Ng Suee Lim, who is Selangor’s local government committee chairman, said such an incident should not have taken place in a multicultural state.

“We have dress codes, but this is over the top.

“I have instructed the council to stop this. This should not have happened. These are ratepayers,” he told FMT.

Ng was commenting on a 53-second video, currently making the rounds on social media, depicting a man attempting to tie a “kain pelikat” before entering the premises.

A Rela personnel was also heard telling the man that the sarong he tied was too short and should extend below the knee. The incident is said to have taken place yesterday.

Ng said while visitors are expected to dress smartly at all government buildings, in this instance, the man in question was not indecent and “not wearing short shorts” but rather shorts that fell just above his knee.

“I wonder who instructed this Rela man to enforce such a ruling. Anyhow, I will be raising this at the next state exco meeting.”

The incident at the local council office in Selangor comes in the wake of a similar incident in Penang, where a senior citizen was barred from visiting a ward at a government hospital for wearing shorts.

The Penang government has since given an assurance that people will not be prevented from entering healthcare facilities because of their attire.

Seberang Jaya Hospital director Dr Saiful Azlan Sharif said an investigation found that Lim was barred because of a misunderstanding and miscommunication between him and the security guard.