A PAS leader has courted flak online for likening women to items (barang) amid the incident of a woman barred from entering a police station due to her attire.
Many are pointing out that Jabi assemblyperson Azman Ibrahim should fix his skewed thinking or lower his gaze if he comes across a woman he considers inappropriately dressed.
"Expensive items that are high in value will be packaged nicely. Packaging plays an important part in marketing. If an item is sold uncovered by the roadside, it is likely a cheap imitation item," he tweeted.
This was in response to a news report on Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman urging the police to not be sexist towards women, and to carry out their duty without prejudice and without judging a person by their clothing.
"Almost everyone who goes to a police station needs help. What they wear and their appearance should not matter.
"The Royal Malaysian Police should train its officers and personnel to accept people's presence as they are," Sinar Harian quoted the DAP lawmaker as saying on Sunday.
Young Syefura was commenting on a recent case where a woman was barred from entering the Kajang district police headquarters to lodge a report on a traffic accident because she was wearing shorts.
The personnel on duty advised the woman to change into long pants, which she did before she was allowed to proceed with her business.
Slammed for 'sexism'
Commenting on the matter, Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said that the incident stemmed from a "misunderstanding" between the woman and personnel on duty.
He further reminded the public to adhere to the fifth principle of the Rukun Negara, which pertains to courtesy and morality, when visiting government offices.
Elaborating, Azman said it is unbelievable that there are still those who believe that a person should not be judged by their appearance.
His stance, unsurprisingly, did not sit well with netizens, who called him out for alleged sexism.
Some netizens shared a screenshot of a tweet by former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan on the matter.
"No one would go to the police station to lodge police reports unless they have to, as they need police assistance. It is not only in cases of life and death, thus it doesn't matter how one should dress.
“It is the duty of the police to receive reports in whatever situation," the retired top cop said last week.
Another netizen alleged that Azman's remark mirrored how PAS saw women - as mere 'items' - and urged netizens to make their own judgment about the Islamist party and its leaders.
Others also did not mince their words, calling the Terengganu exco member names and asking whether he shared a similar outlook on women in his own household. - Mkini
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