SHAH ALAM - The fight for Syariah compliant stewardesses uniforms continues.
In a statement today, The Kelantan Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) has urged Transport Minister Anthony Loke to allow Muslim stewardesses to don modest or syariah compliant uniforms.
"Muslim stewardesses should be allowed to dress modestly or according to the Islamic dresscode if they want to as it is their right.
"This is in accordance to the freedom to practice religious teachings in peace and harmony as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. " its chief Mohd Syahiran Muhammad said.
Syahiran added that the issue was important as Muslim women who work as flight attendants should be able to practice their religious teachings freely.
"Hence, we hope that the Transport Minister Anthony Loke, will introduce a new policy to ensure that all airlines in Malaysia will give the flexibility to Muslim stewardesses to cover ,” he said.
The subject of air stewardesses uniforms in Malaysia has been discussed for years most notably by Pas members of parliament who have continued to comment female cabin crew uniforms and their modesty.
It was also recently reported that Malaysia Airlines was considering ditching its iconic sarong kebaya uniform that female flight attendants have worn since 1986.
The kebaya could be replaced by a more ‘modest’ uniform, including a hijab.
The airlines had reportedly sent out a survey earlier this month to its frequent flyers asking their opinion on whether the long-serving sarong kebaya should be retired as part of an effort to respect Malaysian ‘values’.
The Malaysian Airlines survey asks whether customers are "in favour of us putting a more modest twist to the iconic kebaya”. The survey also asks customers whether they would support cabin crew having the right to wear a hijab while serving passengers on both domestic and international flights.