When visiting certain places such as government offices, one is often expected to abide by a dress code for the sake of respecting the venue in question. With that said, the topic of wearing what is deemed ‘appropriate’ has come up in heated discourse among many Malaysians, with some claiming to have been denied service or outright entry at the premises in spite of the fact that they have been dressed modestly.
Woman tries to lodge police report at Kajang police station
One such instance recently occurred when a local woman known only as Karen [pseudonym] told local newspaper FMT that she had visited the Kajang police station to lodge a report after being involved in a traffic collision. And yet, she was turned away by a police officer there over her clothing as he noticed through her car window that she was ‘wearing shorts’.
According to Karen, she met an accident with a truck on January 30th, 2023 (Monday) in Batu Sembilan, Cheras. As is often the case, both parties decided to visit the nearest police station, in this case one located in Batu Sembilan, to file a report. However, the duo were told that they would need to travel to the Kajang police station instead.
However, Karen notes that the police officer at the Batu Sembilan police station did not turn her away for her attire, and yet she was refused entry at the Kajang police station upon her arrival.
“If there was such a rule (shorts not allowed), then somebody would have told me at the first police station. It makes no sense.” she said.
Gets turned away as she was wearing shorts
Even as Karen attempted to reason with the police officer and pointed out that she had to travel a considerable distance back home to change, he remained undeterred and told her that even ministers would be turned away if they were seen dressed as she was. At the time, Karen had on a pair of Bermuda shorts that went down past her knees.
Left with no choice, she contacted her sister to bring over a pair of long pants that she could change into and was finally granted entry into the station.
“I asked the officer for his badge number and name to file a complaint, but he refused to give them to me,” she said.
She has since attempted to reach out to Kajang assemblyman Hee Loy Sian and discuss with him on the incident, so that it may not happen to others in the future.
A Public Service Announcement issued by the Kuala Lumpur division of the Royal Malaysian Police dating back to 2017 indicates that those visiting police stations are advised against wearing any inappropriate or revealing attire such as shorts, singlets, or slippers.
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Also read: UKM bans saree & cheongsam in convocation dress code, reinstates it after social media backlash
