Malindo Air required flight attendant walk-in interview candidates to strip down to their bras which is a totally unacceptable practice

Flight attendants outraged over Malindo Air stripdown

PETALING JAYA, April 5 — Flight‎ attendants were outraged over Malindo Air’s grooming check during walk-in interviews on March 11 which required applicants to strip down to their bras.

Calling the fiasco “ridiculous and disgusting”, they said they had never come across such a screening procedure.

Malaysia Airlines cabin crew staff Sharifah Muhazlisa Syed Mohd Bakar, 42, was surprised when told candidates were asked to expose their chests, lift their skirts, fold up their pants or remove their pantyhose.

Sharifah said she was never asked to remove her clothes when she first joined the airlines in 1996.

“Those with long sleeves were asked to roll up their sleeves to check for tattoos and scars. That’s it,” she said.

“The official from the airlines should know better.”

Leading stewardess and trainer for the same airline Suganthi Namasivayam, 45, said no one should be asked to strip at a job interview.

A 28-year-old flight attendant with AirAsia, who requested anonymity, said it was unacceptable to ask female flight attendants to remove their clothes to check their skin.

“My current employee asked if I had any tattoos or scars but I was never asked to take my clothes off,” he said.

“The airline (AirAsia) will not have a problem with stewards or stewardess having tattoos or scars as long as they were covered by the uniform.”

He described the move of asking air hostess hopefuls to remove their tops as “unacceptable”.

“This is the 21st century. No organisation should be asking their employees to remove their clothes. It is extremely derogatory.”

A Singapore Airlines flight attendant, who declined to be named, was shocked and angry when told of the incident.

“That is crazy! I do not understand why they would have to do that. Those girls are not there to show off their bodies,” she said.

She said such job interviews were like those of any other careers and the applications should be treated with respect and dignity.

A Malindo advertisement for its March 11 walk-in interview posted on its Facebook on March 3.

Source: Malay Mail Online

Malindo Air Cabin Crew Walk-in Interview Posted on Facebook

WE ARE HIRING! If you have a passion for aviation, come join us and be part of our growing family!

Interested candidates can walk in for an interview as detailed below. If you are not able to attend, kindly send over your resume to hr@malindoair.com.

Malindo Air Issues Statement Denying Allegation

Malindo Air: Malindo Air (5 April 2017) – In a statement today, Malindo Air emphasised that it strictly adheres to the implementation and regulations in all its recruitment process, including flight attendants, since its inception, in 2013.

In perspective of an article on Malindo’s Air’s recruitment process of cabin crew in The Malay Mail newspaper dated 5 April 2017, the airline denies of the allegations upon internal investigations done.

Grooming checks for visible marks are conducted privately by female supervisors in a professional manner and is part of the interviewing process. Herein candidates are briefed ahead and consent from each candidate is required prior proceeding to ensure there is no prominent marks will be visible while wearing the uniform.

The airline reiterates that the standard procedure has been practised for the past four years, and we have employed more than 700 female cabin crew to date.

Malindo Air denies ‘strip check’ report

Malindo Air has denied a news report earlier today that it requested interviewees to strip down their tops during a walk-in interview.

“In perspective of an article on Malindo Air’s recruitment process of cabin crew in The Malay Mail newspaper dated April 5, 2017, the airline denies the allegations upon internal investigations done.

“Grooming checks for visible marks are conducted privately by female supervisors in a professional manner and is part of the interviewing process.

“Herein candidates are briefed ahead and consent from each candidate is required prior proceeding to ensure there is no prominent marks will be visible while wearing the uniform,” the airline said in a statement today, without mentioning how the checks are conducted.

Malindo Air has been mired in controversy after it reportedly made the request in a walk-in interview on March 11.

Its public relations and communications director Raja Sa’adi Raja Amrin, however defended the move, saying 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 was quoted as saying by The Malay Mail.

“It is not an issue. We have the right to conduct such body checks on them. I think most airlines do the same,” he said, adding that this was a norm for most airlines as the cabin crew needed to be presentable.

“We need to see if they (applicants) have scars, pimples or tattoos that could be seen through the uniform. Our flight attendants wear a corset inside and if it is covered by the corset, it is okay," he added.

Malindo Air’s stewardesses are clad in either a high-collared white blouse or a white kebaya top paired with a sarong.

“We need to know if there are scars or any marks as you can see their legs when they walk,” he said, responding to question that the interviewees claimed they had to bare their legs thigh-high.

“The slit is also tailored in such a manner where it will enable flight attendants to move around easily, especially during an emergency,” he elaborated.

Malaysiakini has attempted to contact Raja Sa’adi and the airline’s CEO Chandran Rama Muthy for their comments.

‘Ridiculous and disgusting’

The Malay Mail also quoted several stewardesses who served in other airlines, who complained that they had never encountered such screening procedure, and described it as “ridiculous and disgusting”.

According to the daily, Malindo Air’s interviewees were told to expose their chests, lift their skirts, fold up their pants or remove their pantyhose.

Malaysia Airlines cabin crew staff Sherifah Muhazlisa Syed Mohd Bakar reportedly recalled that her employer only asked those with long sleeves to roll up to check for tattoos and scars but never required them to remove their clothes.

“The official from the airline should know better," she said.

Another flight attendant with AirAsia said it was unacceptable to ask female interviewees to remove their clothes to check their skin.

“My current employer asked if I had any tattoos or scars but I was never asked to take my clothes off,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

“The airline (AirAsia) will not have a problem with stewards or stewardess having tattoos or scars as long as they were covered by the uniform. This is the 21st century. No organisation should be asking their employees to remove their clothes. It is extremely derogatory,” he added.

"That is crazy! I do not understand why they would have to do that. Those girls are not there to show off their bodies,” said a flight attendant from Singapore Airlines.

Malindo Air posted the cabin crew walk-in interview on its Facebook page on March 3.

Source: Malaysiakini

No stripping required: AirAsia pokes fun at Malindo Air with recruitment ad

KUALA LUMPUR: Never one to pass up a marketing opportunity, AirAsia today unveiled its latest advertisement seeking potential cabin crew candidates.

This ad, however, came with a twist.

With the words ‘We won’t ask you to strip down - Just zip up and be a part of the world’s best low-cost airline team’, the ad clearly appeared to be a light jab at rival airline Malindo Air.

The ad was for AirAsia’s cabin crew recruitment drive, set to be held on April 15 at the Asian Aviation Centre of Excellence at KLIA.

Malindo Air earned criticism from social media users today following a report claiming that its interview process involved having female candidates having to strip to their bras.

Malindo Air has since explained that this was necessary to see if candidates had scars, pimples or tattoos that could be seen through the uniform.

Most social media users saw the funny side of things.

Fahruddin Najumudeen wrote: You guys are very quick in giving the competition a not-so- subtle “dressing down” eh? Haha.”

Another Facebook user, Raymen Shim, wrote: “You guys are really fast…hahaha. Bravo!!!”

Source: New Straits Times