KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — So what is “indecent” dressing? While knee-length skirts appear to violate the dress codes at some government departments, office attire of that length are ubiquitous in Malaysia, with shorts and short flirty dresses a common sight too on our streets.

In the past few weeks, several women were forced to wear a sarong, or even a towel over their outfits which were deemed indecent or “sexy” before they were allowed entry into some government departments.

In one case, a man was not allowed to pick up his lost luggage from the airport because he was wearing Bermuda shorts.

But what does the average Malaysian think? How do they define “indecent” dressing?

To find out, Malay Mail Online hit the streets in the Golden Triangle here at lunch time and polled 14 people.

They themselves were dressed in a variety of fashion: mini skirts, shorts, dresses, knee-length office skirts, sleeveless blouses, skinny pants, jeans, shirts and trousers.

When shown pictures of the women in knee-length dresses at the National Archives and of the woman in shorts at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, most said their clothes were “normal”, “typical Malaysian wear”, though some Malays commented the women’s skirts or shorts should have been longer, past the knee.