Redress for dress code gaffe

PETALING JAYA: Following an outcry over the barring of cheongsam and saree at its upcoming 50th convocation ceremony, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has revised its dress code for the occasion.According to the new guidelines on its website, the university now says graduates can wear national costumes (baju kebangsaan) but does not give specifics.

The guidelines say female graduates must wear a “national costume/baju kurung/lounge suit/long-sleeved blouse and long skirt or dark-coloured trousers until the ankle”.

Male graduates are given a choice of wearing a national costume or lounge suit with tie and dark-coloured pants that reaches the ankles, all of which are appropriate and meet the protocol requirements for official events and convocations

Earlier, UKM came under fire from the public after it released a dress code that banned saree and cheongsam at its convocation.

Social media users slammed the rules, saying they perpetuated “supremacist policies”.

A poster titled “Dress Code for UKM Convocation” bearing the university’s emblem has gone viral on social media platforms.

Other than showing what’s acceptable to wear and what’s not for both graduates and guests, the bottom part of the poster also showed the prohibited outfits for men and women in a description and a picture.

The description said that jeans, short pants, T-shirts, slippers and sneakers, short and slit skirts, and pareo were not permitted.

However, in the picture, the saree and cheongsam, which are traditional dresses for ethnic Indian and Chinese women, were labelled as prohibited, alongside a short-sleeved blouse and knee-length pencil skirt outfit.

“UKM is this true? Why are you, a university, practising supremacist policies? Please STOP,” said Twitter user Anne James @annejames44 in a post with the poster.

Similarly, Nadiah Ya’acob @imnadiahjacobs questioned: “Why is kebaya or kurung allowed but not saree and cheongsam? Disgusting coming from UKM.”

Activist and lawyer Siti Kasim also criticised the guidelines.

“Since when a saree and a cheongsam cannot be worn for their own children’s graduation, or by the graduates themselves?” she said on TikTok.