A woman in Malaysia was supposedly stopped by a security guard from entering the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru for wearing shorts that ended slightly above her knees.
Carol Yong, who shared her experience on X (formerly Twitter) on Mar. 20, claimed that she was denied entry even after she clarified that the hospital doctors had urgently requested her presence.
She tagged the Malaysian health authorities and the Johor prince in her post, which later went viral.
What happened
According to Yong, the security guard yelled at her, saying: "This is a government hospital, you know!"
She then told him that the doctors were urgently looking for her.
However, the guard still purportedly refused to let her enter until the nurses gave her a pair of "patient pants" to wear.
Yong added that he also shouted racist remarks.
Guard yelled and said ‘Ini hospital kerajaan tau!’ I said ‘look this is urgent docs are looking for me.’ But nope, no entry until the nurses gave me a pair of patient pants. And to add to it, the guard shouted ‘Semua India Cina macam babi!’ wow batal puasa betul ya (2/n) @DrDzul
— Carol Yong (@carolyong) March 20, 2024
Yong also said that he could have just allowed her to enter as an exception and warned her nicely to wear long pants in the future.
She also claimed that he kept "checking" on her and told her to immediately leave as soon as her "medical discussion" was over.
"I don't know if he is a security guard for the hospital or a prison," she added.
I also noticed how this guard kept coming up to hover and ‘check’ and the moment the medical discussion was over he came and said ‘sudah habis kena keluar’. Entah ni pegawai sekuriti hospital ke penjara. Macam sama je.
— Carol Yong (@carolyong) March 20, 2024
Hospital apologises
The hospital and the security guard involved have since apologised to Yong.
She updated on Mar. 20 under her original post that the hospital's corporate communications department had reached out to her about the incident.
She also met with the security guard and his supervisor, and the guard had apologised for his actions.
Yong wrote that she thanked the parties involved for their prompt action.
Update: HSA Corp Comms has been in touch. Just met with them and the pegawai keselamatan + supervisor. The guard acknowledged what he had done/said and apologized. The hospital apologized for the incident. I acknowledged and thanked the guard + hospital for their prompt action.
— Carol Yong (@carolyong) March 20, 2024
Government buildings in Malaysia are known to impose strict dress codes and deny entry to those who do not comply.
In a similar incident in August 2023, a woman was prevented from entering a police station as her skirt was too short. She then proceeded to use car seat cushions as a makeshift skirt.
However, former Malaysia Minister of Health Zaliha Mustafa said in March 2023 that those seeking medical treatment at government health facilities should not be turned away for their attire.
Current health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said in December 2023 that patients should be assessed on the severity of their illness, not their attire.
Top photos via Carol Yong/x & Canva. Top right photo used for illustration purposes only.