KUALA LUMPUR: The person who made a woman wear a sarong at the Road Transport Department (JPJ) Wangsa Maju office here will be dealt with.
“Action will be taken,” Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai told reporters at Parliament lobby yesterday.
He said he had instructed the department to apologise to Suzanna G.L. Tan for giving and asking her to wear a sarong for being in a skirt deemed short by the guard on Monday.
Liow said he did not know where the guard got the sarong from but added: “This is a serious matter. You can’t impose your values on others.”
He reiterated that JPJ did not have a “sarong policy” and said all existing guidelines will be reviewed.
“We will see if it reflects the people’s needs. The clothes can’t be too revealing, too,” he added.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi identified the person as a Rela (People’s Volunteer Corps) personnel.
Some of the guard posts at JPJ offices were outsourced to Rela, he added.
He said the Rela personnel acted on his own. “The guard has been transferred to another unit,” he told reporters covering the Global Airport Development Asia Conference 2015 here yesterday.
He said JPJ offices had the same dress code guidelines as other government departments.
“There has never been such drastic action before. The Government is sorry this has happened to her (Tan),” he said.
The Star highlighted on Tuesday of Tan being given a sarong and being told that she will not be served if she didnt wear it to cover her skirt.
Tan, in a Facebook posting, had said she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when she was given the order.
Wanita MCA chief Datuk Heng Seai Kie said the sarong incident, if left unrectified, will affect Malaysia’s image.
“We don’t want to be the laughing stock of other countries,” she said at Wisma MCA.
