Media Statement by Chong Eng in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, 13^th August 2009:

Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Dato’ Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil should make public the report on the alleged rape and sexual abuse of Penan girls in Sarawak

MalaysiaKini reported that Minister for Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has been resisting mounting pressure to make public a controversial report on the alleged rape and sexual abuse of Penan girls in Sarawak.

Dato’ Seri Shahrizat has declined to answer questions regarding the findings. She has also refused to provide any reasons for withholding its recommendations from the public.

I do not understand why Dato’ Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is so reluctant to make public the report on the alleged rape and sexual abuse of Penan girls in Sarawak. If the allegations made by the victims are unfounded and not true, what is there to hide from the public?

The alleged rape and sexual abuse of Penan school girls by the loggers in Sarawak revealed by the media last year have shocked all Malaysians. Abuse in any form our young female Malaysians in rural Sarawak cannot be tolerated, must be investigated and corrective action be taken.

Former Women Minister Dato Ng Yen Yen sent a ministry's task force to Baram last October to investigate the allegation The team was headed by director-general Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur and included representatives of the Women's Centre for Change (WCC) and WAO.

The report was submitted to Shahrizat last November. However, nine months later, she has continued to refuse to release the report to the public.

We are very concerned about the plight of Penan women and girls. We must ensure that Penan women are protected and not exploited. We have the right to know the truth. If any crime committed, the culprits must be brought to the book.

We urge Dato’ Seri Shahrizat to echo Prime Minister’s slogan “One Malaysia, People First, Performance Now”, to make public the report on the alleged rape and sexual abuse of Penang girls in Sarawak.

* Chong Eng, DAP Wanita Chairperson & MP for Bukit Mertajam