MALAYSIAN ACTIVISTS QUESTION ROLE OF MUSLIM FASHION POLICE?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Women in Malaysia, long seen as a moderate
Islamic nation, have been denied entry to government buildings on the grounds
their skirts were too revealing, fanning fears of growing conservatism in a
country with large non-Muslim minorities.
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s reluctance to intervene on the
sudden enforcement of a dress code, analysts say, shows the liberal-minded
leader is unwilling to stand up to conservatives at a time when he is battling
allegations of corruption.
Ethnic sensitivities can often trigger dispute in Malaysia,
particularly as none of those criticized for their clothes was from the Muslim
Malay community that forms two-thirds of a population of about 30 million.
Ethnic Chinese number 25 percent, and Indians about 7 percent.
The dress code, which bars revealing clothes for women in
government buildings, had not been strictly followed.
- So the tougher enforcement over garments seen as showing too much leg came as a shock to many Malaysians.
- The incidents went viral on social media, with activists saying they highlighted an expansion of powers for minor officials, who can now judge, and correct, women’s attire.
Source: Reuters...More...
MALAYSIAN GOVT TOLD TO HAVE CLEAR GUIDELINES ON DRESS CODES?
PETALING JAYA, Malaysia -Former high-ranking civil
servants and diplomats (G25) coordinator Datuk Noor Farida
Ariffin suggested to The Chief Secretary
to the Government to have a clear directives regarding dress codes and its
enforcement at government offices and agencies.
So far, There is no
legal basis for the imposition of dress codes on the public whom they are
serving, said Faridah.
The incident involving a middle-aged ethnic Chinese woman wearing a
knee-length skirt was asked to wrap herself with a sarong before entering the Road
and Transport Department, created an uproar in Parliament, with 
lawmakers
asking if this meant Malaysia was becoming a fundamentalist Muslim nation.
lawmakers
asking if this meant Malaysia was becoming a fundamentalist Muslim nation.
On Thursday, former Malaysian PM, Dr Mahathir Mohammad reportedly
said that dress codes were an office matter, that it was the right of an
individual to wear shorts in public and should be allowed to enter government
facilities like a hospital as long as they weren't naked.
Noor Farida added that G25 felt it was inappropriate for
security guards at government agencies or other places to enforce dress codes
at their whims and fancy.
Last month, businessman Wilson Ng returned from a holiday
abroad and forgot his baggage at the airport.
He returned to KLIA the next day but was denied entry to
Lost & Found.
- The security officer said his knee-length pink shorts were not appropriate, and provided him with trousers and shoes which he wore to gain entry.
In yet another
incident over dress codes, a lawyer was last week barred from a
government building for wearing a skirt that was “too short”.
According to lawyer Katy Chan(photo), the security guard at the Federal Territories Director of Land and Mines’
office stopped her last Friday
morning as she was writing down her name in the visitors’ registration
book to get a visitors’ pass.Chan said the guard told her that her skirt was “too short”, also telling her that she could not enter the building while also asking if she had a pair of pants with her to wear.
- The guard also told her to read the dress code placed near the guard house, with Chan telling Malay Mail Online that it required her to wear clothing at knee level.
Source: Asia One
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