AUG 1 — Last week, an alternative media reported that Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim, who is minister of women, family and community development, said most of the recommendations listed in the National Task Force Report to help Penan women have been executed.

Yesterday, Rohani came out and denied ever saying that.

“I never made that statement during the ACWC. It is very unfair to say I made that statement on Penans during the conference because it has nothing to do with the Penan issue. There were about 20 mainstream papers there and my speech was distributed to all of them,” Rohani was quoted as saying.

Rohani went on to criticise said alternative media and suggested that the reporter may be the type inclined to spin stories out of thin air if she did not get what she wanted.

In response, the alternative media stood by their report and even shared a recording of the actual conversation between Rohani and the reporter.

Who’s telling the truth? The only way to find out is to listen to the recording. This author listened and typed out a transcript of the (very short) conversation, reproduced below:

Reporter: Can I ask you one question please. In regards to the task force set up to help the Penan women right, what do you think is the …

Rohani: Oh, Penan.

Reporter: Penan, yeah. Sorry, what is the …

Rohani: We’re going to revisit, I am going to the Penan kawasan... maybe after Raya.

Reporter: What do you think is the most pressing issue in the task force?

Rohani: Most of it has been done. You know, education for the Penan and so on. It has been done. So now we’re going and revisit, I mean, how much have we achieved.

Reporter: I see.

Based on the conversation, the reporter asked Rohani what she thought was the most pressing issue raised by her ministry’s task force. Rohani responded that “[m]ost have it has been done”.

That in itself is pretty ambiguous. But Rohani’s following sentences are very telling and clarified that sentence beyond doubt. She went on to explain that “it” referred to “education for the Penan and so on”.

Additionally, she also concluded by saying that she will be revisiting the Penan community to see “how much have we achieved”.

Based on this very simple analysis of the actual conversation, the only reasonable conclusion is that Rohani did imply that most of the task force’s recommendations have been implemented and that the next thing for her to do after Raya is to check on the progress of those measures.

On that basis, why is Rohani now denying it?

In her denial, Rohani was quoted as saying: “All I said was I was going to revisit the Penan issue, and only after that I can make a statement.”

Well, clearly that was not all she said. From the recording, it is conclusive that she did say what was reported by the alternative media.

Understandably she may have been caught off-guard by the reporter’s question. Maybe she did not actually know at the time how many of the task force’s recommendations have been implemented. This author does not know but am merely giving her the benefit of doubt on that.

However, if her statement to the reporter was indeed made in error, the only proper action is to admit it was erroneously made. Accusing the poor reporter of spinning stories and making up things is unseemly, especially for a minister, given that there is evidence of what she actually said. It’s poor taste.

Be honest, be accountable and take responsibility. Your voters may even respect you for it.

Because, really, is a little bit of honesty and humility too much to ask?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.