KUALA LUMPUR – A woman’s long and fruitless search for a house to rent in Terengganu took on a troubling turn when a man allegedly requested sexual favours from her in exchange for his assistance in finding a place.
Hailing from Penang, the woman shared her encounter via a widely circulated Facebook post, highlighting, among other things, the discriminatory challenges confronted by non-Muslims in search of accommodation in the east coast state.
“I have approached more than 40 houses and have been constantly searching for house rentals for the past two weeks in Daerah (district of) Setiu and Bandar Permaisuri and I always receive consistent rejections by men saying that there are no rentals for non-Muslims.
“What bothers me the most is when I sought help from a Facebook group called ‘Warga Setiu’, hoping that someone within the community could assist me, I was randomly approached by a man who was willing to help me while asking for sexual favours in return,” she said in the Facebook post.
“All I was expecting was a glimmer of hope, but I didn’t expect it to turn into a shocking ordeal.
“It’s really sad to see this still happening in 2023 and I’m left traumatised by my encounter. This incident also raises my questions about the lack of empathy and compassion towards non-Muslim women like myself.”
Speaking with Scoop, the woman said that her intention in raising this issue on Facebook was to create awareness.
She clarified that her intention was not to target or single out any specific group or individuals. Due to her post, she has reportedly been facing ongoing threats from some netizens due to her outspoken stance.
“I’m currently feeling anxious with the number of shares and likes, and I don’t like the way some of the people are perceiving this issue.
“I don’t want my post to end up becoming a political and religious issue as many of them are threatening and condemning me via the comment sections and personal messages, saying that I’m generalising the whole Muslim community and men in Terengganu. That’s not my intention, and I hope they don’t misunderstand me,” she said.
The woman also extended her gratitude to the many netizens who did support her in the comments section, offering assistance to help her address the issue.
At the time of writing, the woman was also considering filing a police report on the harassment she faced.
“I would also like to take this moment to share my gratitude to the majority of people in the comment section, especially those from Terengganu who are encouraging me to lodge a police report against the perpetrator.
“Many of them also apologised on behalf of the Malay and Muslim community, and they are also willing to find me a house in the area of Daerah Setiu and Bandar Permaisuri. It’s nice to know that there are a few good souls out there,” added the woman.
Meanwhile, the alleged harasser posted a statement on the Warga Setiu Facebook group explaining that his account had been hacked and advised netizens to stop viralling the issue.
“Someone has used my Facebook account, and I can’t log in to it since yesterday.
“I swear on my wife and kids that I did not engage myself in such a disgusting act.
“Maybe God is trying to test me, and I apologise for the inconveniences caused under my name. I will try to deactivate my account as soon as possible,” the individual said.
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 was passed by the Dewan Negara on August 11, 2022.
The Act provides the right of redress for any person who has been sexually harassed in all aspects of everyday living.
Under the law, those found to have committed sexual harassment may end up paying their victims compensation of up to RM250,000 or be jailed for two years. – August 27, 2023