Who gave her the authority to speak on Robengah’s behalf?

A video featuring Sumati, a friend of Robengah, the alleged rape victim, appeared on several pro-Umno blogs on 6 January 2011. Both are believed to have worked for the minister Rais Yatim. He allegedly raped the latter, whilst they were in his employ. In the 5-minute video clip, Sumati dismissed the allegations of rape.

She said, “For as long as I have worked here, I never heard of any rape stories.”

It is all very well for certain media to report that Rais did not rape Robengah just because another of his former domestic maids, Sumati, supported him by dismissing the rape claims.

So how do we know that the two girls were ‘friends’? Even among maids, there is rivalry and petty jealousies of perceived favoritism.

More importantly, who gave Sumati the authority to speak on Robengah's behalf?

What if Robengah was an intensely private person and the shame and humiliation was something she did not want to share with anyone?

How do we know Sumati is telling the truth?

A few days ago, Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak queried the timing of this rape allegation. He said, “In any case, what happened was in 2007. The question is, why (bring it up) now?”

And like magic, the following day, Sumati, who once worked for Rais Yatim denied that the Information, Communication and Culture Minister had ever raped Robengah because, according to her, “…………..I have never heard of any rape stories,” in her eight years of service.

Coincidence or what?

Who pointed the media in Sumati’s direction? Where did they know to locate her so quickly?

Isn’t it odd that a country girl (assuming she is one) is suddenly prepared to speak out and defend her former employer? How did she know?

Checks by Malaysiakini on five Indonesian news outlets including Kompas, Jakarta Post, Tempo, Jakarta Globe and news portal Detik.com showed they had only reported on Rais' denial, whilst some reports refused to name the victim.

Thus, news of Rais’s indiscretions were not widely known in Indonesia.

And yet, Sumati seems to be media savvy.

She was extra-quick to come to the defense of Rais. In fact, she performed better than our senior politicians.

It took former Preim minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi 4 years to respond, and he still says he is “not aware”.

It took Najib a good 2.5 weeks. Perhaps APCO was on an extended New Year’s leave.

And we still haven’t heard anything from Rais’s closest cabinet colleagues. Perhaps there is a niggling doubt at the backs of their minds and they are not willing to put their necks on the line to defend him.

Sumati is said to be a friend of Robengah, the woman at the centre of these rape allegations. She claimed they shared a bedroom in the Rais household.

When asked if there had been any night when Robengah was absent from the bedroom, Sumati replied that Robengah had never once skipped sleeping in their room.

This is the most revealing bit and describes Sumati better.

Is Sumati a single woman or has she been married before?

There are some women who are more sexually knowledgeable than others because of culture, upbringing, family and social circumstances, as well as personality and character.

Could Sumati be one of those who are in the not-so-sexually-knowledgeable category?

Is she aware that when rape occurs, there is no need for the rapist and his victim to spend the night away? What she describes – spending the night together, elsewhere – sounds more like a romantic liaison.

Perhaps Sumati’s lack of sexual experience, or possibly her innocence, means that she is unaware that rape is a form of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, by one person, against another person without that person’s consent.

Perhaps Sumati does not know that rape does not mean a night spent together, in the same bed. That is a luxury shared by some husbands and wives or between two lovers.

For a rape to take place, all that is required is a few minutes perhaps in a study, the bathroom, the larder, the back of the car or for one tennis champion, a few moments in the broom cupboard (although this was concensual).

One hopes that Sumati has not been dragged into this just to prove that Rais is innocent. If that were the case, then it is wrong for ‘them’ to implicate her.

Questions will also be raised if Sumati was amply rewarded for her “help”.

It certainly took someone no time at all tracking her down in Indonesia.

And how do we know Sumati and Robengah were working during the same period of time, in Rais’s household?

Sumati also said that she and Robengah were happy with the treatment from Masnah, Rais’s wife, during their employment.

She said, “If not, I would not have lasted so long.”

That is in itself another clue. Perhaps, this is one last favour from an employee, to help her former mistress.

Whoever orchestrated this ferreting of a former maid to say that Rais had not raped anyone may think they can pull the wool over our eyes that easily. Somehow, I don’t think so. - Malaysia Chronicle