Kota Baru local govt’s eatery dress codes a prelude to entrench religious values & bureaucracy unto non-Muslims

Moves by the Kota Baru Islamic City Municipal Council to include the Islamic dress code as one of the criteria in assessing grades for food outlets (The Star, 18 July 2018) highlights the PAS state government is bent on forcing its restrictive religious values to be more pervasive. Logic is defied as how are apparel  for workers related to food hygiene?  

MCA is concerned that this Islamic dress code may be abused to discriminate against non-Muslim food operators by making it difficult to obtain top marks based purely on attire or uniforms worn, thus depriving non-Muslims of a legitimate source of income.

Similarly, this local council directive will also compel non-Muslim food operators to tailor new uniforms, thus incurring unnecessary additional costs. For example, Chinese restaurants will have to discard the cheongsam uniforms of their female food attendants just to be in compliance with the Kota Baru local government order.

Even more worrisome: the rigid dress code is another method by PAS to coerce its conservative religious values unto non-Muslims although the top PAS leadership claimed that PAS hudud enactments will not be imposed on non-Muslims.

Past experience however, reveal otherwise. Non-Muslim proprietors have been fined as their Muslim employees wore three-quarter sleeves but were deemed by the Kota Baru authorities as insufficiently long! PAS should take heed that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad has called out that moderation and respect are crucial in our multi-religious society.

The directive is also not practical and may even prove dangerous and harmful considering that Asian cooking often involves deep frying or grilling. Thus there is a possibility of the loose long sleeve or hems getting caught or coming into contact with the fire, burner or oil.

MCA also does not want a situation where enforcement officers will turn into self-righteous snoop squads who misuse their power and authority as a façade hiding their perverted lust to stare, ogle, single out female eatery employees for harassment and a witch hunt. In Saudi Arabia, religious police from the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice on street patrol are known to flog the ankles deemed exposed of women veiled under their long black niqabs.

Food outlets should be graded based on hygiene, cleanliness and safety of the premises. Are meals properly prepared and handled? Are the used cutleries amply cleansed and sanitized? Are the kitchen and dining floors adequately washed and mopped with anti-bacteria detergent before the eatery closes business for the night? Are the kitchen and storage room properly ventilated and the temperature of the refrigerator and freezer cool/cold enough to maintain freshness of the ingredients?

Senator Datuk Ong Chong Swen
Wanita MCA Vice Chairman

-MCA online-