KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) today questioned the motive of a mother for only complaining months later about being booted out from her daughter’s convocation ceremony because she wore trousers.

According to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) vice-chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, the public university’s last convocation was held months ago in November last year while the next one will only be in May, saying the woman might have held a “grudge” against the university because she only brought up the matter two days ago.

“I don’t know the reason for making such a noise. Maybe a grudge,” Sahol told Malay Mail Online in a text message, when asked to comment on the complaint.

It was reported in several media that a woman from Sarawak called Marjorie Abdullah was barred from attending her daughter’s convocation ceremony in UiTM in Selangor for violating the event’s dress code that prohibits female guests from wearing trousers.

Marjorie took to Facebook two days ago to share a photograph of herself after she was ejected from the ceremony: she was wearing a blouse, a pair of black trousers, sandals, and an accompanying white headscarf.

“This is the outfit I wore the day I was kicked out of my daughter’s Graduation at UITM , Shah Alam, because I was inappropriately dressed. After I flew all the way from Sarawak to be at the graduation.

“My daughter and her fiance refused to attend their own graduations as they were angry at the way I was treated,” said Marjorie in a status update that accompanied the photo.

She also explained in the comment section that she did not see the dress code on the invitation card, but UiTM security had refused to accept her explanation.

The Facebook post has since been shared over 500 times, with many Facebook users expressing their astonishment that Marjorie was refused entry despite her seemingly modest attire.

“First of all, when was this convocation? … Which convocation did she attend? All public universities’ convocation have their own dress codes. Everybody knows that,” Sahol retorted in his text message to Malay Mail Online.

The website for UiTM’s convocation states that the dress code requires a female guest to wear either national attire, official attire or “decent attire”.

However, it strictly prohibits female guests from wearing dresses, knee-length skirts, sleeveless blouses, T-shirts and trousers.