YOURSAY | 'What is so wrong about wearing a tudung while working in a hotel?'

Boycott hotels with 'headscarf ban', says consumer group

Anonymous 1392781899: Before the Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) asks Muslims to boycott hotels prohibiting frontline staff from wearing headscarves, maybe they should first look at Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia, Malindo, and all the other airlines flying into Malaysia to have their stewardesses cover their heads.

No double standards.

Anonymous 405391434271735: What double standards? During the “Muslims-only” laundrette debacle, everybody yelled discrimination. But now, the goalposts have been shifted.

What, may I ask, is so wrong about wearing a tudung and working in a hotel?

V George My: Let all the clothes items of our many ethnic communities become the accepted dress code in our workplaces.

Let's protect with legislation the right to wear the traditional clothing of all ethnic communities in Malaysia, including those from Sabah and Sarawak.

Hopefully, this will give us an opportunity to appreciate the rich cultural diversity of the country.

Joe Lee: All reasonable people would say that the tudung is fine, but hotels run businesses so they need to please customers. Although I do wonder what “unseen hands” are behind PPIM.

Mindful: We are all free to boycott anything we are not happy about. However, we should not instigate anyone.

It is the individual’s right to decide what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, as long as it does not harm anyone else.

It is like an election. Finally, the individual decides who he or she wants to vote for.

By forcing, instigating and bribing, it goes against the whole premise of “individual rights”.

Holy Roller: It would be great if this extremely questionable group was actually fighting for non-discrimination in the workplace, but something tells me they won't get behind the equal opportunity legislation proposed by PKR's Rafizi Ramli. I wonder why!

Alas, all political groups now sense that issuing “heroic” statements on hot button issues is the quickest way to gain political capital.

Much less work than doing actual work.

MIC leader gives five-star shelling to hotel association over headscarf rule

Pol Pog: I fully agree with the MIC leader's criticism of the hotel for prohibiting frontline staff from wearing the tudung, especially because the rationale for the ban is not just discriminatory on the basis of religion, but is a bit sexist as well – needing staff to accord to some outdated definition of “good-looking.”

We don't live in 1975 anymore.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the tudung, but it should work both ways: no woman should be compelled to not wear or to wear one, not by any private organisation, nor by any religious 'authority'.

Too bad it's MIC saying this, and Vell Paari of all people. Not enough time has passed for them to earn goodwill by belatedly jumping on the bandwagon. No, they'd have to wait several lifetimes for that to happen - about the time we stop needing hotel staff and flight attendants to be “good-looking.”

V George My: Indian Malaysian women have faced a certain ban on wearing sarees in certain government functions recently.

We have seen certain dictates from government departments on formal dress, which exclude certain ethnic clothes. We should also respect the dress styles of other minorities.

I hope Wanita MIC will get involved in the discussion to assert the right to have ethnic clothes accepted in the workplace.

Anonymous 278451459939581: Well put, a rare intelligent and sensible statement from a MIC leader.

I agree with him, but it should be left to the individual to decide what to wear, as long it meets the expected dress code.

'Outrage over laundrette, but none over tudung ban?'

Observing the nation: PAS’ Nasrudin Hassan has a problem with the hotel’s ban on the tudung for its frontline staff.

Please don't take everything as "challenging Muslim sensitivities". If there is something not right about the situation, I think the management of the company is more than willing to talk about it.

Mindful: The right of Muslim women to wear the headscarf should not be questioned. It is up to the person who wants to use the headscarf.

But is also up to the hotel to hire staff based on their need to flourish in their business. And it is up to the patrons to choose a hotel they would like to stay in, where they feel comfortable, and whether the services extended meet their respective needs.

At the end of the day, we should be free to make our own choices and no one should get offended by another’s choice, so long as it does not insult any other religious beliefs.

In fact, it’s just like picking a restaurant. Choose the restaurant you want to work in, choose the restaurant you want to run and choose the restaurant you want to eat in.

Why do we have to be split further apart just because of religious issues?

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