A couple of days ago ,in light of the ongoing dress code/”covering up” issues in Malaysia as of recent, G25 coordinator Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin has stepped forward to say that the Chief Secretary to the Government should issue clear directives regarding dress codes and its enforcement at government offices and agencies.
G25 is a group comprising of former high-ranking civil servants and diplomats, known its moderate stance on Islam and race relations in Malaysia.
And now, the Health Ministry of Malaysia has decided to do just that – sorta.
According to a report from The Star Online, the Health Ministry wants the public to be dress decently when visiting Government hospitals. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said:
This means the public should not go to the hospitals in bikini and all that or very short shorts. We are not saying that they must be over-dressed, but decently dressed. I hope the public will take note of this because so long as you are decently dressed, you can go in.
Dr Subramaniam was asked to comment on a recent incident where a woman was denied entry into the Sungai Buloh Hospital for wearing shorts, but was allowed in after she covered her legs with a towel.
At that time, the woman claimed that the hospital security personnel had told her that the no-shorts policy came directly from the Ministry of Health. To which Dr Subramaniam said Ministry would instruct security guards at Government hospitals not to go overboard regarding the dress ruling.
“We don’t tell them to do more than what they are supposed to do. And to avoid unpleasant situations, I hope the people who want to go to the hospitals dress decently,” he said.
Source: The Star Online.
