Mum considering all options to protect Anya

The mother of a young woman whose photograph had been used to implicate the son of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in an alleged molestation case said she will consider all options in the interest of protecting her daughter.

This may even include taking legal action against those parties propagating rumours about 21-year-old Anya Ann Corke, said her mother, Mei Sun.

"As Anya's parent, I will check on the options to protect her from this kind of nuisance," she was quoted in the South China Morning Post today.

Anya, a one-time Hong Kong chess champion who is now studying in the US, was alleged by pro-Umno bloggers to have been molested by Guan Engs teenage son, and was the reason for his transfer from the SMK Heng Ee school.

Guan Eng had also paid Anyas parents some RM200,000 to cover up the purported scandal, they alleged.

Anya, Guan Eng and the principal of SMK Heng Ee have all denied the incident ever happened, with the DAP secretary-general last Wednesday lashing out at those trying to destroy him politically by wrecking his teenage son's life with "morally despicable and barbaric" lies.

A third-year student at Wellesley College in the US, Anya (left) said she had not been in Malaysia for the past seven years, had never gone to school in Penang, and had never met her alleged molestor.

In the South China Morning Post report, Anya said: "A Malaysian friend of mine texted me one morning and said that I was somehow part of a political conspiracy and I was completely surprised. It was out of the blue."

Prime Minister and BN chairperso! n Najib Abdul Razak yesterday called for politicians to leave the family members of their rivals out of gutter politics and free from exploitation for political gain.

Najib added, however, that the principle of keeping family members out of politics must apply both to the opposition and ruling coalition.

Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, has been severely accused of a number of allegations, from alleged extravagant spending to imposing herself on official as well as unofficial prerogatives.

Najibs deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, on the other hand, has shown no let up in applying pressure on Guan Eng (right).

Muhyiddin on Saturday said Lim's denial that his son had done anything wrong was "not enough" and that Lim should ask the police to investigate.