PETALING JAYA: Deputy Women and Family Development Minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff has received flak from politicians and Malaysians for an apparent preoccupation with a shariah-compliant attire policy for female flight attendants.

Many of them are pointing out that there is a need to address bread-and-butter issues, in light of the spill-over from the Covid-19 pandemic before emphasising on a policy to police the attire of female flight attendants.

"13,000 MAS airlines staff had to take unpaid leave due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This does not include other airlines.

"Please help them address this issue first. Most of them are youths, ” tweeted former Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman on Saturday (March 14).

In the same tweet, Syed Saddiq also attached a news report of Siti Zailah’s intentions to implement a shariah-compliant attire policy for female flight attendants.

MAS airlines reportedly asked its employees to take up to three months of unpaid leave from April to help it cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the travel industry.

Siti Zailah, in a series of tweets posted on Friday (March 13), dismissed allegations that the PAS Women’s Wing had pressured her in expediting the implementation of the shariah-compliant attire policy, as fake news.

However, she pointed out that the issue was raised by her in Parliament in 2017, while arguing the need for a woman to cover up.

A Twitter user said: I thought we are in the middle of a global pandemic and we should listen to scientists and doctors. But no, covering women is more important.

Others questioned if the proposed shariah-compliant attire policy for flight attendants was a party policy or a government policy.

"Party affairs and government affairs should not contradict one another, ” said the Twitter user.