The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said Malindo Air’s alleged practice of asking women to take off their tops during interviews to become stewardesses is a criminal offence.

“Such process, if confirmed, is sexual abuse and tantamount to a criminal offence and requires immediate police intervention.

“This is a violation of one’s privacy, a breach of their fundamental liberties and human rights,” said MTUC secretary-general J Solomon in a statement today.

Female cabin crew workers, like every worker, must be afforded due respect and have their dignity protected, he said.

Malindo Air’s claim of complying with due process to locate scars on the interviewees’ bodies is shocking and utterly unacceptable, he added.

“If the attire for the female cabin crew is revealing the supposedly covered bodies and if it is too transparent, then the onus is on the company to review the uniform instead of subjecting the cabin crews to such unwarranted scrutiny,” he said.

Solomon also urged the Transport Ministry, Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, Human Resources Ministry and the police to conduct an immediate investigation into this matter.

“If true, ensure such demeaning methodology in an interview should be stopped immediately and the perpetrators dealt with seriously,” he said.

MTUC also expressed its full support and solidarity with National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) in its fight against alleged sex abuse and to bring justice to those affected.

It was reported that Malindo Air’s interviewees were asked to strip their tops during a walk-in interview.

Malindo Air had denied the allegations, saying that grooming checks for visible marks are conducted privately by female supervisors in a professional manner and is part of the interviewing process.

It also said interviewees are briefed ahead and had granted consent to the check, though it did not mention how the checks are conducted.

Its public relations and communications director Raja Sa’adi Raja Amrin said it was the right of the employer to request potential flight attendants to expose their chests to interviewers.

He, however clarified that the interviewees were required to remove their tops, but not bras as claimed by the complainants who went for the interviews.

The airline wanted to see if applicants had visible marks due to the material of Malindo’s uniform, as their uniforms were “partially see-through”, he also said.