KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Sports organisers are free to decide what women athletes must wear during events, the Youth and Sports Ministry said in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Months after heated debate over the PAS-led Terengganu’s decision to drop its two Muslim women divers from competing in Sukma 2024 due to their attire, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim clarified that the federal government does not prohibit sporting organisers from imposing dress codes for women athletes.

"If we look at hosting sporting events in our country, we do give way for any organiser to attach conditions on attire and others.

"For example, in Terengganu, when hosting sporting events that involve women, we don’t have any objection when conditions on attire were implemented,” Adam Adli said.

He said such decisions were made as part of a compromise involving all stakeholders in sports, not just the Youth and Sports Ministry, but also state sports councils and grassroots organisations as every state and district has its own norms.

He also noted that if a dress code does not affect the athletes’ performance and is agreed upon by all parties involved, the ministry would always consider the best possible solution.

"Athletes in our country are free to dress according to their needs and preferences; some adhere to religious guidelines, while others are more open.

"We consistently leave this choice to them,” he said in reply to Permatang Pauh MP Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan from PAS who asked if the government planned to introduce guidelines for women’s attire in sports without compromising culture, religion, and modesty.

The deputy minister also mentioned that the ministry had consistently hosted events to empower women in sports last year and will continue to do so throughout 2024, adding that it has an agenda called ‘Women Empowerment in Sports’.

Adam Adli’s statement today is a departure from Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh’s August 28 expression of concern about Terengganu’s dress code directive on its two Muslim women divers for the Malaysia Games hosted by Sarawak.

In her Facebook post back then, Yeoh asserted that the state government’s directive "could stifle the potential of young talents and negatively affect the overall development of sports in the country”.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2024/08/14/terengganu-only-perikatan-state-to-not-send-female-gymnasts-to-sukma-2024-over-attire-concerns/146946