No hijab allowed? Woman questions policy for Malay cuisine course

A month after department store Tangs drew the ire of many — including President Halimah Yacob — for asking a promoter to remove her hijab, another local company is catching some heat for its no-headgear policy.

Taking to Facebook to call out At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy last Friday (Sept 25), one woman alleged that she had been told she would not be able to attend its culinary courses if she wore her headscarf.

She ended up getting a full refund on the course she had signed up for, save for the administrative fee, she said.

She questioned: "Why cannot wear headscarf when we attend the course? Why discriminate against headscarves? I think cooking with [a] head cover is more hygienic."

Sharing a screenshot of a Traditional Malay Hawker Fare course offereed by the academy, she added: "What riles me is that they are advertising a Malay hawker fare course. Who do you think would apply for this course? Of course a lot of Malay ladies."

Singapore's Malay community is predominantly Muslim.

The woman's post was met with support from some netizens, who questioned the rationale behind the school's policy.

However, some also defended the company and maintained that they had stated their terms and conditions clearly.  

In response to AsiaOne's queries, At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy explained that as part of its uniform policy, its professional students are prohibited from wearing any hat or head covering other than the academy-approved hairnet and chef's hat.

"The uniform is in consultation with the industry that is suited for the nature of their work and for operational and safety reasons," the academy said.

"We welcome students from diverse background and many nationalities in At-Sunrice. In order to ensure that all students of At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy receive their education in an environment which encourages quality learning, we have introduced a set of grooming standards best-fit for the F&B industry which our students should follow."

No exceptions are made for religious headgear, it confirmed.

Only about 10 per cent of students who attend the Traditional Malay Hawker Fare course are Muslim, the academy added. The course has a maximum enrolment of 15. 

It also clarified that the grooming standards only apply to the academy's professional programmes such as its diploma and hawker fare courses. Students taking courses for leisure, such as its Private Chef lessons, are not held to the same standards.

While Singapore is a multi-religious society, some who wear religious headgear say they have dealt with offensive comments and discrimination.

In July, a Sikh man said a potential employer had asked him if he could remove his turban for the job, referring to it as a "cloth thingy".

Tangs' corporate policy prohibiting customer-facing staff from donning religious headwear was also widely criticised last month, prompting the store to change its policy.

Speaking out against Tangs' original policy, President Halimah said in a Facebook post that there is no room for discrimination in Singaporean society.

"During this Covid-19 period when concerns over jobs and livelihoods are greater, incidents of discrimination exacerbate anxieties and people feel threatened," she added.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/halimahyacob/posts/3542058679160542[/embed]

This article has been edited for clarity.

kimberlylim@asiaone.com