Senior Minister denies rape of maid

Malaysian Minister Denies Raping Indonesian Maid
AP & Dessy Sagita | January 05, 2011

Badrul Hisham from Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM), a Malaysian nongovernment organization, on Wednesday urged Malaysian police to investigate allegations that a cabinet minister had raped an Indonesian maid. (Photo courtesy of Rhazak Ghazali/Malay Mail)

Kuala Lumpur. A Malaysian cabinet minister has denied allegations that he raped his Indonesian maid four years ago.

Information minister Rais Yatim said that the allegations circulating on the Internet are part of a campaign to discredit the government ahead of general elections.

The allegations were made by an Indonesian labor activist group in an internal report that made its way into blog postings.

The 68-year-old Rais had remained silent, but on Wednesday issued a strong denial released through Malaysia's state news agency, Bernama.

Without naming anyone, he blamed bloggers and opposition parties for the "ugly and wicked lies.''

The case, which has created a fervor in the Malaysian blogosphere, came to light on Dec. 23, when the blog Rocky’s Bru, written by Ahirudin Bin Attan, the former editor in chief of the daily Malay Mail, reported that a WikiLeaks document existed referring to “diplomatic whispers” about the case.

Blogs have also posted a three-year-old report from Indonesian nongovernmental organization Migrant Care outlining the case, which had reportedly been circulated in the upper levels of the Malaysian government.

On Monday, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said that the case would not be investigated because no official complaint was lodged with the Indonesian Embassy.

“Since there has been no report, there is nothing we can do to follow up the case,” he told the Jakarta Globe.

However, he insisted that the ministry would assist and provide aid to other Indonesian workers who encountered trouble overseas — provided they filed an official report with the embassy or police.

A press release from Migrant Care, dated Aug. 1, 2007, and calling for a thorough investigation of the alleged rape, has also been circulating in Malaysian blogs and media.

The statement, authored by Migrant Care’s Wahyu Susilo, Anis Hidayah and Alex Ong, identified the victim as Robengah, and described the attacker as a “Malaysian senior minister” from “the ruling party.”

According to Migrant Care’s 2007 statement, the victim was afraid to pursue the case because of the possible repercussions of accusing someone so powerful and respected of rape.

But Wahyu said on Sunday that he would not make any comment regarding the case before he received confirmation from both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments.

“We are monitoring developments in the case,” he said. “Let’s just wait and see, but I really can’t say anything now.”

“This is a very delicate case, and is very sensitive. So let’s be patient,” he added.

Jakarta Globe