07-11-2005, 09:25 PM
<b>Malaysia employer cuts hair of Sikhs</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->- By AP
Kuala Lumpur, July 10: A malaysian employer forcibly cut the hair of three of her sikh employees from india and prohibited them from wearing turbans â a grave violation of the religionâs centuries-old custom, a newspaper reported on sunday.
"our employer said we were not allowed to wear a turban as we would not be able to wear a safety helmet if we had a turban," the New Sunday Times quoted one of the workers, Darshan Singh, as saying.
According to the sikh tradition, males are forbidden to cut their hair, which serves as a symbol of their faith. Typically, their hair is wrapped in a turban. "we refused to cut our hair, but she called us individually into a room and we were held down by two men while another cut our hair," he said.
Mr darshan Singh, 29, was also cited as saying that the employer, who was not identified, had not paid his or his colleaguesâ wages. the report said the workers quit after working for four months, and lodged reports with the indian high commission and the malaysian authorities. Their case is pending at the labour department.
The report said the three were among 16 people brought to malaysia by a local company in order to put up telecommunication towers.
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Kuala Lumpur, July 10: A malaysian employer forcibly cut the hair of three of her sikh employees from india and prohibited them from wearing turbans â a grave violation of the religionâs centuries-old custom, a newspaper reported on sunday.
"our employer said we were not allowed to wear a turban as we would not be able to wear a safety helmet if we had a turban," the New Sunday Times quoted one of the workers, Darshan Singh, as saying.
According to the sikh tradition, males are forbidden to cut their hair, which serves as a symbol of their faith. Typically, their hair is wrapped in a turban. "we refused to cut our hair, but she called us individually into a room and we were held down by two men while another cut our hair," he said.
Mr darshan Singh, 29, was also cited as saying that the employer, who was not identified, had not paid his or his colleaguesâ wages. the report said the workers quit after working for four months, and lodged reports with the indian high commission and the malaysian authorities. Their case is pending at the labour department.
The report said the three were among 16 people brought to malaysia by a local company in order to put up telecommunication towers.
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