they have banned scantily-clad showgirls who put on suggestive performances to entertain crowds.

The Penang Tiong Guan Association, which heads 228 committees that organize the annual “Hungry Ghost” festival, said young women “wearing underwear on the stage, showing too much skin and being sexy,” would be axed.

“If they do not heed our advice, the committee will have their entertainment license canceled by the police next year and they won’t be able to host a festival show,” Lim Yam Koi, adviser to the association, said.

Lim said the performances were unacceptable as the provocative moves they used in their song-and-dance routines “are not part of our religious beliefs.”

The “ko tai” performers have become a feature at stage shows held in conjunction with the festival, celebrated in the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar among communities in southern China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It is believed that the “Gates of Hell” are opened during this month to let out the hungry ghosts who then wander in the land of the living while foraging for food.

Malaysia is a multi-racial country, and while the population is dominated by Muslim Malays, Penang has a large ethnic Chinese population and is a focus for the community’s festivals.

The stage shows, which also consist of Chinese opera performances, puppet shows and singers, are held in Penang’s streets to placate the wandering spirits and to raise funds for charity.

However, in recent years, organizers have been resorting to hiring showgirls in a bid to pull in the crowds and raise more funds.

“We want the committees to get more traditional acts like Chinese opera and have singing contests which will be cheaper than getting these showgirls and which will appeal to tourists as well,” Lim added.
 

Agence France-Presse