Rafidah: Focus on matters beneficial to public, not their attire

 

Former minister Rafidah Aziz said policies that are formulated and implemented should focus on raising the standards of living for the people instead of regulating their attire.

“When rules and directives border on moral policing based purely on subjective evaluations and opinions, then there will be that to-be-expected negative fractiousness and dissent. And the debates will continue as more government departments decide to play moral police.

“Needless to say, the inclination to impose head-to-toe rules on attire does not contribute to social harmony,” she added in a statement to Malaysiakini.

Rafdah also said that it is important for public governance to focus on matters that benefit the people as well as building a strong and united Malaysia.

She advised against wasting time and resources on absurd rules that burden the people, especially the most vulnerable.

“There is so much serious work to be done, to ensure that our young can compete successfully with their global peers and for socioeconomic policies to be implemented to enable Malaysia to level up to global benchmarks.

“We cannot afford to be burdened by trivialities and irrelevant things, which only detract from the serious matter of public governance,” she added.

On Dec 15, the Kuala Selangor Municipal Council (MPKS) defended its decision to enforce a dress code for visitors who do business at its premises.

This came after a man was asked to put on a sarong before he could be allowed to enter the MPKS office recently. The man had arrived at the premises wearing shorts.

Before this, a 72-year-old man was prevented from visiting his relative at the Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang because he was clad in a pair of shorts.

On Dec 8, it was reported that police gave the victim of a car break-in the runaround for turning up in shorts when lodging a police report. - Mkini