Yesterday, The Star Online reported about a woman who had a shock at the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Malaysia (Road Transport Department Malaysia) when she was forced to wear a sarong or be refused service.
The woman, one named Suzanne G L Tan, wrote on her Facebook that she was at the JPJ office to transfer the ownership of her car after selling it. Her post included pictures of herself inside and outside the office, at first wearing a white-and-pink blouse paired with a skirt that ended just above her knee, then wearing a sarong and sitting at the JPJ counter.
As seen in the screenshot of the Facebook post which went viral, she wrote, “I had to go to JPJ personally to sign the transfer form for the car I sold. That in itself is already a pain. I go dressed like this. Indecent meh? At the number counter, they hand me a sarong to wear or they will not entertain me.”
However, Suzanne did not say which JPJ office, nor the time or date she was there.
According to The Sun Daily, a JPJ public relations officer said investigations are currently underway to identify which one of its branches was involved in the incident. “We were just informed of the matter and are currently doing our own investigation,” he said. But he also added that, “Whatever it is, we have to dress accordingly, based on the dress code of entering a government building.”
Then, late yesterday evening, JPJ uploaded a “dress code” image on their Facebook page, seemingly in response to the issue:
Take note, peeps, to avoid from facing inconveniences in the future! It won’t hurt to put on a pair of jeans and a decent top if you ever need to make that trip to a government office, be it JPJ or the Department of Immigration
Sources: The Star Online, The Sun Daily, JPJ’s Facebook page.