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Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to include a statement from the law firm.
The job posting came to light after Facebook user Aidil Khalid shared a screenshot of it when he saw it on the Malaysian Bar website around 5.30pm on Monday, 8 March.
The vacancy ad is for a legal assistant role in Rafiq & Co, a medium-sized law firm based in Sungai Besi.
“What kind of job advertisement is this? Requirement: ‘Female only and good looking’. Seriously?” he questioned.
The phrase ‘Female only and good looking’ came under the ‘Qualifications and Requirements’ section, beside other regular job conditions.
As of writing, the posting has been amended to exclude the offensive prerequsite.
According to Aidil, it was changed about an hour after he first viewed the posting.
“What kind of bullsh*t is this? Sexism to another level!” said a Facebook user.
Another questioned, “Law firm or modelling agency?”
Someone also realised the irony that the sexist advertisement was published on a global day meant to celebrate women’s rights and gender equality.
A netizen commented, “Smart of him to post this on International Women’s Day.”
“The said advertisement was published without the partner’s approval,” they said.
They added that they have retracted the advertisement and regret the mistake.
After Aidil’s Facebook post was shared on Twitter by Malaysian journalist Tashny Sukumaran, a few women tweeted that the lawyer, who was also the correspondent for the job advertisement, made suggestive remarks when they applied.
“Four years ago, I was interviewed by a partner of this firm. Let’s just say he’s super dodgy. He asked me if I don’t mind wearing something sexier to the office, and that he would go shopping with me to buy new work clothes. A lot of other inappropriate remarks too,” said a Twitter user.
She told SAYS that he had also requested for the interview to be held in a shopping mall instead of at the law firm.
Another woman wrote, “Oh my God. Early this year, I sent my application to this firm and he texted me for an interview. But he asked whether my house can be turned into an office for the interview.”
“And he even asked me for a photo, saying ‘I want to see you a little bit’. Crazy. Please be extra careful with this guy.”