The Minister of Tourism, Tiong King Sing jokingly told the voters in the state to “vote the right candidate” because if Perikatan Nasional (PN) wins, the people in the state would have to “hide their shorts and mini skirts.”
“I jokingly told one of the women in short skirt to protect her right. If PN won, she can only hang the mini skirt in her room.”
Last year in Kelantan, a businesswoman was fined for wearing shorts in her boutique.
While Tiong may have meant that as humour, PN did not take that well. During a campaign last night (September 25), Dr Afif Bahardin said he wanted to see if the government is going to take action against Tiong for touching on the 3R issue, or if they’re just going to let it slide.
“Malays, Chinese, and Indians lived peacefully when we reigned”
Dr. Afif said that when PN was the government during COVID-19, all Malaysians, regardless of their race lived peacefully.
“Everyone received aids from government, regardless of who they were. What Tiong said was rude and disrespectful. I don’t think he understands that wearing shorts is not allowed in certain places due to the dress code. We have dress codes in schools, and even fine dining restaurants.”
In the meantime, Dr. Afif also challenged Tiong to wear shorts to a Kopitiam in the state and see for himself if he’s chased out of the place.
What do you think of Tiong’s statement? Was it a harmless joke, or an insensitive remark?