Malaysia’s Royal Selangor Club scraps 139-year-old rule banning women from bar

The “no women” rule at the bar in the Kuala Lumpur club was lifted at an extraordinary general meeting earlier this month attended by about 200 members.

M. Jayakumar, the club’s president, said there had been repeated calls from members, both men and women, over the years to quash the colonial tradition.

He said that – with a few exceptions – there was overwhelming support from members to vote out the rule at the October meeting and allow women access to the Long Bar.

Describing the move as timely, Jayakumar said women now outnumbered men among the club’s membership, making up 53 per cent of the total – further pointing to the fact that Malaysia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

“If we were to continue this colonial tradition, we would probably be isolated as the only club in Southeast Asia to practise this policy,” he said.

“Personally, I have been a strong proponent of gender equality. I have daughters too and expect to see them being treated as an equal.”

Jayakumar said amendments would soon be made to the club’s constitution to enable women to access the Long Bar.

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He said in the past, apart from special events, women members had only been allowed into the Long Bar on the dawn of a new year and could stay until 5pm before the premises became off-limits again.

“It is on this day when all members present are served our club’s very own signature drink called the Black Velvet, which is a cocktail of champagne and Guinness stout,” he said.

Asked why the “no women” rule was first introduced, Jayakumar said it had been in place since the inception of the club in 1884.

“Nobody is really sure but from what I gathered, the men during the colonial days played games such as rugby at the adjacent field, which is now Dataran Merdeka, and would later step into the Long Bar for a drink,” he said

“They were sweaty, unkempt and often made a din, sharing dirty jokes after a few drinks … hence, they did not want to offend women folk and decided the place be off-limits to them.”