KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 ― DAP’s Yeo Bee Yin has urged Putrajaya today to come up with a time frame for the completion of the national sex offenders registry, following a revelation that it is being delayed by privacy infringement concerns.
The Damansara Utama state assemblyman said while the concern is valid, the rights of women here for a safe environment is equally if not more important than sex offenders’ rights.
“We would like to remind the minister that the rights of women and girls in Malaysia for a safe environment is equally if not more important than the rights of the sex offenders. His concern is valid, in fact, what is most important to us is what type of sex offenders registry legislation actually reduce recidivism.
“But after so many years of ‘studying about the matter’, Putrajaya still has no clue as to how to have a proper sex offenders registry, which take into account human rights and recidivism? That is unacceptable,” Yeo said in a statement.
Yesterday, Datuk Seri Nur Jazlan Mohamed disclosed that the government delayed setting up a national registry to track convicted sex offenders out of concern it may infringe on an individual’s privacy.
The deputy home minister said the government was also obliged to defend the rights of convicted sexual offenders and protect them from vigilantes.
Yeo said then minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri had agreed with the call for the registry in May 2015 following public uproar against Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, the student convicted of child pornography, but there is no follow-up since.
She also said that it has been six months since the Child Act Amendment 2016 was gazetted, and asked for updates on a meeting between the police and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim on a child crime registry.
“With that, we call for quick actions from the three ministers ― Nancy Shukri, Nur Jazlan and Rohani Karim, to get sex offenders registry done once and for all.
“We urge Putrajaya not to dilly-dally on the matter anymore and give us a time frame as to when we can expect this to be done,” Yeo said.
Last month, Nur Jazlan had admitted that Malaysia should set up a sex offenders’ registry now, amid concerns over the deportation of convicted serial rapist Selva Kumar Subbiah this Sunday.
Nur Jazlan was previously reported by The Star Online as saying that the registry, in addition to the implementation of the proposed Child Sexual Crimes Act, would protect children from sex predators.
