KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 — An opposition lawmaker today rubbished news reports accusing him of wanting to legalise prostitution in Malaysia, supposedly to help citizens deal with the high cost of living.
PKR’s G. Manivannan claimed several newspapers including a Mandarin news portal had misreported his remarks in the Parliament this week.
“It is absolutely, totally out of context. I have never ever said this. Worse still you put it in quotes as though I have said this. This is complete misreporting,” he told reporters during a press conference today.
The Kapar MP added as a staunch Hindu, he would never be agreeable to the idea of prostitution being legalised, and is contemplating legal action against those who misquoted him.
“As a Hindu I will never be agreeable to prostitution in Malaysia. Never.
“I will leave it to my panel of lawyers to decide as there are too many people involved. We don’t know where it started,” Manivannan said.
He also claimed that his original remarks in the Dewan Rakyat were taken out of context, as he was only giving example of the living costs in countries where prostitution is rampant like Mexico and Thailand.
Several news outlets were said to have reported Manivannan claiming that prostitution should be legalised here in order for Malaysians to cope with the increase in living costs.
The news story also went viral on several social media pages claiming that legitimising sex work is part of the Opposition’s agenda.
