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”.

This was confirmed in a press statement yesterday (Jan 31) with the Kajang police saying 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 patients to go home and change before coming for emergency treatment? Because of the dress code in government premises?)

Echoing the user, @LilyZali said:

(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:

User, @Flickrj316, meanwhile, said:

Several netizens have also suggested that the police prepare sarong for complainants to cover their legs:

(There are departments that prepare batik or sarong for stubborn customers. Maybe the police can prepare these for emergency cases)

(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

https://focusmalaysia.my/its-an-emergency-not-a-social-call-netizens-weigh-in-on-dress-code-controversy/