A PAS leader has attributed the increase in violent crime cases, especially rape and murder, on the exploitative nature of advertisements that portray women as sex symbols.

Central committee member and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar said such advertisements were among the main factors that have contributed to repeated incidents of violent crimes against women and children.

"The electronic media is a powerful tool and its advertisements portraying women as sex symbols tend to reach more viewers than any other medium," he told reporters at the Opposition Leader's office in Parliament house yesterday.

"Most advertisements with women models have very suggestive visuals. For example, a jeans advertisement shamelessly zooms in and stays on the lower half of a woman's body.

"Then there are women who are photographed in the most alluring or provocative pose, leaving little to the imagination of viewers."

Such visuals, he said, would have a direct or indirect impact on the young as well as adults.

Mahfuz was commenting on recent incidents of brutal rape-cum-murder cases involving young children and women in recent weeks.

Apathy, not concern

Asked whether PAS agreed that poor upbringing and the lack of respect for women in general were among the root cause of such violence, Mahfuz said religious education has always emphasised social values.

"In Islam, a lot of emphasis is placed on respect for mothers. This is part of the informal education that we are given at an early age. Each person must be made to feel that every woman is like a mother, sister or female relative," he said.

Mahfuz, however, was unable to come up with concrete suggestions on the type of preventive steps that PAS would like to see implemented in preventing violent crimes against women and children.

He also noted there has been a deterioration in social structures, which has led to public apathy.

"The social structure previously used to be one of anak kamu, anak aku (your child is my child too), which means everyone feels responsible for one another's children," he said.

"But this is no longer the case. Due to the breakdown in our social structure, there is more apathy than mutual concern."

He stressed that PAS does not tolerate the abuse of children or women.

"We are prepared to assist the government in reviewing the social structure. In fact, we have always provided input, but the government has never bothered to consider our views."

Last Saturday, Nurul Huda Abdul Gani, aged 10, was allegedly raped, sodomised, strangled and left to die by three men within the vicinity of a Tenaga Nasional Bhd sub-station in Gelang Patah, Johor. Police are investigating two suspects and are on the lookout for the third.

Ten days earlier, Haserawati Saridi @Sarioi, aged nine, was stabbed to death after being raped on her way to school in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Former convict and drug addict Jamaludin Saribudin pleaded guilty to the rape charge yesterday - he has been charged separately for the murder.

The Star today quoted police statistics showing a rise in the number of reported rape cases from 1,210 in 2000 to 1,354 in 2001 and 1,418 in 2002. Almost two-thirds of the victims in these were aged below 16..