Members of Parliament including from the executive have thrown their support behind two DAP representatives who received death threats besides being sexually harassed online recently.
This came in the wake of police report lodged by Selangor state assemblyperson for Bandar Utama, Jamaliah Jamaluddin after she received violent threats of rape and murder via Facebook.
According to The Sun which quoted the All Women’s Action Society, the perpetrator had also allegedly posted racist remarks against Jamaliah and Kampung Tunku state assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei.
Umno leader Azalina Othman (above), who is Pengerang MP, took to Twitter this morning to express her frustration over such attack.
"Cukuplah ... enough is enough ... dah masuk tahun 2020! Only cowards “baling batu sembunyi tangan”, she tweeted.
("Stop it ... enough is enough ... it's already the year 2020! Only cowards throw stones and then hide their hands.")
Azalina's tweet was accompanied by a link to a news portal's story carrying Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng's comment on the incident.
She ended her tweet with several hashtags, including the popular #MeToo global movement against sexual harassment and #WomenPoliticiansMustUnite.
Guan Eng had last night on social media condemned the attacks on Jamaliah and Yi Wei and urged the authorities to take immediate action against the perpetrator.
"I condemn the sexual harassment against Jamaliah, who is Bandar Utama assemblyperson and Yi Wei, who is Kampung Tunku assemblyperson.
"Any form of sexual harassment is a crime that should not be taken lightly and it should not be allowed to be a culture in our society.
"I hope the authorities will take the necessary action," said Guan Eng, who is DAP secretary-general, on Twitter.
Port Dickson MP Anwar Ibrahim, who is PKR president, also took to Twitter to urge for an immediate investigation be launched on the harassment.
"Together, I condemn the sexual harassment on Bandar Utama assemblyperson Jamaliah Jamaluddin and Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lim Yi Wei as reported.
"I urge the authorities to launch an investigation immediately."
Former deputy minister of youth and sports Steven Sim, who is Bukit Mertajam MP, meanwhile, called for the Perikatan Nasional government to speed up the tabling of a bill in Parliament against sexual harassment.
"It is almost 20 years now since a coalition of NGOs known as the Joint Action Group Against Violence Against Women (JAG) submitted a memorandum and a draft Sexual Harassment Bill to the government in 2001. An updated was submitted to the Pakatan Harapan government in October 2019.
"The then deputy prime minister, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had committed to tabling the bill at the March 2020 parliamentary sitting. However, after the government changed, the new government has yet to show any commitment to this important law.
"I urge the federal government to take immediate action on the Sexual Harassment Bill. We have to crush the culture of inequality in our society with a strong message backed by the law that it is not okay to bully women," Sim said in a media statement.
Expressing his disgust over what happened to Jamaliah and Yi Wei, he said the incident, however, was only one of the numerous times that politicians, as well as other women and girls, had to endure harassment because of their gender.- Mkini
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