KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 — PKR is unlikely to prescribe any harsh punishment against its own senator Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid such as sacking his post, Kangar MP Noor Amir Ahmad said today.
The Kangar division chief said the party would most possibly merely issue a warning towards the senator for proposing a law to protect men from being “seduce”’ into committing sexual crimes, despite criticism by president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“I don’t think the party will go to that extent [of sacking] because his term is only for three years,” he told Malay Mail when met after a press conference here.
“But maybe the top or central leadership will issue him a warning, some of them had also expressed [their views against it] publicly.
“At the very least, maybe he will not continue his term [as senator] but it doesn’t necessarily be due to this issue,” he added.
On Thursday, an online petition was launched demanding Mohamad Imran to resign or sacked over his proposal, which was said to be a form of victim-blaming and goes against any ethical logic and social norms.
The petition was started by one Mujahidin Zulkifli, which aims to secure 15,000 signatures and has over 12,500 this evening.
When asked on the views of the public that Malaysia does not need a leader who has such mindset, Noor Amin said Mohamad Imran was not an isolated case.
“To be fair, there are a lot of leaders who have this kind of mindset, not only in PKR.
“In his case, I think it may be partly because he was previously from PAS, so he inherited that certain framework of thinking.
“I believe his intention was not undermine the women, but maybe he felt that some men cannot control perhaps the way he said it wasn’t right,” said Noor Amin.
Noor Amin added while there may be some who agreed with Mohamad Imran’s suggestion, particularly the conservative Malays, he said it does not reflect the general sentiments of the party grassroots and members.
“For the conservative Malays, they may not see the statement to be too extreme. But for those who are quite modern or open-minded, they would see the statement as unnecessary.
“Most of the members are quite moderate, which is why we are willing to be part of the multiracial party.
“If you ask the party grassroots, of course we would think this should not have been uttered by him,” he said.
While debating the Syarie Legal Profession (Federal Territories) Bill 2019 on Wednesday, Mohamad Imran said there should be a law to protect men from the actions, words and clothing of women, which can seduce them into committing unlawful acts.
The retired admiral cited crimes such as incest, rape, molest, and watching pornography as examples.
He had since apologised the following day for proposing such law and claimed his intentions were sincere.