(1105) Dress Code for Men in a Government office

Yesterday I heard this story. Without revealing any name or place, I'll try and relate it.

Amy lost her biological mother. The deceased lived a full life, was very happy with her second husband of many years. The daughter decided to take on the last maid who served her mother well. According to the agent in that state, there was no way to transfer a maid mid contract. Therefore they took the maid unofficially to a northern state 400 Km away, with the consent of the contractual employer, a step brother called Larry. Both new employer and maid knew that should the maid be caught in a public place, she would be deported back to Indonesia.

A year passed very quickly. Soon the maid was up for renewal. Larry is a nice guy, he agreed to renew the contract and accordingly turned up at the immigration office. It was a shock to find that he could not enter the office because he was in Bermuda shorts. To put the situation in perspective, I must state that Larry had chosen not to drive. He went to that immigration office with his usual taxi driver, who was going to return in one and a half hours' time to take him home. Instead of returning without accomplishing what he set out to do, he asked if he could borrow a pair of long pants. The security guard showed him a sarong - like a long skirt with unsewn top which the wearer was supposed to twist and knot tightly around the waist. Now Larry is a guy who would rather be dead than to wear a skirt in public. He eyed the security guard's waist and bottom and asked if he could borrow that pair of pants for an hour or two, of course the borrower would pay the lender for his inconvenience.

Thus properly attired, Larry went in to conduct his business. At the happy conclusion of obtaining the desired new contract, he went to the male toilet and changed pants with the happy lender who was given ten dollars for his trouble. This is an interesting episode, I laughed and laughed while listening to the narration of the anecdote. This is just one of many things we chose to laugh about in a country that veered closer and closer to Islamic rule through the decades. For the many years of borrowing books in the Silver City Town Council Library, I had to permanently place a jacket in my car just in case I absent-mindedly wore a sleeveless blouse to the library. It is often scorching hot in the afternoons here round the year. That was about twenty years ago while my children were young. Now I am rather surprised to hear that even men are affected by this dress code. My! I am glad that I am going to be in Borneo soon, far away from this kind of petty rules.