KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — The Royal Selangor Club (RSC), said to be Malaysia’s oldest private club, has lifted a permanent ban on women entering its Long Bar after 139 years.
The decision was made during the club’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) yesterday, two members shared on their Facebook accounts.
“The Long Bar at the Royal Selangor Club was off limits to women for 139 years purportedly because men ‘would drink and get very excited when they watched the games and they didn't want the ladies to see their exuberant behaviour, hence it was decided to ban women visitors from the Long Bar’. Ugh,” Lorela Chia said in her post.
“Today, Dalvin Kaur created history as the first RSC Lady Member at the Long Bar, as members unanimously voted against the ‘No Women’ policy at an EGM today,” she added.
Chia said she felt “a mixed bag of emotions” when she heard the news.
“There is triumph, of course, that's 139 years late! But it's also a reminder that despite the many achievements of many of us, the quest for equality and equitability continues,” she said.
Another RSC member Ramesh Rajaratnam also said the vote was made with an overwhelming majority but noted there was “some dissent”.
“History was made today in one of the oldest establishments in KL,” he said.
The RSC was founded by the colonial British in 1884.
According to New Straits Times, the no-women rule has been temporarily lifted on several occasions in the past such as on New Year's Day and the 1998 World Hash Run.
Nevertheless, until the amendment is approved by the Registrar of Societies, the Long Bar will still be inaccessible to women, the local daily reported last Friday.
*Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this story, a private photograph was used to illustrate the story. We regret the inconvenience caused.
