WikiLeaks may have caused it’s first casualty in Malaysia.
The Asia Sentinel has this shocking article:
Prominent UMNO stalwart allegedly raped his housemaid in 2007 but wasn’t investigated
The story was first broken by Ahiruddin Atan, a well known blogger and former editor of The Malay Mail and currently President of the National Press Club, on his popular blog, Rocky’s Bru.
I have not been able to lay my hands on a said Wikileaks series of diplomatic whisper in 2007 regarding the alleged rape of an Indonesian maid by a Cabinet minister then.
The Jakarta Globe also picked up the story which may anger Indonesians further unless it is resolved:
According to the document, the incident had become a topic of conversation in diplomatic circles, including at the US and Indonesian embassies, and was also discussed inside the office of the Malaysian prime minister.
Meanwhile, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has filed a report and named the said Minister (Read here).
PAS has named Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim as the high-profile figure who allegedly raped his Indonesian maid four years ago. The opposition party also challenged the 69-year-old Jelebu MP to deny the charge.
Once again, Prime Minister Najib Razak – who has remained silent as in most cases involving transgression by his party/coalition members – has been asked to demonstrate that UMNO members are not above the law. Only time will tell.
Update 1: Rais Yatim, the UMNO Minister embroiled in the Indonesian maid rape scandal has come out to deny the allegations (Read here). However, he has not pressed charges against the people who have made these allegations. This has an uncanny similarity to Prime Minister Najib Razak’s modus operandi. Najib swore in a mosque that he was not involved in the murder of the Mongolian translator but refused to press charges against those who made the allegations [RPK on the Altantuya murder].
The blogger who broke the story, Ahiruddin Atan also want’s to know why the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is not investigating him (Read here). Interestingly, the MCMC is an agency within Rais Yatim’s ministry – The Ministry of Information, Communication and Culture.
Update 2: No further action taken on UMNO Minister (Read here)
On Monday, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that the case would not be investigated because no official complaint was lodged with the Indonesian Embassy.
“Since there has been no report, there is nothing we can do to follow up the case,” he told the Jakarta Globe.
Migrant Care, who made the report in 2007, has stated that they are unable to pursue the case as it is the wishes of the victim (Read here in Bahasa Indonesia)