Common sense to prioritise emergencies above dress code, says MCA

IN emergency situations, especially in cases where someone’s life could be in danger, it would be illogical to turn away the said person for not meeting the dress code requirements.

Previously, there was a case of a woman who was denied entry into the police station for wearing short pants, and more recently, a case of a woman who was denied emergency medical treatment for wearing short pants.

Considering that such cases continue to happen, the government should issue a clear directive for all government agencies, that emergency situations supersede dress code requirements.

Furthermore, every government agency should have a public complaints portal to weed out such Little Napoleon behaviours.

The intent of the dress code guideline is to respect the venue; if it is an arranged appointment such as making a passport or processing IC related matters, the dress code requirements are justified.

However, such rigid enforcement can be unsuitable sometimes for agencies which handle emergency situations, life and death scenarios frequently such as hospitals, clinics, police stations, etc.

On the other hand, the relevant government agencies should investigate whether any of their officers have been abusing the dress code requirements unfairly.

While these issues may look petty, they affect the general image of Malaysia’s civil servants, as well as the competency of the government.

Therefore, the relevant ministry and government agencies should address these issues swiftly to restore public faith in the government body.

Meanwhile, we note that upon being alerted to the dress code kerfuffle, Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has assured that “this (issue) shouldn’t happen in health facilities” besides announcing that an investigation will be carried and if true, action will be taken.

Saw Yee Fung

MCA spokesperson