A WOMEN’S clothing store owner in Kota Baru has been compounded by enforcement officers from the municipal council on the grounds that she was dressed inappropriately, Sin Chew Daily reported.

The woman wore a tee-shirt and shorts.

The woman, who identified herself as Lee, said her store has been in business for more than two years, and it is the first time she has encountered such a problem.

She told the Chinese daily that she dressed in tee-shirt and shorts while working in the store every day.

She said in the past, she used to work in a barber shop and dress the same, but was never compounded.

“Customers who come to my store are mainly Chinese women,” she was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Kota Baru Municipal Council compounded her under section 34(2)(b) of its Commercial Trade and Industrial Local Government Regulations 2019.

The Malaysian Insight is trying to get the council’s comment.

Previously, the council had warned waitresses and female staff of retail outlets that they face a compound if they wear revealing and tight-fitting clothes.

The council’s bylaw on proper feminine attire prohibits Muslim and non-Muslim women from wearing body hugging outfits, blouses that show the navel, see-through blouses, miniskirts and tight pants.

In addition to the dress code, Muslim women are bound by law to wear ankle-length dresses and to cover their hair and forehead. – June 26, 2023.