A transgender woman has reported Nobu restaurant to Malaysia’s human rights watchdog, alleging the Kuala Lumpur iteration of the high-end international restaurant chain offered her a job on the proviso that she act like a man.

Malaysian chef Shairazi Bahari was interviewed for a front-of-house position at Nobu in November last year.

Bahari, who returned to Malaysia after a decade working in leading restaurants in Sydney, said she dressed “very sharp” for the hour-long interview in business clothes and with her long hair tied back in a neat bun.

The interview went well until the end, when Bahari said she faced awkward questions about how she would conform to the restaurant’s dress and grooming codes. A few days later she received a surprise call from Nobu.

“I got a call from the HR lady where she was telling me that they were really keen on hiring me, but they had issue with my appearance, and would I consider the offer with the condition that I cut my hair, wear a male uniform and use the male toilets,” Bahari told the Guardian.

“I don’t think they wanted anything like that in writing so they gave me a phone call.”

One day earlier Bahari had written an email, seen by the Guardian, to Nobu in which she acknowledged there had been “questions about her gender expression” during the interview, but assured them she was a committed professional.

After the email, Bahari said Nobu rang her to make a conditional offer, which she declined immediately. The company asked her to think about it over the weekend and rang her back the following week when she declined again.

Bahari said she declined because she refused to compromise on her gender identity.

Transgender people in Malaysia regularly face state-sanctioned discrimination, abuse and violence.

According to a Human Rights Watch report from 2014, the transgender community in the Southeast Asian nation can also be subject to criminal prosecution for laws that effectively prohibit “cross dressing” as well as discrimination in accessing employment, health care and education.

After attending a talk about discrimination against the LGBT community, and a lack of supporting data to push the government to act, Bahari decided to report her experience to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) this February.

Suhakam confirmed it has received the complaint and its investigation is ongoing.

Nobu Kuala Lumpur, ranked one of the city’s top restaurants, declined to comment on the specific allegations or provide information about the establishment’s anti-discrimination policies.

However referring to Bahari, Vriesia Ng, Malaysian HR executive at Nobu told the Guardian in an email that: “The candidate did not match our requirement and therefore was not successful.”

Founded by master Japanese sushi chef Nobu Matsuhisa, Nobu is internationally renowned with more than 30 outlets from Miami to Melbourne.

Despite the discrimination against the transgender community in Malaysia, Bahari said she hoped that with its high profile and global presence that Nobu would be committed to equitable hiring practices.

A Malaysian group, Justice For Sisters, said discrimination against the LGBT community was on the rise in Malaysia, including physical attacks by anti-LGBT vigilante groups.

Last February, a 27-year-old transgender florist was murdered and mutilated in the city of Kuantan.

Earlier this month participants of a women’s march in Kuala Lumpur were attacked outside of a police station for their perceived support of LGBT people.

The attackers, Justice for Sisters wrote in a statement on its website, acted with impunity and felt “no fear of repercussion”.