A WOMAN who intended to lodge a police report following a car accident recently claimed that she was denied entry into the station because of her attire.
Having met with an accident with a truck near her home in Batu Sembilan, Cheras, the woman said an officer at the Kajang police station had refused her entry because she was wearing “inappropriate clothing”.
She further claimed that the officer was adamant and refused to listen to her reason that she would have to travel a distance to change.
“It was ridiculous. How can they deny me the right to lodge a report unless I change my clothes? He told me he didn’t care and that even ministers wouldn’t be allowed to enter (if they were dressed that way),” she was reported as saying by FMT.
In a press statement yesterday (Jan 31), the Kajang police confirmed that the woman was denied entry because her attire went against its dress code.
Kajang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaid Hassan said the officer on duty had advised the woman to change to a more appropriate attire if she wanted to deal with the police in line with the etiquette of dealing with personnel in government premises.
He also said the police station had not encountered any issues regarding visitor attire and that the dress code for visitors was posted at the control post for reference.
This had prompted netizens to weigh in on the matter, with many calling for the authorities to be more “people-friendly” and empathetic, noting that the police should be more flexible when faced with emergency situations.
User @Abraham60373150, for instance, said:
Someone has met with an accident. So does that mean you should not leave your house wearing shorts. Next are hospitals also going to ask pts to go home and change before coming for emergency treatment???? Because of etika pakaian di premises kerajaan????
— Abraham George (@Abraham60373150) January 31, 2023
(Someone has met with an accident. So, does that mean you should not leave your house wearing shorts? Next, are hospitals also going to ask patients to go home and change before coming for emergency treatment? Because of the dress code in government premises?)
Echoing the user, @LilyZali said:
Dia baru lepas accident. Bukannya dia saja2 dtg nak tanya kabor abam polis. Kena tgk.keadaan,tujuan. Kalau org kena rogol,dia lari pi balai bogel2,nak suruh dia balik rumah ke?
— Ubiquitous Cryptic (@LilyZali) January 31, 2023
(She just met with an accident. It’s not as if she wanted to drop by to say hello to the police. You need to gauge the situation and [the person’s] intention. If someone was raped and ran to the police station in a state of undress, are you going to tell the person to go home?)
User @Ramzis20260505 said:
This is silly and unacceptable. Common sense should prevail that an accident had happened and so happens that person was wearing short pants.what do you expect?find a new pair of pants in that time ?
— Ramzis (@Ramzis20260505) January 31, 2023
User, @Flickrj316, meanwhile, said:
“urusan rasmi” overides common sense is it? Emergencies take a back seat, yes? What about violence and abused reports? People going to the police station are not there for fun and show.
— allen w (@Flickrj316) January 31, 2023
Several netizens have also suggested that the police prepare sarong for complainants to cover their legs:
Ada sesetengah jabatan menyediakan “kain batik” atau “kain sarong” untuk pelanggan yang degil nauzubillah. Mungkin pihak polis boleh sediakan bagi kes² kecemasan atau darurat.
— 🚭 دودول dOdOl (@encikISWAN) January 31, 2023
(There are departments that prepare batik or sarong for stubborn customers. Maybe the police can prepare these for emergency cases)
Org tak suka suki pi balai polis. I think kalau etika pemakaian paling priority bagi pdrm,sediakan kain di balai2.
— Ubiquitous Cryptic (@LilyZali) February 1, 2023
(People don’t go to police stations for fun. I think if dressing etiquettes are a priority for PDRM, just prepare [pieces of cloths for complainants to cover themselves with] at police stations). – Feb 1, 2023
Main pic credit: Facebook / Polis Daerah Kajang
