Winning at all costs

Mariam Mokhtar
Malaysiakini
Jul 8, 2013

The alleged rape of a 19-year old handball official at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) last week will revive unpleasant memories for the victim and family of another teenager in Malacca. Two years ago, the victim and her family were denied justice when as a 13 year old, she was raped by a Sukma champion.

Her rapist was set free so that he could represent Malaysia in future tournaments. He was allowed to bask in the glory of representing his nation, whilst the victim would spend her life in shame and regret. Court of Appeal President Raus Md Shariff had said that “public interest would not be served” if the rapist was sent to jail as “he had a bright future.”

When will the authorities do the right thing, rather than do things so that the right Malaysian image is presented for public and international consumption? Does the judiciary realise the irony of having a rapist representing the country in sport?

If the government of the country is seen to condone rape and other crimes, what does it say about Umno Baru, the major party in BN? Does winning at all costs for Umno-Baru mean compromising principles, morals and ethics? Are rape victims convenient pawns in Umno Baru’s constant lust for victory?

Last Wednesday’s alleged rape of the Sukma participant took place at the sports village at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Our trust in the police has been eroded by its failure to serve the rakyat. For decades, Umno Baru politicians have stripped the independence of the police force and made the police serve them, as baruas, thus betraying the rakyat.

How convinced are we, when told that the police will thoroughly investigate this latest alleged rape? It was a foreign NGO which first exposed the rape of the Penan girls in Sarawak. Despite pledges by the police and politicians to bring the rapists of the Penan girls to justice, nothing has happened.

Instead, the Penan women have been branded liars and story-tellers. If the rakyat are cynical about police efforts to stem crime, Umno Baru and the police have only themselves to blame.

The Sukma rape victim claimed that she had gone for a drink with her teammates and had woken up around 4am, semiconscious and naked, with a man on top of her. She alleged that two other men had also raped her.

The police arrested three handball players after a police report was lodged. The IGP, Khalid Abu Bakar, has promised a thorough investigation, and that the case would be treated seriously, as the country’s sporting image was affected by athletes who are alleged criminals.

Every police probe should be thorough

I had naively thought that every police investigation should be thorough. Is preserving the country’s sporting image uppermost in Khalid’s mind? What about the crime itself? What about the victim’s dignity, her mental and physical health, and her future?

Khalid and other readers may recall the incident two years ago, when National Tenpin bowler Noor Afizal Azizan avoided a prison sentence for statutory rape. In 2009, when Noor Afizal was 18 years old, he raped his 13-year old girlfriend, in a hotel room in Ayer Keroh. He was guilty of committing statutory rape (with or without the girl’s consent).

Noor Afizal had represented Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Kedah in Tenpin bowling competitions at Sukma and several other national-level tournaments between 2008 and 2010.

His girlfriend was a minor. They were lovers and although he was the adult, he continued an intimate relationship with her. It was stated at his trial, that “there was a consensual sexual relationship between him and the girl”.

Initially, the Sessions Court in Malacca had placed Noor Afizal on probation for five years with a RM25,000 bond, when he pleaded guilty to the charge of rape. The public prosecutor appealed. The High Court overturned the Sessions court ruling and gave him a five year term in prison.

Noor Afizal lodged an appeal against the High Court judgement, and the Appeal Court overturned his jail sentence. He was bound over to be of good behaviour for five years, with a surety of RM25,000. Had he breached the terms of this order, he would be jailed. In other words, rapists get a second chance; but not their victims.

In last week’s alleged Sukma rape, the victim was heavily intoxicated and was assisted to her room by the three athletes, whom she later alleged had raped her.

The Sports Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, denied reports stating that the victim was an athlete in the women’s handball team; however, he has ordered stern action against the sports council and association, with the possible suspension of athletes, coach and team managers, for bringing alcohol into the games village at UPM.

At every sporting event, athletes are eager to show off their athletic prowess but out of the sporting arena, many athletes are also sexually promiscuous. The competition for medals is as intense as the chase for erotic pleasure, outside the stadium.

At the last Olympics in London, each of the 10,500 athletes was given 15 condoms. Despite strict controls on drugs and alcohol, drinking, having multiple sexual partners and partying were common. Why should it be any different in local Games events?

Will the Sukma investigations conclude that the girl allowed herself to get into a vulnerable position? Will the investigations reveal that there should be no mitigating factors or excuses for men who rape, and that they deserve the most severe forms of punishment?

Women get the raw end of the deal

If those involved were Malay, will the investigation degenerate into another farce in which the rape is sidelined but the consumption of liquor becomes the main focus, prompting another knee-jerk reaction from the religious authorities?

Brutality against women, including domestic violence and rape is a serious problem in Malaysia. People, especially women need to feel safe, but our track record in dealing with rape shows that women get the raw end of the deal.

Men appear to be let off for good behaviour, because our country’s sporting image or a minister’s obsession with stripping the forests of timber and amassing vast personal wealth, are more important.

MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak’, this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.