KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 ― An online petition has emerged urging local authorities not to allow Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin to continue his studies here when he returns from the UK, following public uproar over Putrajaya's show of sympathy towards the youth jailed for possessing child pornography.

The petition titled “Demand Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to stop giving a paedophile a second chance” was launched on the Care2 petition site by a woman named Hanie Razaif-Bohlender.

At the time of writing, the petition had garnered 1,724 signatures.

“Since when is a paedophile becomes [sic] a national asset?” Hanie asked in the petition.

“Imagine if he had not been caught? Imagine if he continues with his studies, graduated and mingle with YOUR children? How do we know that he did not act on his fetish?” she added.

The petition, which was signed by local celebrity Daphne Iking and child rights activist Dr Hartini Zainudin, saw many Malaysians expressing their dissent against MARA for reportedly flip-flopping on its decision to rescind Nur Fitri’s scholarship.

In a report on MStar yesterday, MARA council member Nazir Hussin Akhtar Hussin said the agency plans to give Nur Fitri a “second chance” and offer him a place in any of its institutions in Malaysia once he serves his jail sentence in the UK.

“As a parent, words cannot describe how sick I feel when I hear this. Guy has a life sized doll of a children, has 30,000 worth of content. God knows what he will do if he is not caught. MARA ― are you not a parent too?,” Tan Tze asked.

“This loser preys on children. He dreams and fantasies about having sex with children. It is not a behavioural problem that can be rectified as some ignorant people might believe. Sign the petition and make your stand against pedophilia today,” Adrienne Kim said.

The petition also saw Singaporean nationals, a Thai and British citizen respectively signing the petition in solidarity with the cause.

The petition drive aims to collect 2,000 signatures by May 31.

Social observer and commentator Dina Zaman who also signed the petition said that her decision to stand against MARA’s move to offer Nur Fitri a second chance has earned her the wrath of her Malay-Muslim friends.

“Friends have warred with me privately on Facebook ― must save the guy, defend his honour, as we are are Malays.

“Well, I am a Muslim first and as a Muslim I have to be humane and right-thinking.

“If he (Nur Fitri) is like this, then let him rot in jail. This is one living being the world does not need,” Dina told Malay Mail Online.

“There are some things in life that I can compromise but when it comes to sexual crimes involving children and adults, non-negotiable,” she added.

In MStar’s report, MARA council member Nazir was reportedly said the agency wanted to show support to Nur Fitri, often described as a math genius, as he is a smart student who could become a “national asset”.

Nur Fitri, who was studying on a MARA scholarship at Imperial College London, one of the world’s top universities, was found to be in possession of over 30,000 videos and photographs of child pornography that London police have reportedly described as “some of the most extreme” materials they have ever seen.

Police who raided his home in London found the 23-year-old sitting beside a life-sized mannequin of a young boy. He reportedly possessed 601 “Category A” videos and images which depicted abuse involving penetrative sexual acts with children, among the tens of thousands of indecent pictures and videos.

Nur Fitri was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on April 30 in the UK for 13 offences, including possessing and making indecent videos and images of children, as well as intent to distribute the material.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal on Monday said his ministry is considering appealing Nur Fitri’s five-year sentence.

MARA has said that according to British law, a foreigner who has served two thirds of his sentence is eligible to be deported to his home country, and claimed this would be within four weeks of Nur Fitri’s conviction date.

It is unclear how Mara arrived at the conclusion, as according to British media reports, Nur Fitri was sentenced to five years’ jail in the UK on April 30.