COSMETICS businessman Aliff Syukri’s Instagram post which shows him treating his nine-year-old daughter’s wounds after beating her for removing her Muslim headscarf in front of other people is problematic, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said.

Wan Azizah, who is also women, family and community development minister, said she disapproved of the local celebrity’s post which she said was aimed at getting attention.

“It is problematic. He wanted attention. It was part of his strategy, but we want the best interests for the child.

“That’s why we must educate people on good parenting,” she told reporters after a Ramadan donation drive in Kuala Lumpur today.

Wan Azizah said the Social Welfare Department had investigated the matter after a police report was made by a child rights’ group, Protect and Save the Children, on May 2.

The department’s officers visited the girl and her family yesterday and found that there were “no apparent injuries”, she said.

“We know that his intentions were good, but since it seemed excessive in the post, the department had to investigate.”

She added that the department was now referring the matter to a hospital for a more thorough examination.

“Further investigation will be done to ensure Aliff follows instructions… to present the child to medical officers.”

Aliff wrote in the April 24 post that he had caned his daughter “because I want her to understand the meaning of a girl’s dignity”, and that his daughter had a habit of taking off her hijab in front of unfamiliar men.

The video has garnered over one million views to date and remains on his Instagram account, which has some 3.1 million followers.

He posted another video on April 30 after an uproar by social media users, telling critics to “mind their own children, and not interfere with his affairs concerning his daughter”.

His actions have been condemned by women activists, with the Association of Women Lawyers saying in a letter to the press that he had exploited his child in order to promote himself, and subjected her to public shaming as her face was clearly discernible in the Instagram post.

Aliff yesterday apologised in an interview with Astro Awani, acknowledging he had “crossed the line”. – May 4, 2019.