I am deeply disturbed by the decision of the Court of Appeals in
which the jail sentence of Nor Afizal Azizan was set aside. I am still
baffled by the rationale of this very arbitrary decision. The fact
remains that justice was not served in the case of the child who
experienced the violence. The judges of the highest courts of the land
clearly are more vested in protecting the bright future of a sportsman
than that of a sexually violated child.
This speaks volumes of the levels of discrimination displayed by the
men on the bench. The rapist is male, privileged because he has standing
as a sportsman and obviously of means because he can afford the RM25,
000 fine. Considering that very few rape cases actually get reported as
well compounded by the low rate of conviction in the country, it looks
as though these judges collude in carrying out a great injustice.
Rape is a criminal act which robs a person of his/her dignity and
personhood. These judges have set a dangerous precedent which in effect
will discourage survivors of rape from coming forward to seek justice
for what happened to them. In effect this judgment encourages the
privileged to assume that they are above the law which does nothing to
deter rape in this country.
It is a great setback for the rights of women and children in this
country. It does not matter if you have laws that protect women and
children if those who are supposed to uphold them are negligent in their
duties because of their biases. Let us not forget that judges are human
beings and a product of their social conditioning. If they have been
brought up to accept gender based violence as a norm, this would
definitely influence their decisions. As reflected in this case their
decision is highly questionable because it is not based on any concept
of justice or legal principle.
Despite having ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, the state has failed in fulfilling its obligations to
women and children. I believe this particular case will attract
international attention for the injustice perpetrated against women and
children in Malaysia by the state.
In defence of the child involved, she probably had her entire
universe shred by the ugly reality of violence. She would have undergone
severe psychological trauma as a result of the violence. She would have
relived it again when she had to identify her rapist in court which
would have brought on even more trauma. After going through all this at
such a tender age, she would discover that the perpetrator walked away
free without a single sanction for what he did to her. I wonder if the
was even a brief consideration of the child’s best interest in the
deliberation of the case.
I fear for the women and children in the same predicament if they were ever to seek justice in the courts of this country.
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