Law Awareness Booth @ Tanjung Tualang Report

LAW AWARENESS BOOTH AT TANJUNG TUALANG ON 17.04.11

Men Against Violence (MAV) began in 2010 by  Sekretariat Pembangunan Masyarakat dan Sosial Pergerakan Masyarakat Wanita UMNO Negeri Perak and a small group of NGOs, whose mission was to affect social change in the community by making men aware of the prevalence of violence against women.  It was officially launched last year by the Menteri Besar of Perak.  The concept was to develop creative and targeted marketing, education and communication tools to deliver the message that the issue was indeed a man's issue as much as a woman's, since the majority of all violent crimes against women are perpetrated by men.

Since that time, MAV has taken on a road-show concept and has become an annual affair and this year it was held in Tanjong Tualang on 17.04.11.  The event was officially opened by  Malaysia’s most well-known social activist Datuk Paduka Marina Mahathir.  This is a lady most Malaysians speak of in glowing terms regarding her refreshingly fair liberalism, intelligence, opinionated stance and her drive to create awareness for a number of serious issues in this country. She has the interest of the community at heart with her involvement in raising awareness for AIDS, women’s rights and violence against women, as well as being a member of the National Women’s Advisory Council. Perak Legal Aid Centre was among  the several  organizations  invited to set up  information booths to reach out to the public at large and to act as a social-change-agent  to achieve a sense of community and responsibility among men and to engage them in the anti-violence movement.  Its Executive Legal Officer, Mr. M. Gokoolaram Naidu also spoke and shared his experience on Domestic Violence as a panelist in the Forum entitled “Hentikan, Kawal Diri, Gunakan Fikiran”.  Cultural performance by various local artists also focused on the theme of the day thus making the event more meaningful.  The Perak Legal Aid Booth was manned by Puan Noorehan Zakaria along with 8 chambering students.  Looking at the turn-out of visitors at the booths,  the public seemed receptive to the issue in hand and also of their rights.  Later, Datuk Paduka Marina presented Certificates of Appreciation to all participants. According to sources, violence against women is on the rise with the largest increase  found in the offences of intimidation.  Thus this program is focused on educating both men and women on the problem of violence against women and how they can play a positive role in ending it.            M. Gokoolaram Naidu  Executive Legal Officer Perak Legal Aid Centre