Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman, who is now in charge of law matters, said she has yet to be briefed on the proposed amendment to Section 376 of the Penal Code.

The amendment has been proposed to broaden the definition of rape to include all forms of sexual assault, other than penile penetration.

“I have not been briefed on any such amendment yet,” Azalina said when asked about the progress on the amendment at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

She said that as far as she was aware on matters concerning the definition of rape, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had, last Friday, instructed the formation of special task force to look into sexual assaults against children.

“So, on the sixth (of September) - which is Tuesday - I will call for the first task force meeting, and all the government agencies relevant to this matter, plus all the stakeholders, including NGOs (will meet).

“That is as far as I can comment as of now, until Tuesday comes. Whether there is such a draft amendment bill and all that, I am not aware,” she said.

Azalina took over the duties of law matters in the cabinet from her predecessor Nancy Shukri on July 14. She is also the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs.

On Aug 6, the Malay Mail Online quoted Nancy as saying that the Attorney-General’s Chambers has already consulted medical experts and drafted the amendment to Section 376.

Among others, the amendment would include expanding the definition of rape to include penetration with a finger, and not just the penis.

Last year, the Court of Appeal acquitted a 60-year old man of raping a 15-year old girl, because the man had penetrated her with his semen-tainted finger, rather than his genital.

Case sparked widespread outrage

That case sparked widespread outrage, including a place in the annual Aiyoh Wat Lah! Awards last week. The court decision was nominated in the ‘Policy Fail’ category and of the four nominees in the category, it garnered an overwhelming 71 percent of the votes.

Meanwhile, on another issue, Azalina said consultations have already been held on the proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976.

She said this when asked about the suggestion by Islamic scholar Wan Ji Wan Hussin (photo) for a consultative council comprising representatives from the civil and syariah courts to be set up to discuss the amendments.

Wan Ji expressed concern that the proposed amendments could cause unease among Muslims and that it was therefore important to determine whether it would have an impact on interfaith relations.

“I’ve been told (by the Home Ministry, which is in charge of the amendments) that many parties have already been engaged.

“They have done all the engagement, and the paper will be brought to cabinet soon. I believe that it is completed.

“Once the cabinet has accepted it, we will engage with the MPs (in October) and explain to MPs the relevant sections,” Azalina said.

She added that stakeholders could still engage with their MPs on the matter, even though the bill has been drafted.

The proposed amendments are meant to resolve the longstanding issue of custodial dispute arising from unilateral conversions, where one parent would convert himself or herself and their children to Islam and the syariah and civil courts issue conflicting custodial awards.

Najib has said the amendments would be introduced during the coming parliamentary sitting in October, and would ensure that custodial disputes involving civil marriages would be resolved in the civil courts.

Earlier today, Azalina made a working visit to the Kuala Lumpur Cyber Court, which is the first of its kind in Malaysia and begins operation today.

She also visited the Construction Court and the Kuala Lumpur Mediation Centre, which are all located in the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex.

Speaking to reporters later, she said the Cyber Court already has 10 criminal cases on hand and it would also take on civil cases in the near future, using the same courtroom but a separate judge.

She said she would also discuss upgrades to the new courtroom’s facilities with the cabinet to ensure that evidence can be dealt with quickly, such as by providing it with its own projector and Internet protocol (IP) address.