No genius but a mind so hideous!

by Azly Rahman

in OPINIONS (Malaysiakini)

This is what the conclusion should be for the Malaysian student in London caught with 30,000 porn computer images and materials and a boy mannequin in his room. A genius is one with conscience and ethics and everybody is a genius in his/her right and the designation not solely used to such a degree of mystification. We all are everyday geniuses.

We must be totally clear of what is right and what is wrong and what is totally unacceptable, let alone intolerable especially when it involves crimes against children.

Seems that Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin was studying radical child pornography at the PhD level rather than study first year Maths. Collecting 30,000 of such hideous images in such a short period of his stay is to me, mind-boggling! It seems that every minute of his waking life is about mental filth he fed himself with.

That case of the Malaysian abroad is one of a sick mind at work, a hideous mind that’s got to go through radical counseling, after the jail sentence and his name put on the national sex offender registry. In addition, he is not to be allowed to take up a job requiring contact with children or be near any child for that matter.

This is a very serious offence in any society sane enough that protects children - those helpless beings that trust people but whose life can forever be destroyed. There are thousands of cases of Catholic priests with this state of mind as well as Muslim men marrying children young enough to be their grandchildren we can all learn from.


Protect children. They are our assets and we should not quickly be apologising and apologetic to some child-porn sicko mistaken as a genius and a national ‘asset’. May he, nonetheless, get the right treatment and be ‘cured’.

Once a child’s sexually-abused image is produced and transmitted globally through cyberspace, the child’s life is totally destroyed. There is no turning back to correct things in cyberspace. That will be a psychological death spell for the child. This is how serious child pornography is. This is how hideous and perverted a crime against humanity is for the innocent and the vulnerable.

In my experience here in the United States, I have known people convicted of crimes as such involving children; people who are otherwise respected members of the community but unfortunately have secret lives.

A teacher well-loved by his Middle School students. A principal well-known for his stellar performance ensuring that his school is in the state’s list of ‘Blue Ribbon’ schools. An assistant superintendent of high calibre hired to transform a school district. Stellar individuals workings with children and entrusted by the community to nurture then into good workers and citizens but betrayed then instead.

They are now in jail for many years - 15 to 20 years and one in fact had to force the school district to pay the children he ‘touched inappropriately’ a total of US$2 million. Because the parents filed suits against the school for failing to protect the children. The names of those convicted are now in New Jersey’s registry of sex offenders.

Getting your moral compass right

Malaysians - get your moral compass right. It is such a serious offence if one is convicted as a child molester or being in possession of child pornography.

In the United States, the law on this matter states that “... Any violation of federal child pornography law is a serious crime, and convicted offenders face severe statutory penalties. For example, a first time offender convicted of producing child pornography under 18 USC § 2251, face fines and a statutory minimum of 15 years to 30 years maximum in prison.

“A first time offender convicted of transporting child pornography in interstate or foreign commerce under 18 USC § 2252, faces fines and a statutory minimum of five years to 20 years maximum in prison.

“Convicted offenders may face harsher penalties if the offender has prior convictions or if the child pornography offense occurred in aggravated situations defined as (i) the images are violent, sadistic, or masochistic in nature, (ii) the minor was sexually abused, or (iii) the offender has prior convictions for child sexual exploitation. In these circumstances, a convicted offender may face up to life imprisonment.

“It is important to note that an offender can be prosecuted under state child pornography laws in addition to, or instead of, federal law...”

Let us learn more about the seriousness and hideousness of this crime against the vulnerable and helpless child and be vigilant of adults suspected of having these tendencies. The more people are educated about the gravity of issues and how laws pertaining to them are to be made clear and to be enforced without fear or favour, we will be a better society. As it is now, Malaysia is one that is fast degenerating in upholding the rule of law.

Let us come back to our senses, before we have mobsters, punks, perverts, and gangsters become politicians and leaders amongst us running our lives and ruining us.  In the case of the convicted Malaysian man in London, there is a clear line between a genius and one with a mind so hideous.

Only jail time and radical counseling may heal, before the state demands medical castration as the final solution to those who are too ill mentally to be in society - should the fantasies on sex with children be acted out and offences get repeated thereafter.