Syerleena ticks off male detractors mocking her for not donning ‘tudung’ to first mind their prayer times

Syerleena ticks off male detractors mocking her for not donning ‘tudung’ to first mind their prayer times





BY right, to cover up the hair should be a personal choice but some Muslims tend to go out of their way to poke their nose into the business of others by justifying that they are obliged to steer the misguided to the right path.


The crux of the matter is that many conservative Muslims feel that all Muslim women should be modestly attired – from the head down – starting with the donning of the tudung ‘to hide their crowning glory’.


But as a self-proclaimed moderate Muslim nation, shouldn’t that be a matter of personal choice? This was the point that DAP lawmaker Syerleena Rashid seems to be making in one of her most viewed TikTok clips.


Being one of the few tudung-less Muslim women parliamentarians around, the Bukit Bendera MP is unwilling to take insulting remarks by men-folk into her personal choice lying down.

Firstly, she ticked off the busybodies NOT to be hypocrites as she has observed that many of her male critics are lounging about smoking instead of stepping into a mosque for Friday prayers.

Watch on TikTok

She further queried if these so-called keepers of the Islamic faith actually prayed five times a day as mandated.

Secondly, the very act of smoking is haram. The Penang-born DAP lawmaker who had her primary and secondary school education at Convent Green Lane went on to justify that there is a fatwa on tobacco consumption but that is conveniently ignored by the holier-than-thou bunch.

Thirdly, she challenges her detractors to comment on her non-conformist stance WITHOUT resorting to lewd or unsavoury remarks.

Many of those who commented unsurprisingly sided with the 45-year-old first-term MP (she was previously the Seri Delima state assemblywoman) with one citing TikTok as the refuge for holier-than-thou types.

Another opined that whether one smokes, abandon his/her prayers or not putting on the tudung, all will eventually have to be answerable to Allah during judgment day.



Another highlighted that this was the mindset of men who were quick to blame women for “arousing desire” on the slightest pretext.



Some pointed out that a number of high-profile individuals also did not don a tudung. This includes the much touted (former) FLOM (first lady of Malaysia) Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of twice former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Henceforth, one should not be biased if one wishes to criticise but to do so without prejudice, ie by hoping that those women would eventually put on the tudung one day.



Nevertheless, one made the very pertinent point that individuals have the right to decide what is best for themselves.



This matter has also been highlighted by lawyer and social activist Siti Kassim who lamented the creeping Islamisation in various institutions, including public schools.

The fear is that such dogmatic views and conservative doctrines are permeating all segments of society, hence forcing all to live under one set of rules.



While the issue may be of great importance to Muslims, there is a world of difference between “friendly advice” and “condemnation”. The latter – as highlighted in Syerleena’s clip – often takes the form of abusive words which should not be normalised.

Such forceful coercion has no place in civil society. Respect for individual choices must be upheld, no matter how painful it may seem to the conservative brigade. – March 13, 2025