Ministers, cops engaging barber house call services, claims report

A report has claimed that several ministers and police officers are among those engaging house call barber services amid a government-imposed movement control order (MCO).

According to The Malay Mail, some barbers in Kuala Lumpur have begun making house calls in the Klang Valley after several of them were allegedly “summoned” for private services.

Quoting Malaysian Bumiputera Barber Association president, T N Winda Mohd Tahir, the report claimed one of the association members was asked by a “Bukit Aman boss” to provide haircut for officers.

Winda further claimed the National Security Council (NSC) also sought its members’ services to cut frontliners’ hair.

“If the government is not going to allow any hair cutting services, then it should be across the board and be fair to everyone. Don’t call our members and ask them to provide their services on an individual basis.

“We’ve received reports that a minister offered one of our members RM1,000 for his haircut and even offered to get his driver to fetch him. One of them also received a call from a Bukit Aman boss asking him to cut the hair of police officers.

“The NSC also contacted us to give haircuts to frontliners. But when we asked about opening our shops or if it’s okay for our members to conduct house calls, they were not clear about it,” he was quoted saying.

However, the report does not name any of the ministers and officers purportedly involved and said it was not yet able to verify these claims.

Malaysiakini is attempting to contact Bukit Aman and Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Ismail Sabri over the allegations.

Malaysians have been under a partial lockdown since March 18 which restricts movement and businesses, except for essential services.

Last month, the International Trade and Industry Ministry briefly approved the re-opening of barbershops but the decision was overturned following objections.

On May 4, the Perikatan Nasional government imposed a conditional MCO which allows the majority of businesses to resume operations in a bid to revitalise the economy.

However, hair salons and barbershops are still not permitted to open as it involves close body contact, with social distancing difficult to maintain. - Mkini