BN’s Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya was merely expressing his view when he suggested that victims of rape should marry their rapists, Penang Umno Wanita chief Jahara Hamid said today.

Asked her comments on Shabudin’s statement to Parliament yesterday, which has raised a lot of anger, Jahara said the MP was entitled to express his opinion.

She said Shabudin based his view on his experience as a former syariah court judge, adding that “he has seen and gone through it”.

“Please understand our religion, and do not misinterpret us,” the state opposition leader told Malaysiakini.

Jahara said this when asked to comment on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s accusation that Shabudin is a “monster”, while state executive councillor and DAP Wanita chief Chong Eng urged the BN to expel the Umno MP.

Shabudin caused an uproar when he told the Dewan Rakyat that marriage to the victim could help the rapist repent and that it was a remedy for social problems.

Jahara acknowledged that certain quarters of society would not accept such a view, but in certain cases, parents of the victims have given their consent to marriage.

Muslims have to refer to syariah law

She added that in such cases, Muslims have to refer to the syariah law.

“These are the exceptions, not the rule,” said Jahara, who is a lawyer by profession. “Exceptional circumtances need to be viewed exceptionally.”

Asked if she agreed that girls who are below 18 should be married off to their rapists, Jahara replied, “Most do not want their daughters to marry at that age.”

“But sometimes, they had boyfriends and had sex. Some have multiple partners, how do we solve this problem?” she asked.

“Of course, the child is not ready for marriage. Without proper education and work, she will not be able to raise her children properly.

“Logically, the child should be 18 and above to be married. Of course, no one wants to marry her rapist.”

Asked if she agreed with Shabudin’s views, Jahara said as a person who is “on the ground”, she too has seen and experienced such situations.

“Some girls are not supervised, their parents are mostly not around, or separated. These are society’s problems,” she said.

On Lim labelling Shabudin as a “monster” and on the call to BN to expel him as he is not fit to be an MP, Jahara said, “We can’t shut it out and say it did not happen.”

Shabudin has since issued a statement on the matter.

Joining the chorus of criticisms against Shabudin is the Penang Women’s Development Corporation, which finds it "horrifying" for a rape victim to be granted ‘permission’ to marry the rapist.

The state-government agency said Malaysia has ratified the Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1995.

PWDC added that the Committee on Rights of the Child had emphasised that the minimum age for marriage, with and without parental consent, be set at 18 years, for both boys and girls.

"It has been a continuous effort by various international organisations to end child marriage in Malaysia and this is one of their top priorities," PWDC said in a statement.

"While we applaud the passing of the Sexual Offences Against Children Bill 2017 in the Dewan Rakyat, the statement that a rape victim, as young as 9 years old, be allowed to marry the rapist as a solution to social problems, is really unthinkable, coming from a former judge."