Dismissing the 'wear sarong' fiasco as ridiculous, de facto law minister Nancy Shukri said people should be able to wear whatever they want, as long as it is not indecent.

This includes wearing shorts, skirts above the knees, and spaghetti strap tops, Nancy said.

"This is a democracy, come on, give people a chance to dress as they want.

"Wearing shorts and skirts is not distracting. They don't distract people as long as they don't go naked. It is very distracting to be naked," she quipped.

Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur, Nancy ( photo ) also said the practice of asking people going to a public office to don a sarong is unhygienic.

"Please, for goodness sake, don't give out sarong (at government offices) because it is not hygienic.

"It isn't your business to provide them with a sarong (and) you will never know if the sarong is really clean," she added.

Those who do not meet the dress code, Nancy said, should not be turned away, but instead be issued with a reminder to dress more decently.

"But when I say dress decently, I don't mean you have to put your tudung on. Remember, I didn't wear a tudung befor this," she said.

The minister then lamented how overly conservative Malaysia had become, and said this detracted from the country's multiracial harmony.

"Malaysia was not like this before. Maybe I'm too liberal or too open, but I want to see people to be in harmony.

"Please come back to the peaceful situation we had before," Nancy pleaded.