DAP says nude squat case ‘humiliating’, demands Home Ministry response

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal- The Malaysian Insider

June 14, 2011

Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran has called the act “humiliating” and “ridiculous.” — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — The DAP has demanded that the Home Ministry respond to reports that two Singaporean women were handcuffed and made to do squats naked by Malaysian immigration officials.

Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran said that the act was “humiliating” and “ridiculous,” while Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa said the incident would give other countries the perception that Malaysia was a “lawless” country.

“You cannot do this, why subject these women to this form of interrogation, it is humiliating,” Kulasegaran told The Malaysian Insider.

Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan had brought the matter up earlier to deputy home minister Datuk Abu Seman Yusop, but Abu Seman had declined to offer a response as Fong’s question was not included in the list during question time.

“I tried to bring it up, but the deputy minister did not answer [my question],” Fong told The Malaysian Insider.

“People won’t want to come to our country anymore if this kind of practice occurs ... this will affect the country’s image as a tourist destination.

“The Home Ministry must give a response, they must investigate what happened,” Er added.

Two Singaporean women who drove to Johor Baru for supper were questioned by Malaysian immigration officials, handcuffed, thrown behind bars and made to do squats while naked, the Singapore Straits Times reported today.

The two women said they had driven into Johor Baru without getting their passports stamped, through an unmanned immigration lane.

Following their punishment, they were allowed to return to Singapore after 48 hours with a warning.

Now back in Singapore, both women say they will never go back to Malaysia.