SUCH is the sentiment raised by civil servants in light of the government encouraging them to wear batik attire daily as an alternative to office wear following a move to standardise air-conditioning temperatures to a minimum of 24° Celsius to conserve energy.
The directive is in line with the Human Resource Service Circular (MyPPSM) Section UP.7.2.3 on Dress and Appearance Etiquette for Civil Servants, according to Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.
“Under paragraph 5, Schedule 1 (iii): Attire for Male Officers While on Duty and paragraph 8, Schedule 2 (ii): Attire for Female Officers While on Duty, wearing batik attire is mandatory every Thursday and encouraged on all working days as an alternative to office wear,” he explained.
This came in a circular issued to ministry secretaries-general and state secretaries which was uploaded on the Public Service Department’s Facebook page.
However, not every Malaysian is receptive to such idea although batik is considered a national wear in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore by serving as a versatile, official attire for formal and casual occasions.
A browse at the Bernama Facebook page which reported the above circular saw some netizens even teasing that “there is a company on stand-by to get this tender”.
On a more serious note, it is a fact that “original batik wear which is 100% cotton is coiling yet pricey to many” while those “bought from TikTok aren’t sweat absorbent”.
Some even wondered if there will be clothing allocation for this purpose “in line with allowance for tailoring of unform”.
Others harped on the practicality of batik wear given for certain profession like teaching “which necessitates teachers to climb up and down non-air condition classrooms, sports attire maybe more proper to ensure comfort”.
As the directive only stated that “civil servants are encouraged” as opposed to “being compulsory or mandatory (only on Thursdays)”, the rule of thumb is “to don batik wear only if the office environment warrants its wearing”.
“In offices with air conditioning, wear batik but those who work outside the office a lot should be wearing short-sleeved shirts,” suggested one commenter. “Those who work as tax collectors should wear T-shirts 😁”
As for the lady folks, wearing batik comes with the hassle of ironing.
At the end of the day, one commenter suggested that “one just has to wear shirts with batik motives given original batik wear is expensive and moreover, there’s a need to be thrifty at times of (global energy) crisis”. – April 7, 2026
Main image credit: Bernama
