Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has come under fire for urging the public not to lynch the 41-year-old man in the Kelantan child marriage case on social media.

Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Latheefa Koya found this remark nothing short of incomprehensible since the man had admitted to marrying the 11-year-old girl.

“Why defend this self-confessed pervert by claiming that the concerned public are 'lynching' him?

“Is this an attempt to stifle public discussion of the matter? The public is entitled to criticise the actions of the culprit and call for an end to child marriages in Malaysia. This discussion is important and should be encouraged,” she added in a statement this afternoon.

Latheefa, who is a PKR supreme council member, also took her party president to task for using the term “alleged” when stating that multiple agencies were investigating the incident.

“It is impossible to understand what the DPM means by 'alleged' incident.

“The culprit himself has admitted to the marriage, and been fined for it. Worse, he has also publicly admitted to lusting after the child victim since she was seven years old,” she added.

According to Latheefa, Wan Azizah, who is also women, family and community development minister, was attempting to downplay the case once again.

“Earlier Wan Azizah asked that the family's 'privacy' be protected, and compared it to her experience when her husband (PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim) was a prisoner.

“It is absurd to be talking about privacy issues when a serious sexual crime has been perpetrated upon a child,” she added.

Apart from this, Latheefa also said she was baffled by Wan Azizah's claim that multiple agencies were investigating the matter.

“The facts are clear. The perpetrator has confessed. What is the necessity for an interminable and ponderous investigation? The public rightly wants action taken, not more excuses and stalling.

“This child remains in the hands of a self-confessed paedophile, to the international embarrassment of our country. Why has this child not been rescued yet by the authorities?” she asked.

Latheefa also questioned why a ban had not been announced on such marriages in the wake of this case.

More surprising, she said, is that no arrest had been made under the anti-child-grooming provisions in the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.

“The continued failure to take concrete action on this case is an affront against justice, decency and the rule of law,” she added.