KUALA LUMPUR: The authorities and mosque management must take immediate proactive action to ensure the safety of worshippers, especially children, who often frequent places of worship to seek knowledge and engage in religious practices.
Women’s Affairs Bureau of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (HELWA ABIM) vice president, Dr Fatin Nur Majdina Nordin, said the attempt to molest a young girl at a mosque in Batang Kali, Selangor, yesterday, had tarnished the sanctity of the place of worship and posed a threat to the psychological well-being and safety of visitors to mosques.
She said that such incidents should not occur in mosques, which are supposed to be places of worship that guarantee peace and safety.
“HELWA ABIM expresses its sadness and concern and urges the community to be more attentive to the issue of child protection and safety, particularly with regard to the recent sexual harassment incident involving a young girl at a mosque.
“This incident highlights the importance of monitoring and ensuring safety of both inside and around mosque premises, particularly during worship times,“ she said in a statement today.
Yesterday, a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage went viral, showing a man wearing a white skull cap sneaking into the women’s prayer area before hugging a young girl from behind while she was in sujood (prostration) and then fleeing with the victim unnoticed by other worshippers.
Following the incident, the man was arrested at his residence, located approximately one kilometre from the mosque, at 10am yesterday.
Selangor Department of Social Welfare (JKM) director, Azmir Kassim, confirmed that checks revealed the man held a disability card (PwD) due to learning difficulties.
Fatin Nur Majdina said that the issue of disability (PwD) involved in the incident must be carefully considered, without adding stigma to the group or normalising the offences of individuals with disabilities.
“The issue involving PwD is sensitive and requires thorough investigation and assessment. Offenders who are proven guilty should be appropriately punished, without using unfounded or unproven disabilities as an excuse to be exempted from punishment,“ she said.
Fatin Nur Majdina added that the identity of the child involved should be protected and not disclosed, while advising media practitioners and netizens to be cautious and refrain from spreading the victim’s video indiscriminately.
