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8 April 2017
Excerpts from:
malaysiakini.comVerified account @malaysiakini
Reports on ‘rape then marry’ remarks border on fake news
MP SPEAKS | Recently, an event during a parliamentary debate had caught a lot of media attention.
In their reports and headlines, both the local and international media had given the perception that I had condoned rapists being allowed to marry underage victims to avoid punishment.
This is inaccurate and misleading and borders on fake news. The media reports refer to an event during a debate on the Sexual Offences against Children 2017 Bill, which was eventually passed.
One MP had proposed an amendment to this bill that would ban underage child marriages while I had given an opinion that under certain circumstances, the current flexibility should remain.
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As the legal age of consent is 16 years old, any individual regardless of age who had sexual relations with a minor – whether consensual or not – is deemed to have committed statutory rape under our Penal Code and will be charged accordingly.
I am a former judge. Based on my experience of past cases, I argued that flexibility and the discretion of the judges must be maintained to allow the courts to rule on cases of statutory rape involving consenting partners who are in a relationship and be treated differently from non-consensual rape – as opposed to an outright ban on underage marriages as proposed by the other MP.
In the debate, I stressed that rape – whether consensual statutory rape or otherwise – is a crime. At no point in time did I suggest that the victims are forced to marry the victim nor did I say that the crime of rape is automatically dropped after marriage.
To avoid any doubt, I and Malaysia condemn sexual crimes in the harshest terms and Malaysia has never hesitated to prosecute and punish sex predators to the full limits of our law.
It is regrettable that inaccurate media reports had misled the public and caused an unnecessary outcry.
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The above is the full statement issued by Tasek Gelugor parliamentarian Shabudin Yahaya through Bernama.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/378443?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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7 April 2017
malaysiakini.comVerified account @malaysiakini 8 hours ago
Shabudin mulls legal action, tells reporters to repent
Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya is mulling legal action against media agencies and reporters, following reports on his remarks about child marriage and rape.
“I will check everything, if all is ok, I will proceed to sue the newspapers and the reporters concerned, because they must be responsible,” Shabudin was recorded as saying in a video posted by Nanyang Siang Pau.
Shabudin also called on the media to repent.
“Repent, don’t create fitnah (slander). Listen properly, be a good reporter that is ethical, responsible,” he said.
Shabudin was reported as saying in the Dewan Rakyat that marriage between a rapist and his victim could be a cure for social problems.
He also said that girls who reached puberty as young as 12 years old were physically ready for marriage.
Shabudin, however clarified that what he meant by “rape” in his speech, refered to consensual sex with an underaged girl, which under criminal law was classified as statutory rape.
The BN lawmaker had made the remarks during a debate on whether child marriages should be banned.
In his debate, he explained that there were laws that allowed girls under 16 to be wed, with consent from syariah courts.
He also said that statutory rape – that is sexual relations with an underaged individual regardless of consent – was a crime, but that there was no legal provision preventing a victim from marrying her rapist.
But when asked by Pasir Puteh MP Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad on whether he was talking about zina (extra-marital sex) or the coercive crime of rape, Shabudin said regardless, marriage could be a social remedy for such problems.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/378355?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya (BN-UMNO), former Syariah court judge, “And the wife who was raped, if she can get married she will not go through an uncertain future….At least she has a husband… this is a remedy to social problems.”
Shabudin’s comments referred specifically to underaged girls, before pointing out that having sexual intercourse with a child below the age of 16 is a crime under the Penal Code’s Section 375(g) — which covers statutory rape.
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6 April 2017
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malaysiakini.comVerified account @malaysiakini 2 hours ago
‘Would you accept a rapist as a son-in-law?’
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“Would you accept a rapist as your son-in-law?” a group of Pakatan Harapan supporters who were rallying in Tasek Gelugor today asked MP Shabudin Yahaya.
They carried placards with words screaming “Kami malu Budin, ooiii“, “Bawah umur 16 maknanya (Rape below 16 years old means) “statutory rape”, “Undur (Resign) Shabudin” and “Pecat (sack) Shabudin”.
They also shouted slogans to protect and preserve women’s dignity, adding that rape is a crime and by marrying rapists off to their victims did not solve any problems.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/378294?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Malay Mail OnlineVerified account @themmailonline 1 hour ago
#ICYMI: Women’s group: A life of rape for victims who marry rapists
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Women’s rights groups are outraged bythe reported suggestion that rapists be allowed to marry their child victims. — Reuters file pic
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Letting a rapist marry his child victim would effectively allow the child to be raped throughout marriage and force her to relive the horrors repeatedly, said a women’s rights group.
Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) executive director Sumitra Visvanathan called the Tasek Gelugor MP’s reported suggestion that rapists be allowed to marry their child victims “deplorable”, saying one of the worst abuses a child could endure is rape.
“Forcing a raped child to marry her rapist is an atrocious violation. She will spend the rest of her life being re-traumatised and denied all rights as a child.
“It will mean Malaysia allows the predator paedophile to not just evade punishment for this heinous crime, but to continue raping the child throughout the marriage,” she told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
“Our children should be safe and protected from harm. Not handed to predators on a silver platter that permits statutory rape,” she added.
She called for the federal government to pass a clearly-worded law to ban child marriages in Malaysia.
Angela Kuga Thas, executive director of women’s rights group EMPOWER, said such remarks would encourage the commission of rape.
“Rape is a crime. It is about power, not about sex. To even suggest for anyone to marry their rapist is tantamount to encouraging such crimes,” she said.
All Women’s Action Society (Awam) condemned Umno lawmaker Datuk Shabudin Yahya’s remarks, asserting that the remarks disregard consent of the women raped and “perpetuate patriarchal notions that a woman’s body exists solely for men and that she has no autonomy of her own”.
It noted that Shabudin’s comments referred specifically to underaged girls, before pointing out that having sexual intercourse with a child below the age of 16 is a crime under the Penal Code’s Section 375(g) — which covers statutory rape.
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5 April 2017
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCXkUZhkfHg
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Shabudin Yahaya making international news. Rape victims should marry their rapists, Malaysian MP tells parliament https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/victims-should-marry-their-rapists-malaysian-mp-tells-parliament?CMP=share_btn_tw …
Rape victims should marry their rapists, Malaysian MP tells parliament
Former sharia judge draws outrage for suggesting marriage as a better way to ward off a ‘bleak future’
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Former sharia judge Datuk Shabudin Yahaya made the comments at the Houses of Parliament during a debate over a bill on sexual offences against children.
While he acknowledged rape as a criminal offence, Yahaya suggested that rapists and their victims could solve social problems and “turn a new leaf” by getting married.
“Perhaps through marriage they can lead a healthier, better life. And the person who was raped does not necessarily have a bleak future. She will have a husband, at least, and this could serve as a remedy to growing social problems,” he was quoted in the local daily, the Star.
An MP from Barisan National – the coalition that has ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 – Yahaya also suggested that girls as young as 12 might be “spiritually and physically” ready for marriage.
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He blames the media, so what’s new?
malaysiakini.comVerified account @malaysiakini
Shabudin: Media took child marriage, rape comments out of context
The BN lawmaker under fire for making controversial remarks about child marriage and rape has blamed the media, claiming his words were taken out of context.
Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya said he was “disappointed and shocked” that the media reported his debate “in an inaccurate manner”.
“It gave the impression that I encouraged sexual crimes, and supported marriage between rapists and their victims,” Shabudin said in a statement today.
He said a report by The Star Online which highlighted his remark about girls aged between nine and 12 being allowed to wed, was an extreme example, and rare among Muslims…
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/378140
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4 April 2017
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NST
Rape victims can have a good life if they marry their rapists: Tasek Gelugor M
KUALA LUMPUR: Rape victims can have an opportunity to lead a healthy and good life if they marry their rapists, Tasek Gelugor Member of Parliament Datuk Shabudin Yahya told the Dewan Rakyat today.
According to him, girls aged between nine to 12 years old are “physically and spiritually” ready for marriage.
“They reach puberty at the age of nine or 12 and at that time, the physical state of their body is already akin to those 18 years of age.
“For a wife who was raped, if she can marry (the rapist) she would not go through such a bleak future.
“At least she has someone who can become her husband. So, this will be a remedy to social problems,” he said while debating the Child Sexual Offences Bill here today.
He said this when objecting an amendment to the bill which was proposed by DAP’s Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching who wanted the bill to be amended to also spell out the invalidity of child marriages.
The proposed amendment was voted down and the bill was subsequently passed with no major changes.
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The former Syariah court judge was defending existing law which allows minors to be married off as long as their parents or guardians seek permission from the Syariah Courts.
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/04/227239/rape-victims-can-have-good-life-if-they-marry-their-rapists-tasek-gelugor-mp
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malaysiakini.comVerified account @malaysiakini
BN MP: Marriage after rape a remedy for ‘social problems’
PARLIAMENT | Marriage between a rape victim and the rapist was a possible remedy for social problems, a BN lawmaker told the Dewan Rakyat today.
Shabudin Yahya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) said while rape was a crime, the law does not prevent a rape victim from marrying the attacker.He said marriage may even lead to the rapist repenting and it would be good for the victim to have a husband.
“Maybe with the marriage, (the man) can lead a different life that is better. And the wife who was raped, if she can get married she will not go through an uncertain future.
“At least she has a husband… this is a remedy to social problems,” said Shabudin.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/378051
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weehingthong 
… conversely, those who are unable to get the permission of their wife or who are spurned can “force” themselves and obtain any unmarried woman as a wife just like that. No need matchmaker. No need parents approval. No need to prove any ability to support the family. I wonder if they also expect a dowry. The sales of Rohypnol will skyrocket.
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