Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been reprimanded for saying that allegations of sexual abuse and mental torture by Indonesian national Manohara Odelia Pinot are a ‘personal matter’.

dap graftbuster pc 230409 tony pua Pulling him up, PJ Utara parliamentarian Tony Pua said Muhyiddin should not have made “such an irresponsible and callous statement on the issue of domestic violence”.

“While the truth of the matter has yet to be ascertained, the allegations of serious domestic violence must be investigated or Malaysia will be regarded as an international pariah for treating domestic violence as a personal matter,” Pua said in a statement.

“Manohara has claimed (there was) a daily routine of rape, abuse and torture, and occasional drug injections that made her vomit blood. She has even alleged that some parts of her body were cut by a razor.

“(And) her mother, Daisy Fajarina has blamed the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for trying to cover up the alleged abuse and alleged that the Malaysian government had ignored her pleas for access to her daughter and had blocked her from entering the country.

“All of the above are extremely serious allegations, regardless of whether they were made by a local or a foreigner.”

muhyiddin yassin universiti malaya 020609 Muhyiddin had said the Malaysian government would not intervene in the case, following the sensational accusations levelled by Manohara against her husband, Tengku Mohammad Fakhry Petra, 32, a Kelantan prince.

“To date, we have not been dragged into it, so we want to leave it as it is,” the deputy premier had said when asked to comment.

Manohara, 17, was rescued while in Singapore on Sunday and reunited with her mother. She then went public with her allegations in Jakarta, gaining widespread media coverage.

'Educate miniisters'

Pua said Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil or her deputy Chew Mei Fun must take immediate action against Muhyiddin for dismissing domestic violence as a ‘private’ matter.

Muhyiddin, he said, should be told that physical abuse in a domestic setting is a criminal offence under the Domestic Violence Act 1994.

“Domestic violence includes causing physical injury to the victim by an act that [...] would result in physical injury,” Pua said.

“In addition, compelling the survivor by force or threat to engage in any conduct or act, sexual or otherwise, from which the survivor has a right to abstain is also (an offence) under Malaysian laws... those found guilty of domestic violence (should) be sentenced in accordance to our Penal Code.”

manohara odelia pinot indonesia model 230409 The deputy premier should apologise and withdraw his remarks, said Pua, and give an assurance that “a thorough independent investigation on the veracity of the allegations (by Manohara, left )to ensure that Malaysia's international image does not suffer from this ugly episode”.

“(Although) no police reports have yet been made, (it) is not an impediment for the Malaysian police to commence investigations as the allegations have appeared around the world.

“Or they could file their own police reports on the matter, as they have done in many recent police investigations.”

He added that Shahrizat must educate ministers on issues of domestic violence and crimes against women.