KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 — Anyone going to a police station should keep the fifth principle of the Rukun Negara in mind and dress courteously and mind their morals, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said today after an incident where a woman was reportedly barred entry over the length of her trousers.

The only times exceptions are made are when it involves a "life or death” emergency, he added.

"Government offices are where people do business.

"In an emergency, we can relax the directive. We have to see what kind of emergency it is.

"Those that involve life or death, we can give a little leeway,” he told reporters at Bukit Kiara Federal Park here this morning after launching the city police contingent’s hiking programme.

He said police stations fell under the category of government offices, adding that the Chief Secretary to the Government had made clear the types of clothes that can and cannot be worn in a directive.

He insisted that the rules must be followed, and cited "kesopanan dan kesusilaan” (courtesy and morality) — the fifth principle of the Rukun Negara — as the basis.

Weighing in on the incident involving the woman that has turned into a public debate, Acryl said there had been a "misunderstanding” as the unnamed woman had worn pants that "showed her thighs”.

Earlier this week, news portal Free Malaysia Today reported a woman complaining that she had been denied entry into a Selangor district police station over the length of her trousers.

The woman whom the news portal identified only as "Karen” was said to have gone to the Kajang police station to report on her car collision with a truck, only to be told by a policeman that she could not enter as her trousers were above her knees.

Kajang district police chief Zaid Hassan confirmed the incident on February 1, saying the woman was "wearing shorts that were above her knees” initially, adding that she was allowed to enter after changing to a pair that covered her knees.