There should be zero-tolerance against paedophiles: Khairy

He hoped that Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) would reject the idea to appeal for its sponsored student Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, 23, who is now undergoing five-year imprisonment in the United Kingdom after pleading guilty at a London court recently to possessing more than 30,000 images and videos on child pornography.

"This is a reminder to MARA's board, do not be influenced by its members...(because) we must have zero-tolerance on paedophilia," he said when met by reporters at Kampung Sama Gagah, here, today.

Khairy, who is UMNO Youth chief, was asked to comment on the statement from his UMNO Youth executive committee member Nazir Hussin Akhtar Hussin, who is also a MARA board member, that Nur Fitri Azmeer should be given a second chance.

Nazir Hussin, in a recent news report, was quoted as saying that Nur Fitri should be given chance to pursue his study once he settled the punishment, and returned back to Malaysia.

When asked to comment further about Nazir Hussin's statement, Khairy insisted that the former was commenting based on his capacity as a MARA board member and not representing the UMNO wing.

On May 2, MARA had terminated its study loan given to Nur Fitri Azmeer with immediate effect following his conviction for being in possession of images and videos on child pornography by a London court on Thursday (April 30).

News portal United Kingdom International Business Times had reported that Nur Fitri Azmeer was sentenced to five years jail by the Southwark Crown, London after he pleaded guilty to 17 offences, including possession of indecent images and videos of children, with intent to distribute the material.