Malaysia to Rohingyas: Enough is Enough, you're just illegal immigrants

MM Online:

Home Ministry: Don’t make demands, Rohingya groups here illegal and can face action

Rohingya refugees are seen at a Rohingya settlement in Bandar Baru Sentul, Kuala Lumpur April 24, 2020

Picture Hari Anggara 

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Any organisations representing the Rohingya community in Malaysia are invalid by law and will face government action as the Registrar of Societies had never registered any such organisations, the Home Ministry insisted today.

It also reiterated that Malaysia does not recognise the community as refugees but merely “illegal immigrants”, even if they hold the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identification cards, and therefore have no rights to make demands to Putrajaya.

“Besides that, the Home Ministry’s checks found that the Registrar of Societies has never registered organisations under the name of Rohingya or any ethnic Rohingya in Malaysia.

“Therefore, any organisations that represent ethnic Rohingya in Malaysia are invalid under the Societies Act 1966 (Act 335) and can have taken action against them according to legal provisions,” minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said in a statement.

“Therefore UNHCR card holders from ethnic Rohingya have no status, right and basis to present any demands to the government,” it added.

The harsh statement by the ministry comes even as refugee activists are urging the government and public to show compassion towards the community, that is currently facing heightened vitriol through a purported social media campaign.

The remark also came amid alleged provocations by members of the community, even as the police have already opened investigations against such posts which the community said are part of a disinformation campaign targeting them.

In the same statement today, Hamzah said there are 179,521 UNHCR cardholders in Malaysia as of March, including 56.6 per cent or 101,584 from the Rohingya community here.

But Hamzah also said that Malaysia does not have any administrative or legal framework to govern the status and rights of refugees in the country, and that Malaysia is also not a signatory to the United Nations’ Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 or Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1967.

“Therefore, the government does not recognise the status of refugees and have classified them as illegal immigrants (PATI) that hold the UNHCR card.

“However, on a humanitarian basis, the government has allowed PATI holding UNHCR cards to temporarily stay in this country before being placed in a third country by the UNHCR on a case-by-case basis,” he added, insisting on using the term “illegal immigrants” for those recognised as refugees by the UNHCR.

Hamzah said the Home Ministry through its agencies and departments are committed to ensuring public peace, further saying that any UNHCR cardholders who threaten the public peace or act in contravention to local laws would not escape action.

Hamzah said the police had during the movement control order (MCO) period received 19 police reports relating to UNHCR cardholders from the Rohingya community which resulted in four investigation papers being opened, adding that two individuals who are citizens of Myanmar are expected to be brought to court on charges of being involved with a syndicate to smuggle “PATI with UNHCR cards” into Malaysia.

He also reminded UNHCR cardholders in Malaysia to continue to respect and comply with local laws.

Hamzah also touched on the Malaysian authorities’ recent act of turning away a boat with those from the Rohingya community after giving them food, saying that this was to protect the country’s borders that have now been closed to foreigners amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Opportunity in Johor to wipe out Parti PRIBUMI a la Tg Piai

Malaysiakini:

Snap polls on the cards in Johor due to brewing tension between Umno, Bersatu

The tension between Umno and Bersatu could lead to a snap polls in the southern state, according to a high ranking Johor Umno source.

Speaking to Malaysiakini this afternoon, he said this would be an option if Bersatu did not desist from pressuring Umno over political appointments.

"Bersatu has been trying to pressure for positions but Umno has countered back with the threat of state elections," he added on condition of anonymity.

Johor Bersatu has been complaining that political appointments, including to state GLCs, were not done in an equitable manner and accused Umno of sidelining it.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) formed the state government in Johor after Bersatu defected from Pakatan Harapan to join hands with BN and PAS.

The source believes that when faced with a possible snap polls, Bersatu would back down.

"Johor Umno is much stronger, we can win the polls on our own.

"We hold all the cards. Who are they (Bersatu) going to turn to, Harapan? Obviously that is not going to happen," he added.

The Johor state legislative assembly has 56 seats, out of which both Umno and DAP have 14 each. The remaining seats are held by Bersatu (11), Amanah (9), PKR (4), MIC (2), PAS (1) and one independent.

Photo: Osman Sapian 

Former MB: Sultan, not state government's call

Former Johor menteri besar Osman Sapian, however, said dissolving the state assembly is not within the jurisdiction of the state government.

"That is the sultan's prerogative," he told Malaysiakini.

Section 7(2)(b) of the Johor Constitution states the monarch has the discretion to "withhold consent" on a request to dissolve the state assembly.

Stop inviting a Snake into your House

There are still some amongst Pakatan people, sadly especially the DAP, who believe that Mahathir should be their leader to lead them to ruling government again, despite the Old Man's treachery, dishonour and continuous eff-ups.

For example, Liew Chin Tong, DAP strategist, was reported saying he believed that the majority of DAP leaders do not think that Mahathir Mohamed was the architect behind the fall of PH, claiming that it was a faction within Mahathir’s own Parti Pribumi that orchestrated it with support from BN - he meant Muhyiddin and Azmin, wakakaka.

But nonetheless, Liew is idiotic on this issue, perhaps still trying to salvage something out from the Mahathir-ised fall from government, in futilely hoping Mahathir will take Pakatan back into power, wakakaka.

Mahathir NOT the architect behind the fall of PH?

 wakakaka, you're shitting me Liew

Here's some comments from Malaysiakini's YourSay - Harapan must lead the opposition, not Dr M to indicate how those readers feel about Mahathir, just the way I do:

Proarte: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's sole aim is to make sure Pakatan Harapan does not regroup and rebuild itself into a formidable opposition to take on Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the next election.

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim rightly has already said that Mahathir and Bersatu are not part of Harapan and I hope there will be no vacillation on this.

To date Anwar, the erstwhile 'PM in waiting with divine patience' allowed Harapan to sleepwalk into collapse because of an absent, or at best pusillanimous, response to Mahathir's agenda.

Mahathir's agenda was to deny Anwar the PMship and to engineer the collapse of the Harapan government. It is about time Mahathir is made to dance to Harapan's tune, otherwise he should not be touched with a barge pole.

To take on kleptocrats, Muslim supremacists and Malay sense of entitlement, Harapan component parties must have political philosophies and policies which brook no hint of racism, racial privilege, Islamic supremacy. They must instead promote racial equality, a needs-based affirmative action policy and a genuine sense of belonging to the land of Malaysia by all the races.

Harapan cannot rely on 'tweaking' the old Umno formula which Mahathir advocates. It repeatedly has proven to be a failure in realising real progress for the nation - be it economically, socially, environmentally and educationally. There must be a complete overhaul of a political system which currently promotes and protects kleptocrats paradoxically in the name of Malay upliftment.

'Ketuanan Islam' and 'Ketuanan Islam' is an evil policy which belongs to the dustbin of history. It only benefits the crooked Malay elites who don’t care a damn for the Malay community and the country as a whole.

The rhetoric ad nauseam of Malay upliftment must be changed to Malaysian upliftment. No more zero-sum game racial politics. The 2018 election showed us that Malaysians can come together in a spirit of unity, equality and freedom and bring down an entrenched corrupt government.

The shock election outcome, however, was a serious threat to the old order and the Malay elites systematically sought to undermine the 'New Malaysia' paradigm and succeeded in bringing down Harapan through backdoor manoeuvres. Significantly, these Malay elites came from Harapan as well.

Mahathir added to the instability by not honouring the mandated requirement to hand over power to Anwar. For their part, the component Harapan leaders played into the hands of the 'deep state' by their cowardly silence over the obvious sabotage of the 'New Malaysia' paradigm.

DAP and PKR were rudderless because the 'supremos' in both parties, namely Lim Kit Siang and Anwar, were excluded from the cabinet, which was outrageous. Are were surprised that Harapan was so unstable?

KHAT eSS was actually but covertly in Mahathir's cabinet, wakakaka 

For a start, Mahathir must get over his visceral hatred of Anwar and put the nation above his personal pettiness and prejudice.

For Harapan to succeed, Anwar must lead the coalition with Mahathir agreeing to support his candidacy for PMship and Mahathir playing a mentor role.

PKR, Amanah and DAP must insist on new ground rules which outlaw racism and discrimination of any kind to be in line with universal moral values. The proof of their sincerity is the commitment to ratify Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A manifesto must explicitly outline these pillars of faith and must be realistic, not like the last manifesto which Mahathir in effect claimed was not truthful because they did not think they could win the election!

Biggest King Cobra in World - in Kerala

was anyway (wakakaka) 

A needs-based policy will benefit the B40 (bottom 40 percent), the majority of whom are Malays, and this must be emphasised repeatedly in order not to 'spook the Malays'. The rest in the B40 category such as the Orang Asli, bumiputera of East Malaysia and the Indians will also benefit.

Bersatu can only be accepted into Harapan if it totally rejects any links with PN and must open its doors to all Malaysians as equal members who can hold elected office.

If Mahathir refuses to subscribe to civilised values and wants to operate like Umno, then he must be told in no uncertain terms that he and his party cannot be part of the opposition coalition because Harapan will not condone racism.

I personally believe that with Harapan 'pillars of faith', such as outlawing discrimination and racial privilege but never forgetting the underprivileged, it will be able to win over the rakyat who felt betrayed in the last election. The groundwork must be done now.

Otak-Otak: Please do not even have the slightest glimmer of hope on this cunning old fox.

In fact, he is totally hopeless after given all the opportunity and power to steer the country to the right path of reform. Instead, he backstabbed his supporters/voters, his working alliance in Harapan, 'busy-bodied scolding' foreign countries unnecessarily and U-turned on promises, etc, just to appease to the Malay Muslims in the country, especially Umno and PAS.

At 94, he finally ended up with zero trust, zero dignity, zero respect as the country is brought down to such a state worse than before he was made PM the second time.

Cogito Ergo Sum: After gauging that his support has catastrophically dissipated among both Malay and non-Malays, Mahathir now pretends to hold all the cards by insisting he sits in the opposition corner. This gesture, he hopes, will boost his flagging support and appear as a champion of the people.

By now, most already know that he is in it for himself and his family. If ever a vote of no confidence is mooted, he will abstain, saying that under a crisis or war-like conditions, we must support the government of the day.

But that illusion will only work among the intellectually and politically challenged, like the DAP.

The rest of us who broke our backs getting Harapan voted in, are weary of the old fox’s playbook. Where he sits makes not one iota of change to our dire political and economic landscape.

The Unfair Justice continues

Malaysiakini:

MCO violation: Call for VVIPs' sentences 'corrected', jail time given

CORONAVIRUS | The High Court has been urged to review and enhance the sentences meted out to Deputy Health Minister Noor Azmi Ghazali and Perak state executive councillor Razman Zakaria for violating the movement control order (MCO).

Former Selangor assemblyperson M Manoharan (photo, above), who is a lawyer, said the duo should be jailed for their actions as their fines were “clearly insufficient” for the offence committed.

“I call upon the judge of the High Court, in Ipoh or Taiping in Perak, to call up the case and review and revise the order of the magistrate in Gerik, Perak, to enhance the sentence meted out against the deputy health minister and the Perak exco, since they have clearly violated Regulation 11(1) of the Gazetted Regulations formulated under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations 2020.

“The duo didn’t merely ‘violate standard operating procedure’, but had clearly violated the movement control orders’ regulations and can be punished under Regulation 11(1) of the same regulations.

“...a jail sentence is most appropriate under the circumstances because… any celebration for the matter during this period, when so many have died around the world, is despicable,” Manoharan, the former DAP Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson, said in a statement.

Noor Azmi and Razman had on Tuesday pleaded guilty for violating the MCO when visiting a tahfiz school and sharing a meal in Lenggong earlier this month, without practising social distancing measures.





They were each fined RM1,000 by the Gerik Magistrate’s Court.

Under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a judge may examine the records of any proceeding before any subordinate criminal court to satisfy himself as to the correctness or legality of any sentence or order passed.

Therefore, Manoharan said, the order passed by the Gerik lower court should be corrected.

“Article 8 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says all are equal before the law.”

*********

kaytee notes:

Absolutely correct when you consider the case of B Lisa Christina, a single mother of a 6-year-old child, who was sentenced to 30 days in jail on 21st April for violating the Movement Control Order (MCO). However, two others who were charged at the same were only fined the maximum RM1,000.

B Lisa Christina 

No doubt the sentence has just been reduced to a fine following an appeal (and the glaring embarrassing fact that some Yang Berhormats got away with just a light tap on their wrists), the fact exists that she has spent jail-time, unlike the Yang Berhomats and their kutus who got away scot-free, or with just a measly fine.

And I wonder who looked after her child in those 8 days she was in prison?

Yanks going nuts with lockdown

Extracts from finance-twitter:

Economy and unemployment are the two biggest reasons countries in the European Union have no choice but to gradually lift the lockdown. [...]

Similarly, economy and unemployment are the biggest reason why U.S. President Donald Trump is furious about the Coronavirus pandemic. With 6 months left before the 2020 Presidential Election, Trump and the White House have little options but to put all the blame on China. It’s easier to blame the Chinese than to defend Trump’s late response to the outbreak.

But there’s another reason why the U.S., despite leading the chart in both the number of Coronavirus cases and death toll, has also begun lifting the lockdown orders. While it’s true that Asia has controlled the virus more effectively than the U.S. and Europe because by default the Asians are more obedient, it’s a different story with the Western countries, especially the Americans.

[kaytee note: not just obedient but far MORE disciplined]





Americans are growing more and more impatient with the lockdown. As the champion of democracy and human rights, most Americans don’t like to be caged and told to stay at home. Having lived a life of freedom, it’s only natural that most of the people in this nation are not able to bear the life of a lockdown much longer. They missed very much going out for a movie or patronizing a restaurant.

In a 20-minute survey done by Kelton Global from April 3-6, a whopping 72% of 1,895 U.S. citizens over the age of 18 said they would most likely reach a “breaking point” by mid-June. Yes, they would snap if the “stay at home” orders are not lifted by then. And if the lockdown lasts more than 6 months, 100% of the respondents said they would basically go nuts.

In fact, when the survey was first carried out, 16% said they had already hit their breaking point. Interestingly, of those who admitted they had snapped, 20% were women while 12% were men. The study also found that 50% of the women believed they will reach the emotional break-down within 4 weeks and 76% said they would in 2 months.

In the same breath, the research discovered that Generation-Z were more susceptible to emotional meltdown – 35% of those of those aged 18-24 as compared to 22% among those aged 45 and above. It also exposed the issue of financial security – 39% polled said the lockdown has caused financial difficulties while only 17% said they were financially comfortable.

However, at the same time, a huge majority (69%) of Americans feel “extremely worried” about flying on an airplane again or taking a cruise (76%). Similarly, 62% of the people were concerned about going to a restaurant and 58% were troubled about using a ride-sharing service such as Grab. More than half (53%) feel equally worried about going to hospital if they suffer a medical emergency.

As Covid-19 continues to affect and transform the Americans way of life, Dr. Martin Eichholz, Kelton Global’s Chief Insights Officer, said – “Our findings highlight the increasingly serious implications of stay-at-home orders, and puts some urgency on the actions of politicians and organizations who try to manage the COVID-19 fallout.”

But what is driving the majority of the Americans to such a melting point? The top factors included loneliness, constant anxiety, and frequent arguments with one’s spouse or family members and extreme worry over activities like visiting the grocery store. Many believe that the country – even the world – may never return to “normal” again.

Trouble brewing in PN Johor

FMT:

BN, Umno won’t be affected if Johor govt is sabotaged, says state Umno Youth

Hasni Mohammad (left) replaced Dr Sahrudin Jamal as Johor MB on Feb 28 

PETALING JAYA: A Johor Umno Youth leader said neither Barisan Nasional (BN) nor Umno will be affected by any efforts to sabotage the Perikatan Nasional (PN) state government.

However, Umno Youth state chief Mohd Hairi Mad Shah warned Johor Pakatan Harapan (PH) Youth leader Mohd Azam Mektar that the people will grow bored of the coalition’s propaganda if it continued playing with politics.

“BN, Umno and even Muafakat Nasional in Johor will not lose out or be affected. Instead, it’s the people who will face difficulties.

“It has already been explained that Umno’s relationship with PN is just to save Malaysia because of the political turmoil caused by certain groups in PH,” he said.

Hairi was commenting on Azam’s speculation recently that current Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad would be replaced by Dr Sahruddin Jamal.

PPBM’s Sahruddin had been appointed menteri besar on April 14 last year and served in that capacity until Feb 27 this year.

Hairi said the cooperation in PN was an understanding to form a new government to manage the country due to PH’s failures.

He said Malaysians, including those in Johor, were able to judge the distinct difference between BN’s 60 years of ruling the country compared to PH’s 22 months.

“Johor Umno Youth confidently believes that the people will choose to return to the previous administration, which was the target of numerous accusations by PH in its efforts to take over power.

“When PH was in power, the ones who suffered and were affected most were the people. PH did not fall because of other parties, but because of the greed of a few PH leaders clamouring for power. They came from DAP, PKR and Amanah,” he said.

Hairi said any attempts to sabotage the Johor state government would only prove detrimental to the opposition, including those behind such efforts.

He added that he was confident no one from PN would do such things as they were sick of the greedy attitudes of DAP and Amanah leaders.

*********

kaytee notes:

Well done Mahathir 😁😁😁👍👍👍

You thought UMNO is like PKR, DAP and Amanah where your kacang putih party could walk all over them, wakakaka.

Bersatu dumbo lah

In Harapan you were King but in PN you are a clown 

Mutated Covid-19 more aggressive

Malaysiakini:

Malaysia has seen Covid-19 mutations, warns of aggressive infectivity

CORONAVIRUS | The health authority has detected mutations of Covid-19 virus in the country and warns of their aggressive infectivity.

According to Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, one of the mutations they found was in "Case 26" who had so far infected 120 others.

"We were made to understand that there are 30 mutations of the virus so far. And in the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) we are doing virus isolation and virus culture.

"We have found that 'Case 26', for example, had one mutation. And maybe because of this mutation it caused the virus to become more aggressive, infecting 120 others.

"The new mutations are even more aggressive, that is for sure," said Noor Hisham.

He was speaking at a press conference in Putrajaya today where he was asked about a study in India which found 10 mutations of the Covid-19.

For the record, "Case 26" has been identified as Hisham Hamdan, who is the chairperson of UDA Holdings and executive director of Khazanah.

He had come forward to identify himself as "Case 26" early last month following media reports and online criticisms against him for allegedly causing a cluster of infections.

"Case 26" had travelled to Shanghai, China in mid-January before he started developing symptoms on Feb 27. He then sought treatment at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre. He was later treated at the Sungai Buloh Hospital after being tested positive with Covid-19, which also saw health authority scrambling to test all his close contacts and family members.

Elaborating further about mutations of Covid-19 in the country, Noor Hisham said IMR had established that most of the positive cases detected in the first wave and early part of the second wave of the outbreak were of Strain B.

Strain B is the strain that was traced back to Wuhan, China, while Strain A was mostly found in the US and Strain C mostly found in Europe.

Strain A - mostly found in the US

"What is important now is to conduct research on the second wave of the outbreak which involved our positive patients who returned from certain countries," Noor Hisham added.

Azmin Ali and Gerakan

According to DAP's Liew Chin Tong, the rumours some months ago about Azmin Ali joining Gerakan did have strong grounds.

Gerak lah, Sayang, Gerak ... KAN 

We know there exists strong kamcheng among Azmin (now PRIBUMI, earlier PKR), Muhyiddin and Hishamuddin (UMNO). All three are thinking of a new party and eff-ing PRIBUMI for good.

The bloke who's pushing for a NEW party (or using an old but now kosong-one like Gerakan) has been Azmin because he wants some space for his non-Malay supporters, eg. Santhara, Maria Chin, Tian Chua, etc, wakakaka.

But I believe Mahathir's resigning abruptly offered another unexpected opportunity for Azmin and Muhyiddin to temporarily put aside the Gerakan option in order to kowtim an arrogant nyanyiok-liao Mahathir. But soon and inevitably, GE15 will arrive, so the Gerakan dress may be useful. Hey, we may yet see in the future, PM Azmi Sembu---nyi.

Related:

Mafulat-ish Moles Manipulating in PKR.

Hunger in ghettoised Selayan Baru under EMCO

Malaysiakini:

In Selayang Baru, desperate residents risk barbed wire fence to receive supplies

As the lockdown on Selayang Baru intensifies, desperate locals are risking running afoul of law enforcers for their necessities.

When Malaysiakini visited Taman Selayang yesterday, the neighbourhood was cordoned off with 2-metre-high barbed wire fencing. Many locals were seen anxiously waiting for their friends and family members near the barbed wire barricade for supplies.

From a distance, messages in several languages could be heard warning people to stay indoors. Armed soldiers patrolled the barricades. Upon them appearing, the people at the barricades would scurry away.

Once the coast was clear, the residents would re-emerge at their designated waiting spots.



The Taman Selayang suburb is one of seven zones within the vicinity of the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market that the authorities have cordoned off as part of an enhanced movement control (MCO) order.

The market, the largest of its kind in the country, is currently a focal point for health authorities in its bid to stop the spread of Covid-19.

Food in the enhanced MCO area is supposed to be supplied by the Welfare Department. However, many of the residents interviewed said it was insufficient.

A retiree, who wished to be known only as Lee, 75, said the Welfare Department supplied a bag of rice, cooking oil, two loaves of bread, 30 eggs and a packet of dried anchovies.

"My household has 10 people. How will that be enough?" he told Malaysiakini.



Another resident, who wished to be known only as Leong, 52, said he was forced to order food from stalls in the neighbourhood because what was provided by the Welfare Department was not enough.

"We have been eating the same thing every day," said Leong, who used to work in a biscuit shop.

Low Kian An, 26, who was outside his grandmother's house, said the residents have joined a WeChat group to urge unaffected neighbours to help those in need.

"There are about 500 people in the group... If we face problems, we will raise it in the group and some people will try to help out," he said.

Residents unaware of ops centre

All of the residents interviewed said they were unaware of any government operations centre where they could ask for help in buying additional supplies.

According to Senior Minister (security cluster) Ismail Sabri Yaakob, every enhanced MCO area should have one. He previously advised those who needed help to reach out to the National Disaster Management Agency at 03-61201092 or 03-61261500.

A resident in the area, who only wanted to be identified as Wong, 52, an e-hailing driver, said his mother-in-law was old and needed adult diapers and he doesn't know how to reach out to the operations centre.

Fortunately for Wong, some of his friends are making the necessary purchases for him and passing it through the barbed wire barricade.

Wong said there were 11 people in his household and he was the only providing essential services.

"We are worried. We are stuck at home but we still need to spend money every day," he said.

Priya, 39, an odd-job worker, said she needed milk powder and diapers for her toddlers.

Asked if she knew where the operations centre was, she replied: "I am illiterate. How would I know?"



Stuck with no work

Unlike most parts of Malaysia, the lockdown in this part of Selayang meant that even essential service providers could not go to work to feed their family members.

A pharmacist, who wished to be known only as Yap, 28, said she was shocked when she woke up on April 25 to find her neighbourhood cordoned off and she was unable to go to work nearby.

"The night before we saw a lot of army personnel and police. We don't know what was happening. The following morning, we woke up to this," she said, pointing to the barbed wire.

The enhanced MCO in Selayang Baru will only be lifted on May 3.

Altogether, the seven areas being cordoned off affects 22,000 residents and 16,000 of them are believed to be foreigners.

Indon Menteri Air 'S... perm' 😁

Star Online:

Indonesian 'sperm in pool' child protection commissioner accepts sacking, grudgingly

Sitti Hikmawatty, who was fired by President Joko Widodo from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission after making scientifically inaccurate claims, said she accepted her dismissal, while claiming she had been treated unfairly

TribunJakarta

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): Former Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Sitti Hikmawatty – who was fired by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo after making the scientifically inaccurate claim that "strong sperm" could impregnate women in swimming pools – said she accepted her dismissal, while also claiming she had been treated unfairly.

During a teleconference on Tuesday (April 28), Sitti said the agency's decision to recommend her dismissal was made in violation of procedure, saying that she should have been given an administrative sanction and a letter of reprimand instead of being fired.

"What I got instead was the ultimate punishment without having a chance to defend myself. This should not happen again," Sitti said, urging the President and relevant ministries to fix the "legal loophole" in the commission's regulations.

She nevertheless said that she accepted the decision and vowed to continue to fight for child protection in any way possible.

Jokowi signed a decree on the immediate dismissal of Sitti from her post as the KPAI's commissioner for health, narcotics and addictive substances following a recommendation from the agency's ethics council. The council had stated that Sitti had violated the commission's code of ethics by making the inaccurate statement.

Sitti made the controversial remarks that ultimately resulted in her dismissal during an interview with tribunnews.com in February, saying that women should be careful about the risk of getting pregnant when swimming in public pools with men.

"There is an especially strong type of sperm that may cause pregnancy in a swimming pool," Sitti said. "Even without penetration, men may become sexually exited [by women in the pool] and ejaculate, therefore causing a pregnancy."

Her blunder was immediately met with a strong response from the public and medical practitioners.

The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) said it was impossible for women to get pregnant in a swimming pool as the water contained chlorine and other chemicals. "Sperm cannot survive in these conditions," IDI executive Nazar said at the time.

Sitti who initially defended her claim by saying it was based on scientific journals later retracted the statement and apologized. The KPAI itself issued a response saying that Sitti’s statement did not represent the views of the organization.

The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network