Dress code is absurd, Sarawak must speak out against it

OUTSPOKEN: Is there really a dress code that the public must follow when entering government buildings and offices, including hospitals?
I have yet to come face to face with a notice at the entrance of any office building spelling out specific dress requirement that members of the public must comply with, at least not in Sarawak.

I was a government servant for 16 years about 30 years ago, there was a dress guideline for us government servants but there was nothing to say that the public were expected to meet certain dress requirement before we could serve them. 

Maybe over the years things have changed and the dress guideline has been rewritten to include all men and women of sound mind? 

So I called a friend, a political secretary to the chief minister, just to be sure. And his reply was:  “Tidak adalah. Where got such thing. 

“If you are meeting the chief minister or the governor, lainlah. But not everybody gets to officially meet the CM and the TYT anyway.

“If you have an appointment with them, surely you would dress to impress. That goes without saying.”

In Sarawak, it is not practical for government departments and offices to insist that the public must comply with a dress code.  

Some form of dress code may be possible in some government office complex in the cities, but if you think that should also apply everywhere, you have not seen it all. 

While we do expect people to look tidy and presentable, this is all very relative. 

Throughout Sarawak, in particular in areas like Marudi and Kapit, even Sibu, government offices deal a lot with farmers, traders and fishermen. In short, the ordinary people. 

You don’t really need to be a Sherlock Holmes to tell what they do for a living as they walk up to the counter seeking to be served. 

Your prospective client is a farmer because he holds a hoe and spots a straw hat that has seen better days. Or a butcher, simply because he still has his apron, all bloodied, on. Do you refuse to serve them because they aren’t up to your dress code requirement? 

Do you tell the estate and plantation people to go home, bath and dress up and not come with much of them covered up in mud? 

Some folk come bringing their favourite fighting cock in a sling like how good dear mom carries her child. 

Try tell him, ‘No pet allowed’ he probably will ask you how much is your monthly take-home pay because that’s the money he is willing to pay you to look after his prized bird. 

No, government offices in Sarawak cannot impose a public dress code. If Putrajaya cannot make a stand on the issue for whatever reason, the Sarawak state government should speak out on the absurdity of the whole thing. 

Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian’s take of the issue deserves Chief Minister Adenan Satem’s attention.

First, the issue was a dress code in government offices. A lady was forced to wear a sarong over her dress that got some JPJ staff all sexually aroused. 

After a lot of debates, someone religious said non-Muslims should dress more “appropriately” in public places because he and other Muslims are sinning just at the sight of uncovered ‘aurat’. The same religious Muslim suggested that non-Muslims not eat in the presence of Muslims during the fasting month. 

To this, Baru said by demanding that non-Muslims mollycoddle and tip-toe around Muslims, the muftis and teachers are doing the Muslims of this country a disservice and bringing their religion into disrepute. 

“There is certainly no compulsion on people of other faiths to ease the religious duties of Muslims by removing so-called ‘temptations’ from their sight. Temptation is everywhere and cannot be removed.

“The purpose of fasting and the requirement of religious piety, as I understand it, is a testing of one’s faith and willpower in dealing with ‘nafsu’ and other external ‘disturbances’.

“Instead of asking others to remove the forces of temptation by covering up and hiding in the toilet to eat and drink, teachers and leaders should encourage adherents to delve into themselves to find the strength and willpower to resist temptation and to carry on with their normal daily activities. 

“We live in a multi-religious country where Christians, Buddhists and Hindus also fast as a part of our religious practices but there is no demand that people of other faiths respect us by not eating in our presence.” 

Oh yes, Christians also fast. When the time to fast comes, I fast.

I fast not because other religions are doing it but because my religion requires that of me. 

And like other Christians, I go through it with God. 

I like this line from former Umno iron woman Rafidah Aziz: “There are things you cannot dictate upon others (like) your personal religious beliefs and interpretations, your perception of what is good or correct or proper. Your personal ideas of heaven or hell.” 

And this line, which I learn from Sarawak Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Fatimah Abdullah. I understand she learns it from somewhere: “When you see a female dressed in a manner that is unacceptable in Islam, do not for one moment think that she is lower than you spiritually. If you do that, you are lower than her. Believe me, that is the teaching of your religion. She might have a heart that is tons better than yours. She might have one weakness that is outward, and you have 50 weaknesses that are hidden.” - The Ant Daily.