Top Malaysia schools' debating coach accused of sexual abuse
PETALING JAYA The Malaysian schools debating community has been rocked by allegations that one of the country's top coaches had sexually abused underage debaters.
On Saturday night, two debaters took to Instagram, alleging that they were molested at the coach's house two years ago, and it "became routine" for him to touch them inappropriately.
The debaters also posted screenshots of messages from the coach, which appear to show him asking for sexual favours and inviting one of the victims to someone's home at night.
The debaters added that they remained silent because they did not recognise the abuse at the time and they feared for their debating pursuits.
Most of the comments on the Instagram posts commended the two debaters.
"I'm really really sorry this happened to you.
"Thanks for being brave in coming forward with your story," one social media user wrote.
Most members of the debating community declined to comment to respect the privacy of the two debaters.
The Malaysian debating community has achieved unprecedented success in recent years, winning the Asian World Schools Debating Championships and finishing fifth at the World Schools Debating Championships in 2014.
The Malaysian Institute for Debating and Public Speaking (MIDP), which has helped coach the Malaysian team for international competitions, said in a statement yesterday that it had "suspended the alleged perpetrator, pending the resolution of investigations by the authorities". - THE STAR
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