Fachrul Razi had said his office was considering banning the veil in government offices for security reasons, following the Oct 10 knife attack on chief security minister Wiranto, where a man and his wife, believed to be Islamic State supporters, were arrested.

But several lawmakers criticised the move, saying the state should not intervene in choice of dress.

“So far there is no exact correlation between attire and radicalism; there is no study and no conclusion yet. Even people who use trousers like millennials can carry out shootings, such as what happened in New Zealand,” Yandri Susanto, a lawmaker from the National Mandate Party, told The Jakarta Post.

The proposal however received support from at least two ministers, although Fachrul himself has since backtracked, saying such a ban would not come from his ministry.

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy said people must abide by dress codes at work.

Tjahjo also sought to allay concerns that banning the niqab would amount to a violation of religious freedom.

“They are allowed to wear, but in their own houses. If they are employees, they must abide by the rules,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Mainstream Muslim scholars say the niqab, which is popular in some parts of the Middle East and covers the face except for the eyes, is not compulsory.

The attire has been banned in public places in many countries around the world over security fears.

Most recently, it was banned in Sri Lanka following the Easter terrorist attacks in April.