Dress of contention: Tan showing what she wore to the Pasir Gudang City Council – a pastel yellow long dress that extended to her mid-calf and covered shoes.
JOHOR BARU: A 60-year-old businesswoman is baffled after she was barred from entering the upper levels of the Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG) for apparently dressing inappropriately in a “see-through” dress.
This latest case came in the wake of two other women who were barred from government premises recently.
The woman, who only wanted to be known as Tan, said she was wearing a pastel yellow dress that extended to her mid-calf as well as covered shoes when she turned up at the council for business licence matters at around 11am on Wednesday.
“A female staff member at the front counter told me to head to the second floor to meet an official for my inquiry and to first obtain a visitor’s pass from the security guard. I was quite surprised when the security guard refused to give me a pass, saying that my dress was not long enough to head to the upper levels of the building.
“I went back to the front counter and related the issue to the female staff member as I did not want to leave without completing my task.
“She then told me to take the stairs to avoid the security guard. I did as she said because I didn’t want to argue or cause a scene as my husband was waiting for me in the car outside,” she said in an interview.
Tan said she could not understand the security guard’s reasoning as the female staff member and those on the second floor were polite and had no issue with her dress.
“Luckily, I only had to take the stairs to the second floor because I recently injured my leg.
“If I had been told to climb to the fourth or fifth floor, I would have gone home instead.
“As a businesswoman, I visit government offices quite often, so I am aware of the appropriate dress code, and I have never encountered such an issue before this.
“Moreover, I am a 60-year-old woman, so it does not make sense for me to dress scantily or wear inappropriate clothing in public,” she said.
On Sunday, a woman in her 20s was refused treatment in Kampar Hospital due to her attire, while earlier this month, another woman was also denied entry into the Kajang police headquarters to lodge a report on an accident because of her “inappropriate clothes”.
When contacted, an MBPG official said they were aware of the incident.
“From our understanding, she was dressed indecently as the dress was slightly see-through.
“She was not stopped from conducting her business on the ground floor and at the front counters.
“She was only stopped from going up the higher floors due to her dressing. We will look into the matter and make improvements,” said the official.
