Singapore has anti-stalking laws. Why doesn’t Malaysia?
- Women’s groups in Kuala Lumpur believe the practice is commonplace, but goes unreported because of a lack of protection for victims
- Research shows up to 90 per cent of murders by intimate partners are preceded by stalking, but Malaysia lags a global trend towards criminalising it
“I met him through friends a few years ago and he seemed fine. He got on with my kids and we began spending more and more time together. My ex-husband even liked him, although they only met once,” she said. “But suddenly after just a few months he became different, more controlling. He wouldn’t let me go out with my friends and would call throughout the day to check on my location. He started coming over to my house drunk.”
Her boyfriend would steal small items from her house, and then help her “find” or replace them. He would insist Mia – not her real name – rely only on him for small tasks such as taking her car to be serviced, or even grocery shopping. They had to do everything together, or not at all.
The final straw came when, in an inebriated state, her boyfriend slapped her and pushed her young son to the ground.
“That was it. I told him to leave. But then the real nightmare began: he began following me around, turning up at my house late at night and shouting for me to let him in, calling me over 100 times a day. Once I let him in to try and talk it out, and he starting throwing pots and pans around the house, and hitting himself to get me to ‘forgive’ him.”
After a particularly harrowing experience where her ex threw stones at her window all night, Mia made a police report. “The next time he came to my house I called the police and he received a warning. I think he was scared. But I don’t know what will happen next, I am worried his fear will turn to anger directed at me.”