Lawyer's hemline irks Parliament security

Meera in her usual court attire that she wore to Parliament on Thursday, which saw her being barred by security personnel.

PETALING JAYA: The fashion police are at it again, this time in Parliament.

Women's Aid Organisation (WAO) assistant treasurer Meera Samanther was the latest target when she was told that her outfit was deemed "indecent" by security personnel at the Parliament entrance on Thursday.

"I was shocked when a security personnel approached me and said my skirt was too short," she told The Star on Friday.

A lawyer by profession, Meera said she was wearing her usual court attire, which included a knee-length skirt.

"I lost my cool, so I raised my voice and I told him to stop harassing me," she said, adding that the security personnel were surprised by her reaction and let her walk off.

Meera was in Parliament with a few others from women non-governmental organisations to meet Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran and M. Indira Gandhi over the deferment of the debate on the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill to the next Parliament session.

Meera said the security personnel should focus on actual security threats instead of being moral police.

She added one of her colleagues was also stopped at the guardhouse as she was driving in to get a security pass.

"The security personnel even peeked into the car to see what she was wearing and told her to get down so they could see the length of the skirt.

"This is unacceptable," she said.

There have been various news reports about officers at public facilities who barred access to women who they deemed dressed "inappropriately".

Meanwhile, Parliament Malaysia's head of corporate communications Tengku Nasaruddin Tengku Mohamed said the incident is being investigated.

"Parliament will issue an official statement soon," he said.