Uniforms worn by stewardesses on Malaysian airlines 'arouse passengers', say lawmakers

Malaysia's low-cost airlines — AirAsia and Firefly — dress their stewardesses in uniforms that are "too revealing", according to two of the country's lawmakers.

Senator Abdullah Mat Yasim of the Ruling Umno party on Monday (18 December) said that the uniforms of stewardesses on AirAsia and Firefly could "arouse passengers", the New Straits Times reported.

He said that the "eye-catching outfits" do not reflect the status of Islam which is the official religion of Malaysia.

"The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) must really look into this," Abdullah added.

In support of Abdullah, Senator Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, who is a general secretary of the Malaysian National Silat Federation, suggested that the airlines redesign their uniforms.

Megat said, "My wife is worried whenever I fly alone on Malindo or AirAsia".

Other members of the upper house of parliament or Dewan Negara laughed as he continued to say, "This is a real hassle for me".

According to Abdullah, the uniforms worn by the Malindo Air flight attendants were "acceptable". The Malindo Air uniforms maybe body hugging, but the "sensitive areas" were covered, he said.

Abdullah did not mention which area was "sensitive".

The Dewan Negara deputy president Abdul Halim Abd Samad also praised Abdullah for highlighting the issue. "This is a good topic that many people can relate to as they always take flights," he said.

The comments were made during a debate in parliament about the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) Amendment Bill 2017 on Monday.

According to the newspaper, this was the second time in two weeks when the topic of flight attendant uniforms has come up at Malaysia's parliament.

Senator Hanafi Mamat, who is the secretary of the Kelantan United Malays National Organisation (Umno) branch, last week said that as Malaysia is an Islamic country, the attendants should wear "shariah-compliant" uniforms.

According to him, tourists may get the wrong impression of Malaysia if flight stewardesses dress up "sexily and disrespectfully".

Mamat said the move to redesign the uniform would not hurt the airline companies because their survival depended on delivery of service quality.

"The time has come for the government to provide new uniform guidelines which will portray Malaysia as a Muslim country with strong Eastern values," he said during the debate, according to Channel News Asia website.