Malaysia orders overhaul of dress code at police stations, government agencies after public outcry
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In a Dec 8 incident, two women were stopped from entering a police station due to their attire.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
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Malaysia’s Cabinet has ordered an overhaul of dress code rules at police stations and other front-line government offices following a public outcry over a recent incident.
On Dec 8, two women were stopped from entering a police station due to their attire.
Government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said on Dec 10 the Cabinet agreed that essential front-line services, especially health and security agencies, should be exempted from a 2020 circular governing attire at government agencies.
He added that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim views public access to police services as non-negotiable.
“From the Prime Minister’s perspective, when it comes to security issues, there should not be any situation that prevents people from lodging a police report,” the Malaysian media quoted him as saying.
Mr Fahmi said the Chief Secretary to the Government will conduct a review of the circular and “make several improvements”, adding that the public should expect the updated guideline to be rolled out “not too long from now”.
Reports emerged that a 56-year-old woman and her daughter, who is in her 20s, were denied entry into the Jasin district police headquarters in Melaka on Dec 8.
Pictures provided by the older woman to Chinese daily Sin Chew showed that she was wearing a long sleeved brown top and a grey skirt which was just above her knee.
She wanted to lodge a police report after her car was hit by a vehicle at KM174.8 of the North-South Expressway while she was heading towards Kuala Lumpur.
An officer stopped her from entering the police station because her skirt was slightly above the knee.
When she requested an exception, she was told she would need to purchase a pair of trousers before she was allowed inside.
The victim alleged she and her daughter had to buy trousers from a nearby mall before they were finally permitted to lodge the report.
Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar confirmed the matter and said his officers were just following the government’s dress code.
He added that neither woman sustained injuries in the accident.
“Exceptions (on attire) will be made for emergencies or situations requiring immediate police intervention,” he said in a Dec 9 statement.
This is not the first time individuals were barred from entering government premises because of their dressing.
In 2023, a woman was reportedly scolded by a medical worker in Perak for being “indecently dressed”
In the same year, a woman was denied entry into a police station in Selangor because she was wearing a pair of shorts.
