Selangor secretariat has policy stating ‘no skirt above knee’, says officer

DAP's Klang MP Charles Santiago highlighted the issue over the two women being denied entry into the Selangor State Secretariat building in a press conference today. – The Malaysian Insider pic, June 22, 2015.

All visitors to the Selangor state secretariat (SUK) building in Shah Alam should abide by the stipulated dress code, a senior staff of the secretariat said.

The state official who declined to be named said the guidelines are clearly displayed at the entrance to the guard house.

"Among what is displayed on the signboard is that women cannot wear skirts that are above the knee. There is a dress code that visitors should follow,” he said.

A New Straits Times reporter and a Klang resident got a rude shock this morning when they were told to wear sarongs before they could be allowed entry into the SUK building.

The incident comes less than a month after the Road Transport Department (RTD) was slammed by social media users for insisting that a woman who wore a skirt that ended above the knee, cover her legs with a sarong.

The officer also told The Malaysian Insider that they are still investigating the matter.

“We are still waiting for a report on what transpired between the guards and the women. We will find out what happened and we will deal with it,” he said. 

The representative said that it is not in SUK's guidelines to force anyone to wear a sarong.

“We have found out from the SUK administration that there is no ruling for women to wear sarong. But, visitors are expected to dress appropriately,” he said.

The two women were stopped by security personnel at the entrance of the SUK 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 short.

After refusing the sarong offer, the resident, who was the first to arrive, used her scarf to cover her legs. She took it off once she entered tThe Facebook posting by Charles Santiago with the photo of the two women who were deemed 'indecently' dressed by the security at the Selangor State Secretariat building this morning. – June 22, 2015.

he building.

The NST's reporter, C. Premananthini, who arrived later, was also stopped and told the same thing when she tried to get a visitor's pass at the entrance.

Baffled by the request, she decided to enter the building using an alternative entrance instead.

Irked by the incident, Klang MP 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, referring to the RTD.

Selangor state secretary Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi, who was met by reporters at Istana Kayangan in Shah Alam, denied SUK having any rules requiring visitors wearing sarongs to enter the building.

"It is not the instruction of the SUK," he said.