YOURSAY | ‘I was prepared to give this man the benefit of the doubt until I read the last paragraph.’

Shabudin: Media took child marriage, rape comments out of context

Odin Tajué: Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya, news reporters - at least the competent ones - write the essence of what they hear and usually record as well. They do not produce verbatim reports.

Their readers are not interested to read fluff. They do not want to waste their time on it nor do they want to pay for it. The essence of what you have uttered vis-à-vis the matter at hand tells us that:

1) you support rapists marrying their victims regardless of the latters’ age so that their victims could have a better life; and

2) you support child marriage because there were even women as young as 12 who had the bodies of 18-year-olds.

The rest were mere fluff, nothing more than pure speculation, supposition, academic discussion. Yes, a particular young man who has raped, say, a 12-year-old girl and then marry her may be remorseful and become a living saint, just as I may pump iron again and develop biceps even thicker than your thighs.

Alas, Shabudin, your views reflect an intellect so under-developed that readers in countries other than Malaysia are surely led to assume that this country is full of morons. It must be, if it has government leaders like you.

Clever Voter: ‘Rape victims should marry their rapists, Malaysian MP tells parliament’ was among the headlines in today’s Guardian, a leading UK quality paper.

We will see no end to such views from the global community. It’s bad enough to have a 'witch doctor' with a pair of coconuts at the airport. Then we were questioned over the manner we handled the murder of a North Korean and to a proposal to introduce arcane punishments.

Back in the 80s, we were admired and predicted to be the next Asian tiger. We now regressed into a country where headlines are embarrassing and upsetting. No wonder, we have become a joke.

Speechless: The media did not report anything out of context.

Shabudin, your warped suggestion will end up punishing the rape victim three times: going through the horrific trauma of being raped, having to marry the monster who did it to her, and having to endure being raped by this criminal for the rest of her life.

Shabudin, you either have no brains or no moral compass: I believe you lack both. Shame on you!

Existential Turd: A body may look like a grown-up, but the mindset is that of a child, as amply demonstrated by this Tasek Gelugor MP.

No, I amend that. It is insult to all children by comparing this man, who is devoid of any human decency, to a child. The same goes to all who defended him and his ilk.

Anonymous 2457571486440266: Shabudin, be a man and be honest about what you said. At least, you will retain some integrity.

If you back off after realising that your opinions are controversial, unpopular or even wrong and then blame the media, you are not fit to represent the people.

Vent: I was prepared to give this man the benefit of the doubt this time until I read the last paragraph.

Hail husbands! You are the panacea not only for “social problems” but you are also the saviours of women facing “a bleak future”!

Shabudin was 'merely expressing his view', says Penang Wanita Umno

CQ Muar: Penang Umno Wanita chief, Jahara Hamid, you'd just shamed the entire women folk in this country, regardless of race, with your disgraceful defence of the Tasek Gelugor “monster”.

Surely there's a limit to your stupidity making such a blind defence.

Ipohcrite: Jahara is indeed doing a disservice to all women folk by trying to defend Shabudin whose views are clearly detrimental to the protection of young girls against the violence of rape.

Vent: Any wonder Muslim women continue to be repressed? When a woman, a mother and a lawyer comes out to defend a reprehensible stand taken by a man that not only violates common decency but is also barbaric in nature, one has to throw in the towel on Muslim women's rights.

Muslim women in Malaysia (or elsewhere) are never going to win the war against such repression if they continue to play second fiddle to their men merely because a subject impinges on some Islamic law, saying or practice despite it standing out in all its weakness against the raw light shed by human progress to date.

P Dev Anand Pillai: The fact remains is that Malay women have to rise up to put a stop to these practises. It is of no use to let their non-Malay friends do the talking for them.

Whether we are daughters or wives is not an issue, we are all women. If Malay women keep quiet, then there is nothing much that can be done.

Malay women are the largest group of graduates in the country; just imagine what change can take place if they show their disgust at the ballot box.

Vijay47: Referring to the lead news report yesterday, I had written that today we would see hordes coming out to defend Shabudin.

Along with the support for him would be the two standard expected criticisms of those in Malaysiakini or elsewhere who condemned this pillar of Umno and the Syariah Court - that the people who attack him have taken things out of context and secondly, do not understand "our religion".

Right as rain, Jahara, a lawyer yet and a woman I believe, has emerged to defend Malaysia's Solomon. Her principal argument seems to be that "Shabudin was only expressing his personal views".

True, but bearing in mind the kind of opinion he put forward, perhaps Jahara can tell us what kind of vile creature his comments reflect. Should parents be still glad to marry off their raped nine-year-olds to assailants from Shabudin's family-tree?

Personal view or not, Zahara, my conclusion is that you, Shabudin, and Zakir Naik are of the same mould.

Wake Up: Please understand that we are talking about rape. Any simple man should know the seriousness of the offence.

Allowing a child of nine years to be married to her rapist is the greatest sin. So if a 50-year-old man want to get married to 10-year-old girl, all he has to do is to rape the girl?

This what we will be encouraging. How can we digest all this utter nonsense?

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