KUALA LUMPUR June 9 — Federal lawmakers from both sides of the divide asked today if Malaysia was turning into a conservative Muslim nation like Iran, following reports claiming that the Road Transport Department (RTD) had made a middle-aged ethnic Chinese woman drape a sarong around her skirt when she was seeking service at one of their counters.

When debating the 11^th Malaysia Plan in the Parliament, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Simpang Renggam MP Liang Teck Meng and DAP’s Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, expressed their disappointment over the incident and asked why such regulations were imposed on the middle-aged woman, especially when rules to cover modesty are only imposed on Muslims.

“There is a guideline here issued by KSN (Chief Secretary to the Government) and it is stated that visitors must be decently dressed according to the norms of Malaysians.

“But this aunty is the type we see on the roads, supermarkets, restaurant and she was not allowed to enter. I feel this is a guideline that is unreasonable,” Liang said.

Liang then went on to draw parallels between Malaysia and conservative Muslim nation Iran, and asked if Malaysia was now heading in that direction.

“In Iran, women are not allowed to show their body but what is shown on television are their modified (edited) bodies.

“So, when we see the television, we only see a black box that’s covering their bodies. is this where we are heading to? I hope this will be restudied,” he said.

The dress code published on RTD’s Facebook page.

Teo then stood up to support Liang, adding that the traditional costumes of the Chinese and Indians are the cheongsam and saree which, she pointed out, are often short sleeved.

“This (guideline) should be in accordance with the practices of the Malaysian community... Indians wear saree and the Chinese were cheongsam and it is usually short sleeved.

“I understand that it is the culture for Muslims to cover their modesty and this is not the common culture for all Malaysians, and I want an explanation from the (Transport) minister in his response (later),” Teo said.

BN’s Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing meanwhile said that the matter was serious, adding that the woman had not been wearing a “swimsuit” or a “bikini”.

“She wasn’t wearing a swimsuit or bikini. Why are we making it so particular?

“So in this issue,  we want to ask the KSN..really is this guideline from them? Or is it just racist or religion-based?” he said, adding that he is confident that the Chief Secretary would not issue such a directive.

The MPs were debating the incident where a middle-aged, conservative-looking ethnic Chinese woman was denied service at a RTD office for wearing a skirt deemed too revealing.

She was later forced to wear a sarong, before being entertained by RTD officers.

Today, the government department even  published a dress code that prohibits even men from wearing sleeveless shirts.

Observers say that the incident of the RTD officers purportedly making the woman wear a full-length sarong in order to get service, who said she was at the RTD office for a vehicle ownership transfer, indicates creeping Islamisation in government departments whose workers are predominantly Malay-Muslim.