Stop all female outfit ‘nonsense’ — PKR’s Voon Shiak Ni
KUCHING: PKR Women’s national vice president Voon Shiak Ni has called for a stop to all the ‘ nonsense’ by certain quarters in making an issue out of female outfits.
Voon found it rather disturbing that the issue continued to brew in the country, with the latest incident involving a 12-yearold girl who was told mid- game by the arbiter at the National Scholastic Chess Championship 2017 in Putrajaya on April 14, that her dress was ‘improper’ and she was not allowed to wear a similar dress for the next round.
The tournament director had alleged the dress- a short-sleeved striped dress that stopped just above her knees- was improper and ‘a temptation from a certain angle, far, far away’.
The girl’s mother said the director only made the decision around 10pm that day when the shops were closing, giving her no time to buy slacks in time for the next day’s 9am start time.
Humiliated and feeling harassed, the young Kuala Lumpur district chess champion withdrew from the tournament.
“The ministry concerned should make a stand on the mode of dressing and to stop all the nonsense happening now regarding how one should dress in any sports and games competition,” Voon said yesterday.
Prior to this, she said there were also incidences of the public being turned away from receiving medical treatment by hospitals because the mother who accompanied her child was not dressed ‘properly’, along with a few other cases of the public being turned away at government departments because of how they dressed.
“Then we had our female gymnast attacked by critics for wearing leotards during the SEA games in 2015 when she won six medals and two golds for Malaysia.”
In this latest case, Voon said she did not see what was so improper about the dress worn by the 12-year- old girl, as pictures circulating on social media showed that she was wearing a short-sleeved, round-neck blouse with a knee-length skirt.
Voon opined that the 12-year- old was perfectly decent in her outfit and if the official viewed it otherwise, then he must be ‘sick’.
“He also has to realise the extent of damage that he has done. He had not only stripped the 12-year- old off from her chance to participate in the contest but also put her and her family in embarrassment and mental stress.
“We demand an apology for the 12-year- old girl and her family. We also urge the government, especially the ministry concerned, to state their stand on dress codes and to come out and make a fair statement for the victim and her family for this unwarranted incident.”