Colour of clothes unrelated to discipline, says former Selangor speaker Yeoh

While conceding that rulings on dress code in the Selangor state assembly are the speaker’s prerogative, its former Selangor speaker Hannah Yeoh said such rulings should be premised on functionality rather than appearances.

"As a woman legislator, I think we should not be equating colours with discipline. Functionality is more important than appearance or cosmetics.

"There is also a Chinese saying: it doesn't matter if it's a white or black cat; the one that catches mice is a good cat," she told Malaysiakini.

Yeoh, who is currently the women, family and community development deputy minister, was Selangor speaker from 2013 until 2018. She is the first woman to be appointed to the post in any Malaysian state legislature.

She said this when asked to comment on the tiff between Selangor assembly speaker Ng Suee Lim and Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong over the latter's attire.

Elizabeth Wong in the state assembly with her white blazer.

Ng had chastised Wong for wearing a white blazer and colourful clothes to the state assembly on Tuesday, arguing that it was a matter of discipline.

Wong, meanwhile, accused Ng of policing female politicians’ attire, a charge Ng denies.

Yeoh said that during her tenure as state assembly speaker, she had allowed women to wear coloured blazers, and matched the assembly's dress code to that of the Dewan Rakyat. 

"This is because we had lawmakers like Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Teresa Kok in the past who were both MPs and assemblypersons at the same time.

"It only made sense for one attire suitable for both Houses," she said. - Mkini