THE Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) has stuck to its decision on issuing a compound to a women’s clothing store owner for dressing inappropriately, Sin Chew Daily reported.

MPKB mayor Rosnazli Amin said the photo of the woman posing with the fine – uploaded on Facebook – was misleading as she wore different clothing when she was compounded. 

“The clothes she wore when she was visited by enforcement personnel were not the same.”

He then shared a photograph of enforcement personnel visiting the woman’s premises.

It showed that the woman was clad in an oversized pink T-shirt that covered her shorts.

“The photo that we saw on Facebook depicted her wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. It was different to what she was wearing (when she was issued the fine),” said Rosnazli.

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

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

She said in the past, she worked in a barber shop and dressed the same way, but was never compounded.

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

MPKB compounded her under section 34(2)(b) of its Commercial Trade and Industrial Local Government Regulations 2019.

According to Sin Chew, 34(2)(b) states that business licence owners must ensure that those working on their premises wear “decent” clothes or, if they are Muslim, cover their aurat (intimate parts).

Previously, the council warned waitresses and female staff of retail outlets that they faced compounds if they wore tight-fitting and revealing 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.