Umno sec-gen gets ‘rock star’ treatment at Wanita PKR Congress

PKR CONGRESS | Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, better known as Ku Nan, became a popular figure at the Wanita PKR Congress today, with delegates holding up placards as if he was a rock star.

However, on closer scrutiny, the placards bore unflattering comments about Tengku Adnan, deriding him for suggesting that women dress shabbily to avoid harassment in public places.

The placards read, among others: “Ku Nan has lost it”, “Ku Nan is dirty minded”, “Ku Nan likes to insult women” and “(PKR deputy president) Azmin Ali is handsomer than Ku Nan”.

Addressing the delegates, Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin slammed Tengku Adnan, who is also Federal Territories Minister.

“I urge strong objections against Ku Nan’s statement about women.

“I also challenge Wanita Umno to also speak up and tick off Ku Nan for what he said which is an insult to women, doesn’t Wanita Umno feel ashamed?” she asked.

On Wednesday, Tengku Adnan during a TN50 dialogue heard complaints from a Puteri Umno member that she and her daughters faced harassment when going onto the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

“It’s because you're so beautiful. The next time you go out, wear more comot (shabby) clothes,” he said.

Earlier, Zuraida in statement rejected Tengku Adnan’s “fashion advice”.

“Wanita PKR would like to see Puteri Umno follow the fashion advice from Ku Nan ‘to dress shabbily in order to avoid harassment’.

“After all, Puteri Umno looks up to Ku Nan and even gave him a big round of applause for saying so during the TN50 dialogue.

“In Wanita PKR, our women all dress up smartly and avoid harassment because mischievous men simply do not harass women who are dignified and are confident of themselves,” Zuraida said in a statement today.

‘Women’s dressing does not justify harassment’

Zuraida advised that ultimately, women’s dressing does not justify harassment.

“Wanita PKR would also like to remind Ku Nan that a woman's dressing should not be blamed for the way she is treated.

“If you downgrade a woman’s dressing from smart to shabby, and she still gets harassed after that, then what next?

“If men do not know their boundaries, then there should be punishments to make them realise their mistakes,” she said.

Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP, said harassment should be severely dealt with and better laws should be made to this end.

“So, instead of dressing shabbily, women can be safe knowing that our laws protect them from men who act like animals,” she said.

Zuraida’s statement today was also in conjunction with Wanita PKR’s Congress in Petaling Jaya.

At the congress, Zuraida presented the Bold for Change Award to Maria Chin Abdullah, in honour of her work, including as electoral reform group Bersih chairperson.

During her acceptance speech, Maria also rapped Tengku Adnan for what she described as a lack of respect for women.

“His statement shows that there are still people who do not understand the concept of gender equality and do not respect women,” she said.- Mkini