Now, Indonesian maid claims Rais did not rape her after all

In a sudden about-turn that had Malaysians gasping in disbelief, an Indonesian maid who once worked for Information minister Rais Yatim has denied that he ever raped her during the eight years she worked for him and his family.

Indonesia's detik.com website reported that the woman denied the allegations in a statement to four officials from the Indonesian Workers Protection and Placement Centre (BP3TKI) in Semarang near here. But the website did not source the information directly.

According to Malaysia's national news agency Bernama, which is under Rais' ministry, the head of the National Protection and Placement of Indonesian Workers Authority or BNP2TKI, Jumhur Hidayat, was the one who informed detik.com of the meeting between the woman and sister agency BP3TKI.

“I worked for eight years in Datuk’s house. I was treated well, there were no problems and definitely no rough or undesirable treatment towards me,” the maid allegedly said in a statement to BP3TKI.

Magic wipes

The Malaysian minister had on Wednesday denied the allegations, accusing political foes and bloggers of trying to kill his political career.

Prime Minister Najib Razak created a further uproar when he defended Rais on Friday, saying that what "happened was in 2007, the question is why bring it up now".

"Sorry to say but the immediate reaction of most people would be: I smell a major cover up. Partly because the timing is too coincidental. First Rais denies, then Najib hold press conference, Perkasa defends his decision on Teoh Beng Hock and then now Bernama and the Indonesian agency deny the rape. What may be more convincing would be to hear what the lady has to say for herself," Gopeng MP Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.

Indeed, Jumhur appears to have gone out of his way to exonerate Rais. He stressed that the alleged rape had never happened. According to him, four BP3TKI officials had met the maid and her husband. The woman then related that she worked in Malaysia from 1999 to 2007 at Rais’s house before returning to her Central Java village.

“There is testimony from the maid and also a written statement from her that she was never raped while working for Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim’s family in Malaysia, including any undesirable behaviour. I have reported her statement to the Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar,” said Jumhur.

He asked all quarters to be cautious when making allegations of Indonesian maids being raped by Malaysian ministers. “This involves the reputation of the maid and her family’s life in the village,” he added.

Oscar!

Despite the denial, few Malaysians are likely to be convinced. News of the rape first emerged three years ago but was hushed up. Malaysian NGO Tenaganita had lodged a complaint on behalf of the maid to Najib, who was then the deputy prime minister, and his boss, Abdullah Badawi.

Both leaders reportedly refused to take action and helped Rais to cover up the case.

"This has already moved into the realm of Hollywood and the Oscars. It certainly has the look and feel of a massive public relations overhaul for Najib and Rais. The whole thing feels stage-managed and doesn't carry the ring of truth in it," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle. - Malaysia Chronicle