Their calls came amid disquiet over the sentence of only a fine on a man convicted of filming inappropriate videos of his stepdaughter.
Yayasan Chow Kit co-founder Dr Hartini Zainudin said imprisonment could deter potential offenders and serve as a measure of justice for the victims.
“Imposing fines alone may not be sufficient to prevent recidivism in such serious offences. Stricter penalties, including mandatory jail time, can serve as a deterrent and reinforce societal condemnation of such acts,” she told FMT.
Former Klang MP Charles Santiago, who co-chairs an Asean parliamentarian group on human rights, said jail terms would have a greater impact and “will certainly help in reducing the number of cases”.
Imprisonment was considered a shameful thing “and people are very aware of that”, he said.
Hartini and Santiago’s comments were in response to calls for a harsher sentence to be imposed on a 56-year-old man recently fined RM6,000 in Muar for recording and possessing videos of his 15-year-old stepdaughter in the nude.
The charge provides for up to five years in prison, a maximum fine of RM10,000, or both, upon conviction.
MCA deputy secretary-general Dr Pamela Yong said the fine was “an absolute travesty of justice” and failed to reflect the severity of his crime.
Subsequently, the minister for women, family and community development, Nancy Shukri, also called for more severe punishment, saying it would not only deliver justice for the victim but also deter others from committing similar crimes.
Santiago said the sexual offender registry should be made publicly accessible, allowing potential employers and others to browse it freely. “Once you put it up for the public to see, nobody wants to be on that list,” he said.
He said teacher training institutes should have a module to equip educators with the skills to recognise signs of sexual abuse and effectively pass this knowledge on to their students.
“Awareness building should be done across the board. Children should be able to detect signs of sexual violence, and when their privacy has been breached,” he said.
“This kind of information should be made available to children in schools, homes, places of worship and anywhere people congregate.”