KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is to look into a new proposal to set up a committee to streamline sentences for those convicted of rape involving underage girls in order to ensure that the victims are protected, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said on Tuesday. He said, however, that the final decision on the matter would require the approval of the judiciary. As such, he said, the matter was discussed at a meeting with Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria. “Initially, the Chief Justice was of the view that there was a possibility that the committee can be set up if the executive, the government, is okay with it, but it can only streamline the sentencing,” he said in reply to Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Lembah Pantai) in the Dewan Rakyat. Nurul Izzah had wanted to know whether the government was prepared to set up a committee to streamline sentencing for the rape of underage girls, as was practiced in the United Kingdom. It comes on the heels of a controversial statutory rape case in the country that saw a court not sentence a man for having sex with an under-age girl. “My daughter is 13-years-old at the moment. There is no reasonable explanation that would give her the knowledge and life experience to have sexual relations at this age," said Kuala Lumpur mother Farida, who told Bikyamasr.com “the government is trying to save face after allowing a 19-year-old to get away without jail for raping a 13-year-old girl. There is no reason to think she knew what she was doing." She was referring to the controversial case that saw the Malaysia High Court throw out the rape case of former national team bowler Nor Afizal Azizan earlier this month. He admitted having sex with a then-13-year-old girl in a hotel room in 2010. On Monday, however, the court in a statement said that because he was only 19-years-old at the time and had not coerced the girl, they believed prison would have been too harsh. More shocking to many Malaysians was the reasoning behind the release. The judges were reported to have agreed with Azizan's lawyer, who argued that “public interest would not be served if Noor Afizal was sent to jail as he had a bright future." The Joint Action Group For Gender Equality, which comprises 6 leading Malaysian women's groups, in a statement on Sunday called on the judiciary to clarify its decision. “We are troubled that the perpetrator's potential for ‘a bright future', presumably derived from his status as a national athlete, was used as one of the grounds for sentencing," it said. “On the surface, the judgment appears to hint at the application of a double standard by implying that anyone with the right ‘credentials' can commit a crime, and get away with a rap on the knuckles," it added. Making matters worse, online Malaysians took aim at the court with the hashtag #BrightFutureRapeOK. They argued that the ruling shows double standards in the country and gives tacit approval for rape in Malaysia. As a result, experts in the country are now debating lowering the age of consent to 16-years-old in statutory rape case as they site children “maturing at a younger age."
