KUCHING: National diving queen Pandelela Rinong has come out in support of Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, a student who is behind the #MakeSchoolASaferPlace movement.
In a post on her Twitter account, Pandelela said she herself was called a diva when she tried to make sports environment safer for athletes.
“Just like when I tried to promote #makesportasaferplace, I was called a diva, with derogatory meaning,” she said.
The word ‘diva’ often refers to performers (mainly female actors, singers, or other entertainers) who, often after an initial success, begin to hold a high opinion of themselves — expecting special treatment, etc. Interestingly the male counterpart, ‘divo’, still retains its inference as the leading and most talented tenor.
Pandelela was responding to a screenshot of a comment on Facebook made by a woman who described Ain a hypocrite and a devil’s child wearing ‘tudung’.
Pandelela also advised Ain to always be strong and alert as she might get sabotaged if she was not careful.
“However, keep speaking for the future,” she said.
Ain revealed on her TikTok account on April 24 her Physical Fitness and Health Education teacher’s inappropriate rape jokes in class which were taken to mean an encouragement to commit rape.
Since the revelation, many are behind her but she also received a rape threat from a schoolmate.
