OCTOBER 19 — A man followed me as I left the park after a jog last weekend.
What audacity caused him to trail me despite it being nearly 2pm in the afternoon, in a crowded housing area, right next to a busy highway?
He did it because he could, or so he thought. Someone needs to tell him that the law quite specifically says he cannot.
Section 507(a) of the Penal Code states that whoever repeatedly by any act of harassment, intending to cause, or knowing or ought to know that the act is likely to cause distress, fear or alarm to any person or the person’s safety, commits the offence of stalking.
These acts of harassment may include following someone in any manner or by any means, communication or attempting to communicate through whichever means, loitering at the place of residence or business and sending anything to a person in any manner or by any means.
As for the penalty for stalking, it's prison time for up to three years or a fine or both.
Perhaps my stalker would be less excited about trying to escort me home if he knew he was quite literally committing a crime.
It was not even a one-off incident. A few times I'd start running and he would suddenly appear on a bench and I would avoid running anywhere near him because something about him bothered me.
To have my instincts proven right was not a comfort and having to walk home holding out my metal water bottle ready to clock him if he got any closer was not the kind of arm workout I was envisioning.
Fortunately he lost his nerve by the time I turned into the street where I lived, where I knew my dog was waiting at the gate, and disappeared before I got home.
I ran at the same park a couple of days later and perhaps I was lucky that he did not reappear or was perhaps spooked by the many other people also exercising at the same time as me.
Having to fend off creepy old men is something I've had to deal with since I was a child and honestly, I'd thought I'd be left alone now I'm practically middle-aged.
It makes me angry that I cannot just go on a run without having to deal with strange men with their strange fancies.
A woman jogging is intent on doing one thing — running for her health. Forcing her to instead be worried about running for her safety is infuriating.
Growing up I had to put up with so many ads on RTM reminding me that the penalty for drug trafficking was death.
Why can't Malaysian women be shown some courtesy by having the government also make ridiculous infomercials to remind men they will go to jail for being creepy stalkers?
It's not hard. Show a scene of a creepy man following a woman. Insert a voice of some omniscient narrator reminding men that this is bad.
Have a handsome abang polis appear to save the day. Hire some civil servants' kids or civil servants to act in the ad if you want to save money.
Make it so laughably bad that people will talk about it for sure.
So, dear reader, do a public service today. Tell a man, any man, that stalking is now a crime and put up with him pretending he already knew.
Maybe, just maybe, one creepy old man will decide to stay home and watch porn instead of trail an irritable woman training for a half-marathon.
If it takes a village to raise a child, it will take a country to educate all its citizens about why they will go to jail if they stalk someone.
Save a woman from harassment, tell someone today. Here's to a future where women can jog safely without carrying water bottles as makeshift weapons.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
