GYMNAST Farah Ann Abdul Hadi blitzed the Southeast Asian Games last week, bringing home six medals, including two gold, for Malaysia.

Not that the country’s religious hardliners noticed the impressive tally — they were too busy looking at the 21-year-old’s vagina.

Federal MP Jamil Khir Baharom announced a review of “Islamic compliance for clothing used for sports and other fields” following complaints the shape of Abdul Hadi’s “aurat” (genitalia) could be seen through her standard-issue purple leotard.

The politician, who has the Islamic Affairs portfolio, told parliament that it was the responsibility of all Muslims, regardless of gender, to cover their “aurat”.

Attires of athletes to go under review after complaints over Farah Ann's leotard. http://t.co/ObWby1Lyrt #FarahAnn pic.twitter.com/bHDgLNt4AU — Latest on SAYS (@saysdotcom) June 16, 2015

:@Khairykj - "Scrutiny and attacks on @farahann94 have been uncalled for. She's old enough to make own decisions. Leave our athletes alone." — Dimishtra (@dimishtra) June 16, 2015

The head of the National Muslim Youth Association’s female wing, Roszida Kamaruddin, also released a statement condemning Abdul Hadi’s costume.

“Women should not be stopped from sports, but they must prioritise the Islamic codes in sports attire,” she said.

“Furthermore, there are many Muslim female athletes who succeed even by covering their aurat.”

Senior Islamic cleric Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria suggested the gymnastics was not an appropriate sport for Muslim women.

“If Muslim women want to participate in gymnastics, they have to find outfits which cover the aurat and this, in turn, might not be suitable for the sport,” he told Astro Awani. He also said Muslim men playing football should have to wear shorts that cover their knees.

However, the criticism has backfired, spawning an outpouring of support from a proud Malaysian public and a series of sarcastic opinion pieces by local journalists.

“While the rest of the ‘normal’ population saw an athlete perform amazingly flexible feats with ease and grace, the moral police of Malaysia — mostly men — saw a Muslim woman swinging from pole to pole with the coordination and precision of well-trained Eastern European stripper,” wrote Vulcan Post columnist Ajay Madhukar.

“And in the fashion of a true stripper, she didn’t just entertain the married men of Malaysia watching her performance but she intentionally managed to show them the shape of her ‘aurat’ or vagina.

“And they went berserk at the sight of her camel toe and they took to Twitter to talk about her grotesque sense of fashion and her choice as to where she’d spend eternity.”

Malaysian Minister for Youth and Sport Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted several times to defend Abdul Hadi from the criticism of his conservative colleagues and others, referring to them as “perverts”.

And a Facebook group called “Farah Ann Abdul Hadi For Malaysia” has attracted almost 18,000 likes in a week, with members referring to themselves as “FARAHnatics”.

Abdul Hadi has weathered the storm with grace and humour, posting the below tweet at the height of the debate over her “aurat” and thanking supporters on Facebook and Instagram: “I would just like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of you who have been supporting me. It is such an overwhelming feeling to have had such a great and positive respond (sic). Thank you so much.”