A PEOPLE’S Volunteer Corps (Rela) member, who stopped a woman from entering the Social Security Organisation (Socso) office in Penang over her attire, has been suspended from duty. 

Socso CEO Mohammed Azman said the Rela officer has acted outside his scope of duty. 

“Socso would like to emphasise that what happened was beyond the knowledge of management and that the Rela staff acted outside his scope of duty,” Mohammed said in a statement today. 

“Socso took immediate action against the personnel by demanding an explanation, and the person has been suspended from duty, effective June 29, until an investigation into this case is completed.

Penang-based lawyer Ajit Singh Jessy brought the case to light after his female colleague was stopped by a guard from entering the Socso office in Jalan Burma on Wednesday.

His colleague, identified only as May, was not allowed entry because the guard said her skirt was too short.

Ajit said May was wearing a knee-length skirt but the guard told her that she should cover herself down to her feet.

“He said that was the rule. After we persisted in asking what was wrong with her skirt, he replied, ‘Ini kali, okay. Lain kali tak boleh.’ (It’s ok for just this one time. It won’t be allowed next time),” Ajit said in a statement.

He added that no one else had a problem with May’s outfit inside the building.

“Since when did we have security guards with the authority to enforce dress codes? I always thought their job was to guard the building.

“Please put a stop to this harassment of the public at government departments.” – June 30, 2023.