Public
attire has become a hotly debated issue in Malaysia in the last two weeks after
several women were forced to cover themselves with a sarong or towel after
being told to cover up if they wanted to enter government buildings.
While the
spread of Islamic conservatism is widely noted in Malaysia, what is worrying to
some non-Muslims is how they have apparently been subjected to the cover-up
rule in government buildings.
Questions
are also being asked if there is a new "sarong policy" in place.
Deputy
Chief Minister of Penang P. Ramasamy tweeted on June 10 that there was a
"sarong policy" that was a "deliberate and systematic attempt to
impose Islamic dress code on non-Muslims". The tweet has since been
deleted.
Consider
these cases.
On June
8, a middle-aged woman, Madam Suzanne G.L. Tan, was denied entry into a Road
Transport Department (RTD) office in Selangor for wearing a skirt
just above her knees. She was allowed to enter only afater she put on a sarong
that was provided. The security guard said she was following orders.
"I
do not know if I should laugh or cry," Madam Tan said in her Facebook post
that went viral.
On June
16, a young woman was forced to wear a towel to cover her shorts
to gain entry into the Sungai Buloh public hospital in Selangor.
The
security guards said they were following instructions from the Health Ministry.
On June
22, reporter C. Premananthini and Selangor resident Tan Lee Fong were barred from entering the Selangor State Secretariat
building for wearing skirts deemed too short.
The State
Secretariat building is the heart of the Selangor government, which is run by
federal opposition parties including the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action
Party. The two women were made to wear sarongs.
And
earlier on May 7, businessman Steven Ng claimed he was denied entry to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport's
lost and found baggage office for wearing knee-length pink shorts
and sandals.
Mr Ng had
to put on long black trousers and shoes provided before he could claim his
luggage.
In all
the cases, the various top officials apologised and said there is no
"sarong policy".
Transport
Minister Liow Tiong Lai said: "We should not impose unnecessary guidelines
on a dress code for the public."
To be
sure, signs that say "dress codes for visitors" can be found at most
federal government buildings to remind visitors to be modestly dressed. But
there was hardly any enforcement before.
The
president of civil service employees union Cuepacs, Datuk Azih Muda, said the
guards were following the rules, and that the public should not sensationalise
the issue. He said the aim of the dress code is to help people dress modestly.
A worry
for non-Muslims is whether Malaysia's rising Islamic conservatism could lead to
more sarong incidents.
Responding
to the hospital incident, former prime minister Mahathir Mohammad said last
Thursday that Malaysia was "sliding backwards" and becoming more like
Saudi Arabia.
The
Sisters In Islam group said: "Religious conservatism in Malaysia is
crossing the line as now Malaysians face restrictions on their freedom of
movement because of dress codes."
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