THE Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) has condemned Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad for asking a child sex abuse victim to keep quiet about her experience to preserve her father’s reputation.

In a statement, the group said the minister’s response was unacceptable, adding that it was a clear violation under the Child Act 2001.

“Such statements shame survivors of sexual and gender-based violence into silence, leaving many to feel that they are alone in facing the issue.

“These remarks from someone in a position of power and trust is extremely discouraging for all those who have been through such violence, and contributes to its underreporting and fear of speaking out due to judgment and retaliation,” they said.

Idris was quoted by Berita Harian as saying the 15-year-old child star should not have gone public with her experience, instead she should have reported the incident to the police and let justice take its course.

The PAS senator said incidents of abuse must be handled privately by reporting them to the police, to avoid shaming her family or damaging her father’s reputation.

In a podcast interview, the child star claimed that in addition to making her watch pornography with him and his friends, and watch him masturbate, her father also molested her when she was of pre-school age. It was reported that the teenager had cut ties with him.

The JAG then said that advising victims and family members to avoid speaking out about experiences of abuse to protect abusers is a blatant contradiction of the core values of Malaysian laws and government procedures designed to eradicate sexual violence against children.

“Families and homes are meant to be safe spaces for children, not environments of abuse. Laws are living embodiments of Malaysia’s duties to protect children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Malaysia is a party.

“As a minister, it would be remiss to not clarify the Prime Minister’s Department stance on children’s rights to be safe from sexual harm,” they added. – September 9, 2022.