After being criticised for donning headscarf, Hannah Yeoh says Malaysia needs to promote unity better
Published on: Friday, March 08, 2024
By: Malay Mail
The minister said Malaysia needs to promote unity better so that the donning of a headscarf by a non-Muslim should not be an issue. (Bernama pic)
Kuala Lumpur: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh slammed people who questioned her decision to wear a selendang (headscarf) at a meeting at Monash University in Australia, as part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s entourage.
Yeoh said that Malaysia needs to promote unity better so that the donning of a headscarf by a non-Muslim should not be an issue.
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She said her decision to wear the headscarf was because she did not want to be late for the prime minister’s event as she did not have time to redo her hair after attending an event at Al-Taqwa College, an Islamic school in Melbourne, where women were requested to cover their heads.
“Some have asked why I was wearing a selendang in the photograph taken with Monash University during our visit to Melbourne as it was not a religious function.
“Being part of the prime minister’s motorcade and delegation means one has to be early, earlier than the prime minister. Our schedule initially stated that after the visit to Al-Taqwa College, we would return to our hotel and meet the team from Monash University at 12:15pm.
“I thought I had about 15 minutes to return to my room and flat iron my hair to make it presentable. This is a five-minute process and I do this every day for work.
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“However, the Monash meeting was moved up because they were early, and the prime minister decided to proceed straight to the meeting room upon our arrival at the hotel.
“At 12:05pm, we were already in the meeting room. There was no time to fix my hair. Media was present and I figured it would be more presentable to keep my flat-looking hair neatly covered,” she wrote in her Facebook post.
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Yeoh said that it grieves her that her simple decision based on her personal grooming preferences needs to be explained on Facebook.
“I am particular about the way I wear my selendang. I like it neat. To achieve that, I have to tie my hair tightly in a casual bun to ensure that it does not come undone in the midst of the programme.
“I wear the selendang to respect my Muslim friends at their sacred places. I chose to keep my selendang on because I didn’t want to be late for the meeting with Monash and our prime minister.
“Punctuality and protocol are very important to me. As a woman, I also do not want to appear in media photos with my hair looking messy and unkempt. Please respect my choice,” she said.
Yeoh said she also hopes that her decision to wear a selendang for events will no longer be a contentious matter one day.
“The expression of my faith discomforts some Muslims while the expression of my tolerance frightens some non-Muslims,” she said.
This was not the first time the Segambut MP came under criticism for donning a hijab or headscarf.
In 2021, her DAP party colleague Dr Boo Cheng Hau criticised Yeoh after she was photographed wearing a hijab when visiting a mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Boo, a former Johor DAP leader, alleged that Yeoh’s decision to don the hijab was a move to appease the Malays.
Yeoh, who is a Christian, had explained that wearing a headscarf in the mosque doesn’t change her beliefs.
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