Netizens are up in arms over Seputeh MP Teresa Kok's Facebook post questioning whether Iban people in traditional garb would be barred from government offices.

Cultural expert Siti Zainon Ismail said Kok should know the different uses of daily attire, compared to traditional clothes.

"Ritual or traditional clothes such as this (worn by the Iban) are not for daily wear or for office dealings.

"It is the traditional clothes of cetain races, and not something worn to go to the market. I think everyone knows when to wear their traditional clothes and not simply wear it for their daily affairs," she told Astro Awani .

Besides Siti Zainon, social media users also chastised Kok for posting a photo of her and several Iban men in traditional clothes on Facebook, with a caption designed to ponder aloud on whether they would be allowed to enter government offices in such attire.

Almost 2,400 comments from netizens were accompanying the photo as of 7PM, most of which were critical of Kok.

"I am Sarawakian. It is simple, these are the Iban's traditional clothes. We only wear them during festivities or certain rituals. Stop the nonsense," Pavl Alan Morsion wrote.

Kok: A misunderstanding

Another user going by Alwi Adam EzazWealth said this was proof that Kok did not know Sarawakian.

"The Iban don't wear these clothes for our daily activities These are tradtiional clothes. Does Teresa think the Iban are so backwards? We have progressed," he said.

Meanwhile Ibnu Batoota Owsem simply asked: "Do the Iban civil servants go to the office wearing loincloths?"

Kok claimed her Facebook posting had been quoted out of context and that she did not mean to insult the Iban community.

"I had no intention to insult or criticise or judge the values of the Iban's (tradtional) costume, but I appreciate the cultures and clothes of each race in Malaysia, which is why I took the photo with them and posted it on Facebook.

"Every culture has their own views and values towards their clothes, which is why the civil service dress code was son controversial when it was implemented," she said in a Facebook posting.

She urged all to respect each other's traditions and to make the country a more harmonious place.