Chief Secretary must address the dress issue

THE more I read about how women are barred from entering government offices on account of their dressing, the more I feel, along with many others, how preposterous the situation is.

The latest incident involving a journalist from The Star who was refused entry to the Defence Ministry to cover an event is just too much to bear.

Looking at her attire, she was, by all practical purposes, properly and decently attired but she was denied entry at the guardhouse of the building.

What was revealed by the incident clearly indicated that there is inconsistency when enforcing the dress code. She had covered press conferences in government buildings before and there was no issue over her attire.

It is improper to leave it to an individual manning the guardhouse to interpret what is “decent” or “indecent” attire.

It appears to me that there are in our midst “overzealous dress code enforcers” out to prove that they want to do moral policing on the dress code without realising the consequences of their actions.

I completely agree with our de facto Law Minister Nancy Shukri who, dismayed by the series of incidents, said that “as long as people were decently dressed, they should be allowed to wear whatever they want.”

I had stated recently that the Chief Secretary to the Government should step in to put an end to all these controversies.

I hope Nancy Shukri will also raise this matter in the Cabinet and put a stop to all this ridiculous dress policing.

What the Government needs to do before the situation deteriorates further is to come out with new and proper guidelines and ensure consistency in the implementation of the dress code.

What is even more important is that we are living in a multi-racial and multi-cultural country and the Government must ensure that there should be no imposition of one’s values onto others. I am sure all Malaysians irrespective of gender will know how to dress to suit the occasion. TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE

Kuala Lumpur