Dress code at discretion of dept heads, says IGP
Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said the dress code was to show the people that government offices are orderly and civil places to conduct their affairs.
KUALA LUMPUR: All heads of departments have the discretion to determine the dress code for government offices, says inspector-general of police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
At a press conference here, he said the chief secretary to the government had given directives on the appropriate attire when visiting government offices.
This follows a report that a woman was barred from entering a police station in Kajang as she was said to be wearing shorts that allegedly did not cover her knees.
Acryl said the incident stemmed from a “misunderstanding”, adding that the officer on duty had simply advised the woman to change into more modest attire to conduct her business at the station.
“We wish to show the people that government offices are orderly and civil places to conduct (public) affairs. However, flexibility (on attire) may be granted in cases of emergencies,” he said.
Earlier this week, a woman claimed she was refused entry into the Kajang district police headquarters (IPD) to lodge a police report following a car accident because of her attire. However, the woman claimed she was wearing Bermudas that covered her knees.
She was only allowed to enter the police station after her sister brought her a pair of long pants.
Kajang police later confirmed that a woman was denied entry into the police station because her attire did not comply with its dress code.
The incident led to brickbats from various quarters. Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan said police should not stop anyone from lodging a report just because of the complainant’s choice of attire.
He said the police should not be “chasing” away those who want to lodge a report as it was their duty to help the public.
KUALA LUMPUR: All heads of departments have the discretion to determine the dress code for government offices, says inspector-general of police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.
At a press conference here, he said the chief secretary to the government had given directives on the appropriate attire when visiting government offices.
This follows a report that a woman was barred from entering a police station in Kajang as she was said to be wearing shorts that allegedly did not cover her knees.
Acryl said the incident stemmed from a “misunderstanding”, adding that the officer on duty had simply advised the woman to change into more modest attire to conduct her business at the station.
“We wish to show the people that government offices are orderly and civil places to conduct (public) affairs. However, flexibility (on attire) may be granted in cases of emergencies,” he said.
Earlier this week, a woman claimed she was refused entry into the Kajang district police headquarters (IPD) to lodge a police report following a car accident because of her attire. However, the woman claimed she was wearing Bermudas that covered her knees.
She was only allowed to enter the police station after her sister brought her a pair of long pants.
Kajang police later confirmed that a woman was denied entry into the police station because her attire did not comply with its dress code.
The incident led to brickbats from various quarters. Former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan said police should not stop anyone from lodging a report just because of the complainant’s choice of attire.
He said the police should not be “chasing” away those who want to lodge a report as it was their duty to help the public.
***
kt comments:
What a kerbau-ish answer by the IGP! If it is up to the "discretion" of heads of departments, meaning that can vary from police station to station, then who the e;f;f; will know what the e;f;f; code at place X is?
Furthermore, in 2015 Azalina Othman Said, then as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, clarified that there was no dress code for the public when dealing with government departments and agencies.
The whole evasion by the IGP is a typical Malaysian attitude a la "Jangan pecahkan mangkok nasi orang kami", the reluctance to stand firm (and take action) on disciplinary issues lest "our" men (women) suffer adverse consequences.
It's an attitude not uncommon with most Malaysians whether Malaysian Malays, Indians or Chinese, unlike other nationalities especially the West (particularly Scandinavians) and those who have adopted strict disciplinary policies (eg. Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea). The current Malaysian Education Minister has just demonstrated this socio-cultural inclination on the recent scandal involving a Johor Convent school.
shirking is not one of the precepts of madani, chief al madani please take note, all our institutions and agencies are full of shirkers or alasanistas
ReplyDelete