GEORGETOWN: An elderly man was denied entry to visit his hospitalised relative at a Seberang Jaya hospital as he was wearing shorts.
According to Free Malaysia Today, the man, 72-year-old Lim Thean Heng was sporting a T-shirt, shorts that fell above his knees, and sports shoes when he arrived at the Penang hospital on Monday.
He told FMT that he asked the security guard what was the issue with wearing shorts and was given no explanation. Instead, he was barred from entering.
He was then referred to an infographic that explained the hospital’s dress code which barred shorts, singlets, short skirts and sleeveless tops.
When Lim attempted to bring up the matter to the hospital’s complaints counter, the officer in charge informed him that he would use his discretion and allow him to enter “just this once”.
The officer in charge of security at the hospital informed Lim that “this dress code is according to the Rukun Negara.”
To make matters worse, he was then refused entry by the security guard, despite being allowed to enter “just this once”.
Lim was only allowed to enter after a supervisor was summoned.
According to NST, Daniel Gooi, the State Health Committee chairman said the Seberang Jaya Hospital had conducted a probe and found that it was due to miscommunication between the security personnel and the complainant.
