KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Lim Guan Eng has slammed Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil for her silence over allegations of sexual harassment levelled against his teenage son.
The Penang chief minister said today the women, family and community development minister has “failed to condemn those who lie about innocent children or use innocent children as their object of fun to score political points.”
“Shahrizat’s failure to reproach or condemn Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for perpetuating a lie that my 16-year-old son sexually outraged the modesty of his classmate shows that she has failed in her ministerial duty,” Lim(picture) said in a statement.
The DAP secretary general urged the senator to be “pro-active and courageous” in upholding the Child Act 2001 and United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child.
Pro-Umno bloggers had claimed that Lim’s son had assaulted a 16-year-old schoolmate and tried to escape punishment by using his father’s name.
Khairy had also weighed in on Monday, writing on micro-blogging site Twitter on Monday, “Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada” [Maybe he destroyed Kampung Buah Pala because he wants to replace it with Kampung Buah Dada] in response to another tweet by pro-Umno blogger PapaGomo.
Lim had denied the allegations on Tuesday, saying he was furious with the “barbaric lies” made about his teenage son by “pro-Umno ferocious beasts.”
His colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) have come out strongly in support of the DAP secretary-general against what they call “the lowest gutter politics” seen in decades.
Sensing growing public anger, Umno MPs have been quick to distance themselves from the allegations.
The DAP held a press conference on Wednesday claiming the photograph of the purported “victim” used by Umno bloggers was that of 21-year-old chess grandmaster Anya Sun Corke who is studying at Wellesley College in the United States.
Corke denied yesterday ever meeting or hearing of the 16-year-old schoolboy.
She said she was “shocked, dismayed and baffled” as to how her photo was used without her knowledge or consent.
Lim pointed out that the Child Act 2001 stipulates that every child is entitled to protection and assistance in all circumstances.
But no protection was afforded to his child when his photo was plastered all over the blogs and some media outlets, he said.
Furthermore, he said, this contravenes Article 16 (Protection of Privacy) of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a signatory, that no child should be subjected to libel or slander.
“I speak for every parent when I say we live for our children. We work to provide a better life for them. We struggle to ensure their world is better than ours. We strive to protect them from the evils of the world, especially when they are still young.”
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