After sarong incident, duo denied entry into Selangor state secretariat building over skirts

SELANGOR — An English daily reporter and a resident from Klang were this morning denied entry into the Selangor state secretariat (SUK) building for wearing skirts that were deemed inappropriate.

The incident comes less than a month after the Road Transport Department (RTD) was slammed by social media users for insisting that a woman wear a sarong at its premises.

The two women today were stopped by security personnel at the entrance of the SUK when they arrived for a press conference.

They were also told by the guards to wear a sarong to cover their legs as their dresses were short.

Irked by the security guards’ action, Klang MP Charles Santiago posted on his Facebook page today (June 22) that the two women were invited to attend his press conference at the building.

"Why are women's legs being inspected? Why are security guards looking at women's legs to begin with? Is this the new role for security guards?

"Given that JPJ publicly apologised weeks ago, why is the security in Selangor's state secretariat enforcing this policy?" Mr Santiago asked, referring to the RTD by its Malay acronym.

He also tagged Selangor Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali in the post, which included a photograph of the two women in their offending dresses.

"Please withdraw it immediately. Azmin Ali."

When met, Santiago said that the moral policing by security guards should stop immediately.

"The security guards are there to check the identification of those who are entering the SUK building. They have no right to check on women's attire. Is this the new role for security guards?"

Mr Santiago added that it was not clear who had given the directive to check on the women's attire and that he would raise the matter with Mr Azmin.

"We are not sure if it's from the federal government or the state government," he said.

Meanwhile, the reporter who was denied entry told The Malaysian Insider that she had refused to wear the sarong when instructed by the security guards.

She said she managed to use an alternative entrance to enter the SUK building.

"I managed to evade the guards by using the side entrance to get into SUK. I have been coming here for two months and this is the first time I was stopped," she said, adding that she had used knee-length skirts before while attending press conferences at the SUK.

The RTD reportedly issued an open apology after receiving criticism for making Suzanne G L Tan wear a sarong at one of its offices.

The department expressed regret over the incident and said it was not part of its policy to provide clothing for customers should their attire be deemed inappropriate.

However, RTD maintained that it had a dress code for all visitors as was the practice in ministries and other government departments. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER