SHAH ALAM: A New Straits Times reporter and a Klang resident had a Monday morning surprise when they were told to wear sarongs before they would be allowed into the Selangor State Secretariat building.

The incident comes less than a month after the Road Transport Department (JPJ) caused a social media storm by barring a woman in a mid-thigh skirt from its premises. She was allowed in after a security guard provided her with a sarong.

In the incident yesterday, the two women were stopped by security personnel at the entrance of the State Secretariat building in Shah Alam when they arrived separately for a press conference.

They were told by the guards to wear a sarong to cover their legs as their dresses were deemed too short. After refusing the sarong offer, the Klang resident, who was the first to arrive, used her scarf to cover her legs. She took it off once she had entered the building.

NST reporter C Premananthini, who arrived later, was also stopped when she tried to get a visitor’s pass at the entrance. She decided to enter the building using an alternative entrance instead.

“I have been coming here for two months and this is the first time I was stopped,” she said, adding that she had worn knee-length skirts before while attending press conferences at the State Secretariat.

Irked by the incident, Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago wrote about the incident on his Facebook page, saying 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?” Santiago asked.

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

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.”

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 Mohamed Azmin.

JPJ reportedly issued an open apology after receiving criticism for making Suzanne Tan wear a sarong at one of its offices recently. 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, JPJ maintained that it has a dress code for all visitors as is the practice in all government departments. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 23, 2015.