A case of overzealous security guard crying foul over woman’s “jacket collar exposure being too big”
FRESH from the hemline fiasco at Melaka’s Jasin police station where a young lady was asked to change her attire before being allowed to lodge a police report, comes another dubious attempt to enforce a dress code that smacks of over-zealousness.
This time the incident was at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex in Jalan Duta.
Last Friday, I had a court appointment at the Duta courts.
As usual, all entrants are screened for security purpose, usually by RELA personnel.
When Weiling Ho entered, initially the RELA said her jacket collar exposure was too "besar" and couldn't enter unless she covered up. WL countered that there was nothing "besar" to show. The officer then sought confirmation from a higher officer who said it was fine and allowed.
...See moreRecounting the incident from last Friday (Dec 5) on his Facebook feed, former executive deputy chairman of Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd Datuk Ramesh Rajaratnam who had gone to that venue for an appointment pointed out the usual procedure where RELA personnel screened all entrants for security purposes.
However, he noted that communications specialist Weiling Ho was prevented from entering the building.
Ramesh recalled: “When Weiling Ho (WL) entered, initially the RELA (guard) said her jacket collar exposure was too “besar” (big) and couldn’t enter unless she covered up.
“WL countered that there was nothing “besar” to show. The officer then sought confirmation from a higher officer who said it was fine and allowed (her in).”
Feeling the need to interject, Ramesh approached the RELA personnel to admonish her for attempting to force her personal values onto others:
“Noticing the commotion, I walked over to the first RELA officer and queried her initial objection. I told her ‘jangan kau cuba memperislamkan pakaian di mahkamah ini. Siapa kata pendapat kamu adalah betul?’(literally, ‘Don’t try to Islamisise dress code in this court. Who says your opinion is right?’)
“She just sulked and didn’t look at me.”
Little Napoleons on the prowl
The obviously non-plussed poster added: “This is how the little Napoleons get braver by the day because most of us don’t argue back. Someone has to stop this creepy, oops creeping, theocratisation of the system.
“Otherwise, we all will be walking around with dark tents over our body.”
The post has generated 328 likes, 125 comments and 37 shares at time of writing with many commenters echoing the same sentiments expressed by the poster.
Referencing the Jasin police station incident, one commenter highlighted the inconvenience such dress codes place upon members of the public.
Highlighting the ridiculousness of such dress codes, one commenter pointed out that she was denied entry into a court hearing for donning a skirt deemed too short.
She was allowed in after an argument with the security personnel but she was non-plussed that informal attire such as long jeans and T-shirts were allowed but not a formal dress.
The perception was that the holier-than-thou types were trying to force their beliefs unto others with this observer pointing out that Malaysia is very different from countries like Saudi Arabia.
This apparent need to follow Arab-style dressing and customs was also a point of contention for some commenters.
However, one commenter begged to differ by claiming that there is no flaw with the dress code given “it was made to respect each other while doing business”.
“If your house you put a rule no smoking in your house but somebody doesn’t care about it and smoke in your house, would you be happy to let somebody smoke? Please respect the law as it was not imposed because of culture but rather for modesty,” he countered.
At any rate, one lady confessed that she no longer bothers arguing with such security personnel over dress codes as she has to “dress conservatively” anyway since she is in her 60s.
It was also sarcastically suggested that wearers of short-skirts pay less taxes since their civil rights are being affected.
Others though applauded the poster’s stance in telling off the RELA personnel for imposing her worldview onto others.
Some commenters argued this was the best way to keep Little Napoleons in check while another claimed she deliberately dons a saree to government departments to provoke an argument on the subject of dress codes.
Though some may argue that these dress codes have been in place for some time already and it really isn’t that big a deal to adhere to them, the point being highlighted by the case above (as well as the Jasin police station incident), is that it is being taken to extremes.
It is not just a case of inconveniencing tax-paying citizens but also forcing ultra-conservative values onto others which is NOT taken kindly to. – Dec 10, 2025
