I refer to the numerous letters on the virtues of wearing a tudung (headscarf) among the modern Muslim women in this country and would like to give my two cents worth of opinion on the subject.

What we wear is dictated by three factors - weather, culture and fashion. Some people place a big value on what we wear to the extent that there is an old saying - 'do not judge a book by its cover'.

There are a lot of verses in the Holy Quran and Sunnah Rasul exhorting Muslim women to cover their bosom and not to display their beauty except to their husbands and close relative. Wearing a tudung or hijab is one virtue Muslim women should try to adhere to.

In the early days, both my late grandmother and mother did not wear the tudung but the great thing about this was that both of them were pious women who did not miss their prayers and had the fear of Allah swt embedded in their hearts.

Those days one hardly heard of molest, rape, incest and other hideous crimes so rampant nowadays.

Time are changing and you can see a lot of Muslim women who wear the tudung but do not have the traits of true pious Muslim women. They wear tight jeans, cloths that show their body outline while walking hand-in-hand with their boyfriends.

Then you have those who are to be charged for crime and turn up at court dressed like a good Muslim complete with either tudung or skullcap to seek sympathy from the judges in order to reduce their sentence.

The fabric of society is slowly and surely being ripped apart, what with the numerous cases of incest, rape, and murder being committed. Religion, which is supposed to be a bulwark against crime and a decline in moral values, seems to have lost it meaning in this modern world.

To me, a good role model for all to follow is the late Mother Theresa. Although she is a Catholic, her selfless acts to help the poor and destitute people of India should be an inspiration to all of us regardless of what religion we profess.

Closer to home, one tends to be cynical when one sees Umno Wanita or Puteri members who tend to wear the tudung on certain occasions like when visiting the rural areas to canvass for votes but let their hair down for other occasions.

Good role models for our Muslims women should include Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail or the actress Wardina who once wore the tudung. To me, they represent the epitome of true and good Muslim women who adhere closely to their religious beliefs.