KUALA LUMPUR – Despite her revelations about sexual harassment in the sporting industry, former national swimmer Cindy Ong said the authorities are not actively helping her to address the issue.
She told The Vibes that the authorities have been quiet about the matter and nobody has come forward to show support and help her in her campaign to battle sexual harassment in the industry.
“Nobody has reached out to me. Not even Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun has shown support. None of them did.
“However, I appreciate that several NGOs have taken the effort to reach out,” she said.
Ong said that among the groups that contacted her were the All-Women’s Action Society and Women’s Centre for Change in Penang.
“At the same time, a few student activist groups such as StandUp Malaysia have reached out.
“The PKR Youth legal bureau also did likewise and invited me to join their forum on June 13 to speak about sexual harassment.”
Ong said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail have also been quiet.
“The minister and NSC DG released a statement when my story first came out in the media but there has been no update since then.
“I am not sure what is happening but nobody from the ministry and NSC have contacted me about it, after they tried to persuade me to lodge a police report against the coach, who harassed me.
“I did not want to do so because of legal repercussions. I just want the minister to support the sexual harassment bill and convince the government to table it,” she said.
Meanwhile, an insider in the ministry told The Vibes that the sports minister is in full support of Ong’s campaign and has ordered his officers to look into it.
“I know there are no new updates now because we are handling this issue delicately. We need to do it right, and the right thing now is to support and help Ong’s cause to eradicate sexual harassment within the sporting fraternity.
“We wanted to accompany Ong and lodge a report against the coach, but she refused. If action is to be taken, we need to know who this coach is, otherwise it is going to be difficult to do something about it.
“To be fair, the sports minister was the first to support the sexual harassment bill. Unfortunately, it was not tabled because of the lockdown,” said the source. – The Vibes, June 24, 2021
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