Malaysian MP : Famous for the Wrong Reason....Again!

the Australian Edition

Rape victims should marry their rapists, Malaysian MP tells parliament

Rape victims can ward off a “bleak future” by marrying their rapists, an MP and former judge has suggested in the Malaysia parliament.

Former sharia judge Datuk Shabudin Yahaya made the comments at the Houses of Parliament during a debate over a bill on sexual offences against children.

While he acknowledged rape as a criminal offence, Yahaya suggested that rapists and their victims could solve social problems and “turn a new leaf” by getting married.

“Perhaps through marriage they can lead a healthier, better life. And the person who was raped does not necessarily have a bleak future. She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a remedy to growing social problems,” he was quoted in the local daily, the Star. 

An MP from Barisan National – the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 – Yahaya also suggested that girls as young as 12 might be “spiritually and physically” ready for marriage.

Sharmila Sekaran, chair of advocacy group Voice of the Children (VOC), which has been working with the government to draft the new law on child protection, was in the parliamentary session when Yahaya made the comments on Tuesday.

“I was outraged that he would make such a statement. Basically to justify and legalise a wrong, a statutory rape,” she told the Guardian.

“He’s a leader of society, as a member of parliament, and it’s worrying that he has this line of thinking,” Sekaran added.

“It does send a message across the country that it is something that we are supposed to be OK with. That’s a very worrying trend: ‘Go and rape someone and if you get caught offer to marry them.’”

Sekaran said she was also deeply concerned Yahaya would “make the leap” to suggest that girls who physically mature early might be ready for marriage.

The comments made by Yahaya, an MP from Tasek Gelugor in Penang, also drew criticism from locals in his constituency.

Responding to reports, Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng said people in the state didn’t want a “monster” as their representative. “We are ashamed to have an MP like this from Penang. Even though he’s not in the state government, he is a black stain for Penang,” said Lim.

Despite the controversial comments child rights activists have lauded the sexual offences against children bill passed by the parliament on Tuesday.

The legislation offers stronger and comprehensive legal protections for children, including a clause that criminalises child grooming, a term to describe the behaviour of an adult who befriends a child, sometimes online, as a prelude to sexual abuse.

The law includes new clauses related to child pornography and acknowledges children as competent witnesses in sexual crime cases.

The Guardian : Malaysia's PM cleared of corruption.

 the Guardian

Democracy falters in south-east Asia as Malaysia's PM cleared of corruption

End of investigation into $681m payment to Najib Razak adds to fears for freedoms across the region, but international condemnation remains muted

Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, cleared of corruption after receiving $681m ‘gift’ – video

Simon Tisdall

Wednesday 27 January 2016 02.32 AEDT Last modified on Wednesday 27 January 2016 04.04 AEDT

 

The extraordinary decision to drop corruption investigations into Najib Razak, Malaysia’s prime minister, highlights growing concern about lack of democratic accountability in Malaysia and across south-east Asia as a whole.

Mohamed Apandi Ali, a former judge with ruling party links, who was appointed attorney general by Najib last year, said on Tuesday that $681m (£475m) secretly deposited in Najib’s personal bank accounts was a private gift from the Saudi royal family.

Malaysian prime minister cleared of corruption over $681m Saudi 'gift'

Apandi refused to address the central question of why the gift was made and for what purpose. The deposit came to light last July after foreign media investigations [paywall] into a debt-ridden state fund run by Najib known as 1MDB. 

“I am satisfied with the findings that the funds were not a form of graft or bribery. There was no reason given as to why the donation was made to PM Najib, that is between him and the Saudi family,” Apandi said.

Apandi offered no explanation as to why $620m was apparently later returned to the Saudis, and what happened to the remaining $61m. The Saudi regime has declined to discuss the matter.

Najib has always denied any wrongdoing. His unmatched influence as prime minister since 2009 in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and his leadership of its main political component, the United Malays National Organisation, in power continuously since 1957, makes him a difficult man to challenge.

Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s best-known, much-persecuted opposition leader, nearly defeated Najib in the 2013 elections. He has has since been jailed again, on what are widely viewed as trumped-up charges. In November a UN human rights group said Anwar’s detention was illegal and his treatment in prison cruel and degrading.

Mass street protests last August failed to dislodge Najib. An ongoing currency and foreign investment slump, related to the scandal, and a demand from Malaysia’s unofficial founding father, Mahathir Mohamad, that he resign have also left him unmoved.

Malaysia’s prime minister, Najib Razak, outside the country’s parliament on 26 January. Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

Instead, Najib has silenced critics, sacking ministers, appointing loyalists, and dismissing the previous attorney general, Abdul Gani Patail, who was leading corruption inquiries. Under the guise of fighting terrorism, Najib has also taken additional powers to control media and opposition, notably last month’s draconian new national security council law. Human rights groups described the law as a step towards dictatorship.

In a statement on Tuesday Najib called the scandal an “unnecessary distraction” and claimed the matter had been “comprehensively put to rest”. However, the 1MDB affair reportedly remains under legal investigation in Switzerland, Hong Kong and the US.

The absence of an international outcry about this failure of democratic accountability in Malaysia is troubling. Visiting Kuala Lumpur last July, David Cameron went through the motions, urging Najib to clean up his act. Likewise, at a November meeting, Barack Obama said he had impressed [paywall] upon Najib the importance of accountability and transparency.

In the case of the US and Britain, the former colonial power, the reluctance to make waves may be explained by the high priority they attach to keeping Malaysia, a moderate, pro-western, mostly Sunni Muslim ally, onside in the age of Islamic State and global jihad. The Obama administration also views Malaysia as part of its informal regional bulwark against China’s rise, and as an important Asia-Pacific trading partner.