KUALA LUMPUR: Muslim women working in the private sector, particularly those in the frontline, will soon be allowed to don a headscarf while on duty, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh said the details will be spelled out in a proposed dress code guideline for Muslim workers in the private sector.
“At the moment, the guideline is in its final stages. It has been reviewed by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and waiting to be launched and implemented.
“It is the right of a Muslim to wear attire that is deemed Shariah-compliant. And under this soon-to-be-launched guideline, it will be discriminatory if a person is not allowed to do so,” Fuziah stressed.
She cited the Federal Constitution.
“It is mentioned there that there should be no discrimination in terms of race, religion or gender,” she said when winding up the ministry’s 2020 Budget today.
Fuziah said once the guideline is in place, all policies forbidding a woman to cover her ‘aurat’ (parts of the body that should be covered according to Islam) will be called for review.
Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid (BN-Kuala Kangsar) then asked if measures have been taken by the government to address the issue of inappropriate attire worn by those in the hotel and airline industry, and if options were available for each employee, to abide by the Shariah-compliant attire ruling or not.
To which, Fuziah said: “All of this will be included in the said guideline.”
In August last year, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa, announced in Dewan Rakyat that the government was working on a dress code for women employees in the private sector.
This came following reports that certain hotels were prohibiting its frontline staff from wearing headscarves, a move that drew heavy criticism from various quarters.
Subsequently, the Malaysian Association of Hotels explained that the decision to enforce the policy was the norm across some international hotels for its frontline staff.
