Hannah Yeoh recently visited Monash University in Melbourne, but what surprised some followers was her appearance. Hannah was spotted wearing a Selendang (headscarf) and just last night (March 7), Hannah explained why she put on a headscarf, despite not attending a religious event.
“I wore a scarf to respect my Muslim friends. Before the meeting with Monash University, I visited Al-Taqwa College. The ladies were asked to cover their heads, which I did.”
In an explanation on her Facebook post, Hannah said she was one of the Prime Minister’s delegations visiting an Islamic school. According to her initial schedule, Hannah and her team were supposed to return to the hotel and be at Monash University at 12:15pm.
The schedule, however, was moved forward. Hannah thought she had at least 15 minutes to iron her hair but she had no time.
“The Monash meeting was moved up because they were early and the Prime Minister decided to proceed straight to the meeting room upon our arrival at the hotel.”
At 12:05pm, Hannah was already in the meeting. She had no time to fix her hair but she figured covering it with a selendang will do the trick, and make her appear presentable.
“I wanted to keep my flat looking hair neatly covered, especially when the media was already at the scene.”
Simply put, Hannah put the selendang on because she wanted to respect Muslim friends at their sacred places, and chose to keep it on because she didn’t want to be late, and she DOESN’T LIKE to be late, highlighting that punctuality is her utmost priority.
“As a woman, I also do not want to appear in media photos with my hair looking messy and unkempt. Please respect my choice. It grieves me that my personal preference of grooming needs to be explained on Facebook.”
In her post, Hannah revealed that her decision to put on the headscarf has caused discomfort to some Muslims while the expression of her tolerance did not sit well with some non-Muslims.
“I look forward to the day my selendang is no longer a contentious matter.”
Hannah’s decision to respect the culture of the places she visits should be set as an example, and her swift action to avoid herself from being late says a lot about her character.
