LIVID over the police trivialising the rape threat issued against a school girl, former Education Minister Maszlee Malik shot back saying rape or any form of threats are never a joke.
“A threat is a threat. To condone a threat is utterly unacceptable. Let’s say if that happened to your own daughter. Would you call it a joke?
“Normalising sexual harassment is itself immoral,” the Simpang Renggam MP retorted on Twitter.
Yesterday, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani described the rape threat received by student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, 17, from her classmate as a “mere joke”.
Ain Husniza received the threat after she revealed that a teacher had made rape related jokes during school session.
“The student has lodged two police reports, one against the teacher and the other against her classmate, which could be a joke she could not accept,” Acryl Sani was reported saying.
Appalled by Acryl Sani’s statement, Petaling Jaya MP Mari Chin Abdullah hurled brickbats against the former, saying such threats can negatively affect a girl or woman’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive wellbeing.
Police needs re-education
In the case of Ain Huznisa, she added, a threat had already been made by one of her classmates and this puts her life in imminent danger and cannot be trivalised.
“Deputy IGP’s appalling statement has thrown a spanner in the works by the women’s movement and other authorities to have zero tolerance against violence against women.
“When top officials and even ministers speak, their words carry weight and have adverse impact on the issue. They must refrain from making such disreputable statements,” Maria stressed.
The PKR MP then urged Acryl Sani to apologise to Ain Husniza, claiming the officer of law has brought disrepute to his uniform and to all Malaysian citizens.
“The police must give assurance that such attitudes will be rid of and a process to re-educate the force against all forms of discrimination and violence will be conducted to bring back public respect for the men in blue.
“And investigations and actions must be carried out against the teacher who made the joke, as well as the student who made the rape threat,” Maria remarked. – April 27, 2021.
