LETTER | Sexual harassment - Unduk Ngadau needs preventive mechanisms

LETTER | We, the Society for Equality, Respect And Trust for All Sabah (Serata), read with mortifying concern about the recent sexual harassment allegations that happened during Sabah’s most iconic event – the Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan (UNK).

Firstly, as the accused is a member of a political party that is currently part of the governing coalition, we would like to remind members of the opposition to not take advantage of the survivor's case for publicity and to topple the current state government. 

Please take into careful consideration the survivor’s well-being as it is of the utmost priority while she musters the strength to do what is right.

It is imperative for all involved to tread carefully in protecting the identity and dignity of the survivor and handle the situation with the highest level of integrity. We encourage all survivors, past and present to speak out collectively in support of her as well. Use your power and position to show support and solidarity for the survivor.

Secondly in our opinion, the UNK organising committee should also be held responsible for the safety of their participants. This incident could have been prevented by implementing proper mechanisms such as rules and regulations, taking a stance against acts that take advantage of the participants, whistle-blowing and witness reporting plus investigations and guidelines on how action will be taken against any perpetrators regardless of their backgrounds. 

After establishing such grounds, a briefing is a must for staff, security guards, participants and any other involved parties of the event.

Such actions should be done in tandem with empowering women and girls to understand what is sexual harassment, educating boys and men on what is outside of the acceptable boundaries of physical and verbal means and how boys and men can play an active role of an ally as the onus should not be on the women and girls only.

We would like to suggest that the organising committee of UNK work with CSOs in Sabah to establish necessary guardrails for preventive and safety measures for future events. At Serata, we see that this is critical not only to safeguard the reputation of a symbolic cultural experience but it is also equally fundamental to substantiate the right ideas about the spirit of UNK’s origins.

For Sabahans to stand proudly with UNK and have our cultural representation both in the national and global arena, this is the time for UNK’s organising committee to pivot and utilise its platform to champion the right causes, namely inclusive beauty values, mental health awareness, fundraising for children of Sabah living in poverty and to provide support for children survivors of incest and sexual assault. 

These are pressing matters in Sabah that oftentimes are invisible and brushed off because it is not a topic that makes it to the national media’s attention and therefore it is deemed not relevant.

Thirdly, we would like to urgently call for the Sexual Harassment Bill to be expediently approved even if this is at a state level. It has been kept on standby for far too long and this incident together with recent news of girls being sexually harassed at school, is proof that we are in dire need of protection for our women and girls through the rule of law.

Until then, this issue will never be resolved and Sabah will still remain as one of the top five states with the highest number of sexual assault cases.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.