KUALA LUMPUR – Under the country’s existing laws, police must register all complaints and assist those in need of help, legal eagles say in protest against an incident where a woman was denied access to a police station due to her attire.
The incident, which took place last week at the Kajang police headquarters, has since sparked widespread criticism against the men in blue over what many claim to be moral policing.
While Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani has defended the action as being in line with the government’s directive on public dress codes, senior players in the legal fraternity argued that this policy should not extend to police premises.
Speaking to The Vibes, former Malaysian Bar president Salim Bashir Bhaskaran pointed out that Section 107(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code specifically provides that “a police officer shall be duty-bound to receive any information in relation to an offence committed in Malaysia”.
In this regard, he said it is incumbent on the authorities to allow all individuals equal access to lodging reports.
“Moral policing on the attire of a person needing to lodge police reports has no place in substitute of law,” he said.
Dress codes or guidelines cannot be enforced as law. We cannot impose our values on others on the subject of one’s attire, so long as it’s not provocative or causes public indecency.”
Salim said any enforcement of dress codes at police stations must resort to sensibility and cannot be generalised, similar to that in other government buildings.
“Standards of dressing should be based on what is accepted generally in society,” he added.
Last week, a woman who met with a car accident was reported to have been denied entry into the Kajang station for wearing shorts that allegedly did not cover her knees.
She was then asked to change into something more appropriate, in line with the dressing etiquette set for government premises.
On Saturday, Acryl Sani had said that the dress code enforcement was based on a directive on visiting public offices by the chief secretary to the government, which grants all heads of department discretion to determine the dressing etiquette.
The Vibes has reached out to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail for comment but has yet to receive a response.
IGP erred, law clear about police boundaries
Senior lawyer M. Visvanathan described the police force’s justification – that the dress code is based on a government directive – as “absolute rubbish”.
He said while the enforcement of the strict dressing etiquette is understandable for visits to government buildings concerning official matters, turning away those in need of assistance at police stations is ridiculous.
Someone could be a rape victim and may be in a state of trauma and shock when they turn up at a police station. Are you going to tell them to go home and dress properly?
“People visit police stations and other government buildings for different purposes. For the former, people go there for immediate aid. They are different kettles of fish.”
Visvanathan further pointed out that unlike other government departments and agencies, police must act in observance of their statutory duties as guided by the Police Act 1967.
“Section 20 of the act says it is the paramount duty of the cops to safeguard life and property. But nowhere does it say that visitors must dress appropriately. So, how come police are suddenly becoming moral guardians?
The IGP has clearly gone off tangent and is erroneous in his statement. He’s confused about the law, so I suggest he read up on the statutory powers of police.”
Visvanathan added that the decision to bar entry to individuals whom police deem not to be observing their dress code can be challenged in court.
Meanwhile, the legal eagle proposed the issuance of a new, clear guideline which should be more in tune with a policy announced back in 2015, in that there would not be any enforcement of dress codes on members of the public when visiting government buildings.
This is in relation to a parliamentary reply by then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said that only civil servants should be subjected to dress code rulings. – The Vibes, February 7, 2023
