PETALING JAYA, April 13 — An article on sexual harassment which appeared on the MyHealth portal that caused an uproar on social media reflects the personal opinion of the writer and not the Health Ministry, said director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
Dr Noor Hisham added that the ministry has taken steps to review articles published on the MyHealth portal in recent years to ensure that the information provided is evidence-based and in line with current health issues.
“Although it was published on (the MyHealth) website, it was written based on the author’s personal opinion and understanding on the subject matter as well as the references obtained by the author at that point in time,” he said in a statement provided to Malay Mail, referencing the article that was criticised online.
“The Health Ministry agrees that the way the article was written has created a negative perception on the matter.”
The now-deleted post titled “Emotional Impact on Sexual Harassment Victims” was originally published on the MyHealth portal in 2016.
It caused a stir on social media after screenshots of its content made the rounds online yesterday.
The article cited “physical attractiveness”, a “charming personality”, and a “sexy body shape” as factors that “invite” unwanted sexual attention from men.
The author did not provide any scientific studies or research to back up the claims in the article, instead only listing four citations including an online blog and a Google search.
Former women, family and community development deputy minister Hannah Yeoh called the article “absolutely wrong” on Twitter, while feminist non-profit All Women’s Action Society has labelled its victim-blaming narrative as “unacceptable.”
