The head of Indonesia's most influential Islamic organization has come out in support of a bylaw banning female passengers from straddling motorcycles in the Aceh city of Lhokseumawe.

"I think it is a good regulation, because women straddling motorcycles is not good," Ma'ruf Amin, the chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) said on Tuesday, as quoted by antaranews.com.

Ma'ruf cited a hadith, or a saying attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, that stated "what is seen as good by Islamic people is also seen as good by God." "Straddling is impolite for women," Ma'ruf said, adding that female passengers should choose other means of transportation because riding a motorcycle is not safe for women.

Suaidi Yahya, the mayor of Lhokseumawe, recently told the Jakarta Globe that he wanted to introduce the bylaw because he had seen people's behavior and morals straying too far from Aceh's Islamic cultural values.

"We want to save women from things that will cause them to violate Shariah law," he said. "We wish to honor women with this ban, because they are delicate creatures."

Despite facing widespread criticism over the bylaw, the government in Lhokseumawe on Monday started enforcing the regulation, though only for civil servants.

The local government circulated a letter explaining the need for women to side-saddle motorcycles while in the passenger's seat in order to prevent immoral acts. The letter also proposed banning men and women from hugging or holding hands while on vehicles. Sanctions will be imposed on violators beginning in May.

"We will impose sanctions on [those who break the law]. We will shame them, warn them or fire them," Dasni Yuzar, the secretary of the Lhokseumawe administration, said, as quoted by KBR68h.com.

Local women's rights activists have rejected the proposed ban "because it completely ignores the safety principles for driving," said Roslina Rasyid from Indonesian Women's Association for Justice legal aid in Lhokseumawe.

"Sitting astride guarantees better safety, and I'm sure most people can only side-saddle for 15 minutes. What if the person is overweight and causes an imbalance? It could cause an accident," she added.

National Commission on Violence Against Women activist Andy Yentriyani said the policy was "part of discriminative policies on women in this country in the name of religion and morality."

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi announced recently that he would review the regulation. "[We will review] whether the bylaw is too much or [whether] it maintains tradition," said Gamawan on Monday.

However, the ministry's director-general for regional autonomy, Djohermansyah Djohan, who would oversee any revision, said: "We'll leave it to people of Aceh to decide whether or not to accept it."

[Additional reporting by AFP.]