National diving queen Datuk Pandelela Rinong recently recounted her terrible experience of being bullied by a former coach after speaking up against him for making sexually inappropriate jokes.
Though the Sarawakian athlete didn’t drop any specific names in her social media postings, the comments came after actor Fauzi Nawawi was badly criticised for making light of sexual violence during his appearance on a talk show back in June.
Dulu saya ada seorang coach ni suka buat lawak lucah, saya buat diam je tak pun fake laugh sebab takut dia. Pernah sekali tak tahan saya tegur dia, tapi kena buli balik. 7 tahun kemudian dia buat kes rogol. #rapejokeisnotfunny
— Pandelela Rinong (@Pandelela_R) October 21, 2021
“I used to train under this coach who liked to make lewd jokes. I kept quite about it, or sometimes I faked a laugh because I was afraid of him. One time, I called him out, but in return I was bullied. Seven years later, he committed a rape,” Pandelela revealed on her Twitter, along with the hashtag “#RapeJokeIsNotFunny”.
“But the saddest thing was that in those 7 years, he would do those things every year. But we athletes couldn’t do anything, because his biggest ‘back-up’ was our own head coach,” the 28-year-old added. “Moral of the story, we need a good leader who can right what’s wrong instead of turning a blind eye to evil, and those abused must speak up please!”
Moral of the story, we need a good leader who can right what’s wrong instead of turning a blind eye to evil, and those abused must speak up please! Small voices still matter if we are united.
— Pandelela Rinong (@Pandelela_R) October 21, 2021
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Despite the traumatising experience that she and her teammates encountered previously, Pandelela still praised the sports association for standing up for them. “Small voices still matter if we are united. We are very lucky that we are being protected safely by our sports association, who cares for us. Happy ending,” she ended her statement.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was also seen responding to the tweet shared by Pandelela, thanking her for speaking out about the matter. “There are still sports journalists who criticise the decision that we made to shake up Malaysian diving in light of these allegations a few years ago. I would make the same decision every single time,” the former Youth and Sports Minister pointed out.
Thanks for speaking out, Lela. There are still sports journalists who criticise the decision that we made to shake up Malaysian diving in light of these allegations a few years ago. I would make the same decision every single time.
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) October 21, 2021
Athletes’ safety from physical/mental abuse > medals. All day, everyday.
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) October 21, 2021
In replying to KJ’s tweet, Pandelela said that she didn’t regret her decision despite the fact that she continues to be judged and pressured with results up ’til the present day. He responded by saying, “Athletes’ safety from physical and mental abuse over medals. All day, every day.”
Source: Twitter.
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