Exception to dress code based solely on situation

KUALA LUMPUR: An exception to the dress code for those lodging reports at police stations could be made based on the type of emergency faced by the complainant, says Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

The Inspector-General of Police said a strict dress code for the public at police stations was required based on the directive from the Chief Secretary of the Government.

“We have to uphold it as a police station is a government building and installation.

“However, it can be relaxed or we can make exceptions based on the situation, such as a life and death situation,” he told reporters after attending the Hiking with the Police programme at Bukit Kiara Federal Park yesterday.

Among others who attended the programme were Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim, and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.

He was commenting on an incident where a woman was allegedly prohibited from entering the Kajang police headquarters for wearing inappropriate attire.

“I was informed that the complainant was wearing shorts and she was advised by police personnel to wear appropriate attire. Maybe there was a misunderstanding during the incident.

“We must always wear appropriate attire when going to government buildings,” he said.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zaid Hassan was quoted as saying that checks revealed the woman was wearing a pair of shorts which did not cover her knees, and only changed into a longer one once she was told she could not enter the police station.

“The incident occurred at around 10.30am on Monday when the woman came to the Kajang Police Headquarters to lodge a report over an accident.

“The sentry on duty told the woman that she could not park her SUV in the police compound as there was no place to park

“The personnel also noticed that the woman was wearing shorts that only reached her thighs, and told her she needed to change into something more appropriate in order to enter the police headquarters, in line with the etiquette set for government premises,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said the woman was not satisfied and refused to follow the police personnel’s orders at first, and provoked them.

“They then advised her politely again and she drove out of the compound and came back about 15 minutes later with two friends, while wearing longer pants.

“A picture of the woman’s longer pants was published along with an article in a portal which made it seem like she was barred entry even though she complied with the dress code.

“She only wore the pants pictured in the article after she was told to so,” he had said.