KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu will meet national Olympian Pandelela Rinong over her recent revelations on alleged sexual harassment.
He also appealed to all athletes to stand up and speak up so immediate action can be taken.
Faizal was responding in the Dewan Rakyat to former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who had asked him to clarify his statement yesterday questioning Pandelela for raising allegations against a former coach as the incident happened “long ago”.
Faizal said his statement had been taken “out of context”.
He said he will get a detailed explanation from Pandelela before taking further action.
Syed Saddiq had also questioned Faizal over the government’s stand on the matter as national gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi and swimmer Cindy Ong had also raised such issues.
Faizal said the government would not condone such incidents.
On Syed Saddiq’s request for a high-level committee, represented by all parties, to look into the issue, Faizal said his ministry will set it up to ensure a comprehensive probe is done.
The national sports council has also been asked to focus on gender sensitivity to instill respect for all, he said.
Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Puchong) also hit out at Faizal’s “long ago” comment, saying there was no time frame for reporting a criminal offence.
“Does he know there is no time limitation in criminal law?” Gobind asked.
He told Faizal that as a minister, he should stand up for athletes who face such issues.
Faizal stood up and agreed with Gobind. “I am aware there is no time frame. During the press conference, I said that I will listen to all parties before giving any explanation,” he said. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.