KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu claims that the media had misquoted him on his remark pertaining to the allegations of sexual harassment by Datuk Pandelela Rinong.
This is after he was reported to have questioned the national Olympic diver’s decision to only bring the issue to light now, years after the incident allegedly took place.
Addressing the matter in Parliament, Faizal claimed that he merely said he wanted to get further details on the allegations made by Pandelela before taking any action.
“The government’s stand on the matter is that we are serious about addressing the issue of sexual harassment among athletes by sports officials or coaches,” he said.
“I have said myself in a press conference yesterday, which may have been taken out of context, that we need to get further explanation from Pandelela herself and others who were involved,” the Tambun MP from Bersatu said in the Dewan Rakyat.
Faizal was responding to a supplementary question by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar-Independent) on the government’s stand on allegations of sexual harassment against national athletes.
Earlier this morning, Faizal had posted a separate tweet, saying he had never questioned Pandelela’s allegation. He maintained that it is pertinent to ensure a safe environment for the athletes at all levels.
In response, Pandelela reacted with her own posting, saying she now understood better the whole scenario after watching the press conference, adding that the male reporter who had posed the question to Faizal had “raised some red flags”.
It’s okay YB @PejaOfPerak , I understand the whole scenario now after watching this video. The male reporter who questioned you raised some red flag though. ? ? ? https://t.co/2qXyc2lJ82
— Pandelela Rinong (@Pandelela_R) October 26, 2021
In a series of tweets last week, Pandelela had alleged that her former coach had made lewd remarks in her presence and that she became a victim of bullying by the harasser after she berated him for his “jokes”.
“At one particular time, I had a coach who liked to make lewd jokes. I was always silent and didn’t even try to fake a laugh as I was afraid of him,” she said.
On October 21, The Vibes reported Sarawak leaders voicing their support for Pandelela over her revelations.
In a press conference yesterday, Faizal was quoted by the media as questioning Pandelela’s move to raise allegations of incidents that took place “long ago”.
“I am trying to understand why after a long time, Lela (Pandelela) wants to put this out in the social media,” he purportedly told reporters.
Meanwhile, Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong-PH) said Faizal is unfit to be the youth and sports minister for failing to provide support to victims of sexual harassment.
The DAP lawmaker also pointed out in the Dewan Rakyat that in criminal law there is no time limitation for a victim to lodge a complaint.
“Although the incident may have taken place long ago, action must be taken. You as the minister should set an example and support the athletes,” he said.
In response, Faizal said he agreed with Gobind that there is no time limit to expose sexual harassment incidents, and assured that action is being taken by the ministry at the moment.
“What I’m trying to do is to listen to all quarters. That was what I said during the press conference,” he said. – The Vibes, October 26, 2021
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