Focus on rehabilitation, not extradition

Malaysia does not possess the expertise or the infrastructure needed to help people such as Nur Fitri, who pose a risk to both himself and to the children he comes into contact with in future.

COMMENT

By Joshua Teh

In the Malaysiakini article “Extradition of child porn student gets green light” on 19th June, Mara chairman Annuar Musa confirmed that there are plans to extradite Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, the Malaysian student convicted for possession of over 30,000 videos and photographs of child pornography in the United Kingdom recently. Annuar stressed that Mara was assisting Nur Fitri in this matter “based on humanitarian values” and that Mara “cannot just abandon him like that”.

Mara’s concern for Nur Fitri in this matter is unfortunately misplaced and fails to consider the seriousness of the issue. What is important is whether Nur Fitri is receiving proper rehabilitation in the United Kingdom for paedophilia, as without treatment, there is the possibility that he might progress from possession of child pornography to other more serious sexual offences. In this situation, what should be of paramount importance to the Malaysian government and institutions like Mara is the safety and the protection of our children.

Currently, it is doubtful that Malaysia possesses the expertise or the infrastructure needed to help people such as Nur Fitri, who pose a risk both to himself and to the children he comes into contact with in future. The deficiencies in our anti-child pornography laws, or the lack of mandated and structured rehabilitation programs, means that there are no reliable safeguards against Nur Fitri reoffending once he returns to Malaysia.

Leaving him to complete his sentence in the United Kingdom may feel like abandonment to Nur Fitri and his family, but provided he is receiving some form of treatment there, it is not. However, to bring him back to Malaysia, where we lack a strong rehabilitation program system and monitoring mechanism for paedophiles, will be to abandon Nur Fitri’s chances to reintegrate himself as a functioning member of society.

As such, in the interest of the public and especially our children, we urge Mara to reconsider its plans for a swift extradition of Nur Fitri back to Malaysia. Should Mara genuinely be interested in helping Nur Fitri based on humanitarian values, then we call on them to ensure that he receives and completes the required rehabilitative therapy before bringing him home, and continue monitoring his progress once he returns.

Joshua Teh is an Advocacy Officer for the Women’s Centre for Change in Penang