Drop Shabudin as MP, women groups petition PM Najib

Over twenty women groups nationwide are petitioning Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to remove Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya over his remarks in Parliament last week.

Shabudin had suggested that marriage between a rapist and his victim could serve as a remedy for social problems.

“We have collected signatures from organisations today to remove such a person from Parliament, this petition will be sent to the prime minister next week,” Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Hua Zong) Women’s Wing head Ng Geok Chee told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon.

Ng, who is also the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) women’s section chairperson, said Shabudin's comments were unbecoming of an MP.

“We expect an MP to voice our grievances whereas this MP (Shabudin) has made such a statement.

"How can a former syariah court judge propose... for rapists to escape jail sentences by marrying their victims?" she asked.

Meanwhile, All Women’s Action Society (Awam) former president Ho Yock Lin urged Najib to drop Shabudin as a candidate for MP in the next general election.

“His comments were humiliating to the rakyat and to the supreme lawmaking institution in the country,” said Ho.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) women’s bureau chief S Vinothaa echoed Ho’s sentiments.

“This statement reflects how little women’s rights are thought upon and it reflects the quality of our MPs in Parliament,” she said.

Vinothaa added that there were more than 37,000 reported rape cases between 2000-2015, which was an average of eight cases a day.

More than half of the victims were under 16 years old, said Vinothaa.

More than 60 representatives, mostly women, attended the press conference to protest against Shabudin's statement.

Among the organisations they represented included the Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall (Women’s division), the Negeri Sembilan Chinese Assembly Hall (Women’s division), the Federation of Kwong Tung Associations Malaysia (Women’s division), the Federation of Teochew Associations Malaysia (Women’s division), the Secondary School Chinese Teachers Association and the National Indian Rights Action Team.

Shabudin, while debating the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill in Parliament on April 4, had objected to DAP's Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching's proposal for the legislation to also ban child marriages.

He suggested that a rapist marrying a victim could serve as a remedy for social problems if girls as young as 12 years old were "physically and spiritually" ready for marriage.

A day after his comments caused national uproar, Shabudin blamed the media for taking his words out of context and mulled taking legal action against media outlets.

Shabudin claimed that he was only referring to instances of statutory rape.

Malaysiakini had since fact checked Shabudin's claim by cross referencing his statement to the Parliament Hansard.- Mkini