Nitpicking nurses’ uniforms? Think tank questions PAS MPs’ priorities

KUALA LUMPUR – Health advocacy think tank Galen Centre has panned PAS lawmakers for including their concerns over “tight” nurses’ uniforms in their debate on the health white paper in Parliament today. 

Its chief executive officer, Azrul Mohd Khalib, took to Twitter to share his disbelief over how the duo, Wan Razali Wan Nor (Kuantan-PN) and Salamiah Mohd Nor (Temerloh-PN), had used their allocated debate time to raise “unexpected” issues. 

“Something (is) wrong when this is what they are concerned about,” he said in a tweet. 

During the Health White Paper debate in DR today, I did not expect the perceived tightness of nurses' uniforms & the imagined shape of their bodies to be brought up by the MP for Kuantan. Temerloh later supported.

Something wrong when this is what they are concerned abt. pic.twitter.com/2YvVdoJGHo

— Azrul Mohd Khalib (@azrulmohdkhalib) June 15, 2023

Earlier on in the Dewan Rakyat, Wan Razali had urged the Health Ministry to look into the supposedly “tight” uniforms worn by nurses in government hospitals, claiming that such outfits are a “Western custom”. 

The PAS backbencher also lamented how most nurses working in government hospitals are dressed in outfits that “show off their body shape”.

“Does the ministry intend to continue following Western (standards) relating to dress codes? 

“Can such standards not be changed or adjusted?” he questioned when debating the health white paper on healthcare reforms for the public sector. 

Wan Razali claimed that Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan and the Sultan Azlan Shah Medical Centre in Kuantan, Pahang are the only two public healthcare centres which provide its nurses with alternative uniforms.  

“Some hospitals give their female staff the option to choose an outfit which is more suitable. 

“Congratulations to those hospitals that have provided (its nurses) with the option to choose a better dress code,” he said. 

Wan Razali’s comments were later supported by his party colleague Salamiah, who briefly said that she backs the call for more “shariah-compliant” uniforms for nurses in government hospitals. – The Vibes, June 15, 2023