Talk Show Host On Why He Wasn't Able To Defend Nurul Izzah During The Sexist Call
A caller told the politician that he could see her underwear and breasts.
By Katrina Khairul Azman — 27 May 2018, 01:57 PM
On Friday, 25 March, Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar was sexually harassed on-air by a caller during a live talk show
On former Hot FM DJ Faizal Ismail's talk show #FBILIVE, a caller who introduced himself as Azrul advised Nurul Izzah to be more mindful of the way she dresses as the top part of her clothing is sometimes "exposed" when her headscarf gets swept aside.
"We can see your underwear, we can see your breasts," he added.
Nurul Izzah has since commented on the incident through her Twitter account after many netizens had come to her defence.
The caller's remark has since received strong objection from both the public and politicians
Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh has called the remark "absolutely disgusting" and said that the talk show organisers should assume responsibility for the incident.
Yeoh told Malay Mail that, "Some sort of filter should be put in place beforehand. The comment was absolutely disgusting and nobody has the right to comment on someone's attire."
“The organiser should apologise to Izzah; whether or not it was in their control, it still happened on their show,” she said, adding that, "Freedom of speech comes with common sense and decency. Freedom of speech must be accompanied by decency."
Meanwhile, after the video went viral, Faizal took to his Twitter to clear the doubt about why he didn't say much to the caller
According to Faizal, he "couldn't hear clearly the details of what the caller said and could not give an accurate and appropriate response," despite him looking uncomfortable in the video, responding with "okay", and thanking the caller for making the call during the show.
However, Faizal explained that once he heard the playback, he realised what the caller said was uncalled for.
"When I heard the playback, I realised what had been said and we immediately apologised to the YB," he said in his tweet.
The talk show host also said that, "What was done by the caller was uncalled for," and explained that he is against any comment that belittles women.