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SINGAPORE: The National University of Singapore (NUS) said on Saturday (February 20) that it has suspended all projects with former nominee Member of Parliament (NMP) Viswa Sadasivan and his company Strategic Moves.
This is due to allegations of sexual harassment made by two women against Viswa earlier this month.
Viswa has also retired as a member of the NUS Alumni Advisory Council.
“The university does not condone any behavior or action that is disrespectful and contemptuous of people regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion or age,” NUS said in an email to alumni on Saturday.
The two women who accused Viswa of sexual harassment are comedian Sharul Channa and doctoral researcher Kiran Kandade.
In a Facebook post on February 4, Sharul said that Viswa had made a sexual comment prior to recording a series of online interviews earlier that day.
It is said that Mr. Viswa asked Ms. Sharul why she was wearing a rose brooch, to which she replied that she had put it on to distract attention from the pattern of her blouse.
According to Ms. Sharul, Mr. Viswa later said, “It would be more annoying if I just carried that rose.”
In her Facebook post, Ms Sharul said she was “puzzled by this innuendo.” “It was inappropriate and offensive. I was surprised,” he wrote.
Sharul said he later shared his discomfort with a producer on the series and later received an email apology from Viswa.
NUS clarified Saturday that the series, Awkward Questions, is a collaboration between Strategic Moves and the National University of Singapore Society (NUSS), a graduate club and a registered society that is a separate and independent entity from the university.
In response to Ms. Sharul’s Facebook post, Ms. Kiran wrote in the comment section about her past experience with Viswa, posting a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between them.
The screenshot of the conversation, which took place on March 27, 2016, allegedly showed Mr. Viswa asking Ms. Kiran if her “passionate kissing proposal” had offended her.
On February 19, Viswa addressed the allegations in a statement on Facebook, saying that he had privately apologized by email to Ms Kiran that same day.
Viswa also said that he had sent Ms Sharul a “full statement of ‘unconditional apology’ by email” on February 4.
