KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim's appointment in the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (SSC) for women and children's affairs and social development has been criticised by a 91 individuals and groups representing women, children, health and civil society.
In a joint statement, the groups questioned Shahidan's credibility to serve in the committee due to alleged molest charges against the Arau MP in 2018, that were dropped a year later.
"The charges were later dropped in 2019 after the complaint was withdrawn, but Shahidan was not acquitted.
"Shahidan's appointment to this select committee, therefore, goes against the commitments and principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Childs Rights Convention (CRC) which Malaysia has ratified," it said.
The groups called on the Perikatan Nasional government and Barisan Nasional to immediately rescind Shahidan's appointment and apologise for the oversight.
"Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun and Chair of the Select Committee for Women, Children Affairs and Social Development, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman should also object to his appointment.
"Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun should also reflect on the lapses of the appointment process and enact reforms to safeguard the integrity of the parliamentary select committees," the groups urged.
Meanwhile, Monsters Among Us (MAU) president Firzana Redzuan criticised Shahidan's appointment to the SSC as a gross disrespect to child sexual abuse and assault survivors.
"Malaysia has made tremendous development in the arena of child protection, especially for enacting the Sexual Offences Against Children Act in 2017.
"But, the SSC for women and children's affairs is sadly a worthless attempt when you enable an alleged child molester disguised as a protector to sit in the committee.
"It looks like we're regressing after all the strides we have made legislatively," she told the New Straits Times.
Firzana also called for the SSC to include credible experts and strong advocates for children and women issues as part of the committee.
Women's Centre for Change programme director Karen Lai Yu Lee also expressed disappointment over Shahidan's appointment in the SSC.
"In many countries, including the United Kingdom, the SSC plays an important role to check and balance the executive branch regarding policy implementation.
"So, the SSC must comprise representatives who are free from criminal charges, especially crimes of sexual nature," she said, adding the position should instead be given to someone with a strong track record in championing gender-related issues.