THE defamation lawsuit filed against Ain Husniza and her father Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab over claims that he made “rape jokes” during class is a manifestation of the Education Ministry’s (MOE) failure to handle the conflict between a teacher and student with maturing and wisdom.
Former deputy education minister Teo Nie Ching said this in response to news that former physical and health education teacher Khairul Nizam Sanuddin had filed a lawsuit against teenager Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam and her father for alleged defamation over claims he made “rape jokes” during physical education class.
According to the statement of claim, the teacher, Khairul Nizam is suing Ain and her father over three TikTok videos, three Twitter postings, and several other alleged defamatory actions.
“Had MOE created a proper window for a frank discussion and mediation for all parties to express themselves and hear each other out, the situation of teacher and student suing each other could have been avoided,” said the Kulai MP.
“But this was not done. From the beginning, MOE did not take ownership of the problem, leaving it to the police while taking a lackadaisical attitude.
“Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin and his team failed to resolve this before it turned into a legal dispute.
“This shows that MOE has failed to make schools safe for not only Ain but all students alike. Ain had to also choose to leave public school and transfer to a private school to pursue her education.
“This only indicates that the system has failed and we as adults have failed children like her.”
Teo went on to urge MOE to seek expert advice and review all standard operating procedures and existing policies on investigating and handling cases of sexual harassment in schools and educational institutions, adding that victims who speak up must be protected and the system must not be designed to punish that courage taken to speak up.
“Ain’s right to expression and opinion must also be respected. With the recent development, victims of sexual harassment in schools or educational institutions will now lack the conviction and confidence to speak up.
“I also go back to stressing that MOE is also not addressing the elephant in the room i.e. teachers need holistic training and capacity building to enhance their understanding of the safe school concept.
“The concept of safe school is not one that only focuses on the physical safety of students but one that also encompasses the mental and emotional safety of students.” – Dec 1, 2021
