( CNN ) -- If you 're running for office , it 's best not to make incendiary comments about rape . That appears to be as much the case in Indonesia as it is in the United States . Daming Sanusi , a candidate for the Indonesian Supreme Court , has fueled outrage in the predominantly Muslim country by suggesting that rape victims enjoy being violated . Read more : 'Mother Robin ' delivers for poor women in Indonesia . He made the comments Monday in front of a parliamentary commission hearing to determine if he was a fit for the top court , according to the official Indonesian news agency Antara . In response to a question about whether the death penalty should be applied in rape cases , Daming reportedly said , `` Consideration needs to be taken thoroughly for the imposition of death penalty for a rapist because in a rape case both the rapist and the victim enjoy it . '' News of his comments quickly spread on social media , prompting anger , disgust and calls for Daming 's candidature for the Supreme Court to be shot down . CNN iReport : Women of Indonesia . `` We ask legislators not to give the judge position to Daming , as he had offended people ` s feeling by uttering inappropriate statement , '' Ridwan Bakar , a spokesman for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation , said Tuesday . As the furor grew , Daming issued an apology , acknowledging that his words were `` out of control . '' In a news conference , he said that he was nervous in the session in front of the lawmakers and made the comment as a joke . `` I made the remark without realizing it can harm people 's feeling , '' Antara cited him as saying . Damage is done . But his contrition appeared to be too little too late . `` The damage has been done , '' Primastuti Handayani , the managing editor of the Jakarta Post wrote in a commentary published Wednesday . `` Nothing he said in his apology can heal the wound he caused . '' She also noted that Daming is not the first Indonesian official to make controversial comments about rape , highlighting the case last year of Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo , who said women should avoid wearing miniskirts on public transport to avoid `` any unwanted consequences . '' Indonesian political figures began to distance themselves from Daming amid the outrage this week , and his chances of being selected as a Supreme Court justice seemed to wither . Opinion : Why have men lost touch with reality over rape ? The chairman of the parliamentary commission , Gede Pasek Suardika , said that Daming 's remarks were inappropriate and that the public outcry against him would be taken into consideration . Members of the commission from the Prosperous Justice Party recommended against selecting him . The controversy that sprung up around Daming mirrors outrage in the United States over remarks about rape made by Republicans Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin . Once leading in the polls , Mourdock and Akin both lost their Senate races to Democrats in November after their comments on pregnancy and rape were widely circulated . Read more : Divorce by text message sparks bizarre legal battle in Indonesia . When asked on a local news show what he thought about abortion in the case of rape , Akin set off the controversy when he said , `` First of all , from what I understand from doctors , that 's really rare . If it 's a legitimate rape , the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down . '' Mourdock was participating in a televised debate when he said , `` Life is that gift from God that I think even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape , that it is something that God intended to happen . '' And Rep. Phil Gingrey , Republican of Georgia , revived the furor last week when he commented on the cases of Mourdock and Akin , and reportedly suggested Akin was `` partly right . '' Gingrey later said his words , reported by the Marietta Daily-Journal , had been misconstrued . Opinion : End culture of rape in 2013 .
Daming ##h means that in rape cases ` ` both the defendant and the victim enjoy it '' His comments prompt outrage and threaten to derail his Supreme Court bid . He apologizes and says he was trying to make a joke . His comments come after controversial debates on rape in the United States .