The Malaysian Insight

THE policy of the Malaysian Association of Hotel (MAH) which prohibits their frontline staff from wearing the hijab had left many people outraged.

Some say this policy is disrespectful of the local culture while others claim it is discriminatory.

MAH however defends the policy as it is merely an international practice used worldwide by all hotels and abiding the rule is a standard operating procedure.

While many in my social circle continue to debate on this matter (with almost all of them standing against the hijab ban), I am reminded of a conversation I had with an expat friend who was a hiring officer at an aviation company based in Malaysia.

I asked Patrick during one of our chats about what he looked for in a candidate applying to fill positions as cabin crew. He replied, “There are many things we look for like age, height and weight, but most importantly they must be presentable.”

I asked him to define the term ‘presentable’. He then explained that cabin crew were required to have pleasant personality as well as pleasant looks. He claimed it was of great importance that they carried themselves well as they are the frontline ambassadors of the airline.

“Do you have a preferable race?” I remember asking him.

He laughed and stressed that they do not discriminate.

“How about women in hijab?”

“No. We do not hire women in hijab,” he said, point blank.

“How is that not discriminating?” I asked, confused.

“Hijab is just not part of our uniform,” he answered short.

“But you can always incorporate it into your costume, right?”

Patrick looked amused. “Seriously? You expect the airline to change our costume so people wearing hijab can work with us?”

“Hey, I am just asking!” I chuckled.

“Imagine walking into McDonalds and ordering a pizza. And then suggesting that McDonalds should change their menu simply because you like pizza,” Patrick teased.

I laughed.

“Let me ask you something, Fa. What would you do if you want to eat pizza? Would you walk into McDonalds?”

“Of course not. If I want pizza, I’d go to Dominos.”

“Precisely. There are many airlines allowing their cabin crew to wear hijab – Muslim women in hijab should try their luck there.”

Patrick’s statement made a lot of sense.

Likewise, there are many hotels in Malaysia allowing Muslim women working in the frontline to wear their hijab, especially the local hotel chains. Why then do we demand a change in the policy of international hotels when we have other options?

Having said that, I do believe that policies, rules, regulations and standard operating practices of international companies should take into account the local culture and practices of the resident country.

In other words, it would be good if international companies could ‘adjust’ their policies to make way for our local culture.

But then again, the decision to adapt to the local culture should come from them, and not demanded upon.

By the way, female Muslim students in many public schools in Malaysia are not allowed to wear pinafores as their school uniform as it is considered un-Islamic to do so. And at the same time, many public schools also tend to force female Muslim students to wear the hijab because it is deemed more Islamic to do so.

Do we stand up and say something about it?

While we are busy demanding private entities to change their policies to make way for our local culture, perhaps we should also demand our public entities to change their SOPs to make way for our diversified culture. – November 15, 2017.

* Fa Abdul is a passionate storyteller and a resident agitator of the idiots in society. Well-known for her straight-talking sarcasm and occasional foul mouth, she juggles between her work as a writer, producer and director.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.