MALAYSIAN student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam has received a letter of demand recently from a male teacher for purportedly defaming him by alleging that he had made lewd jokes in class.
The teen and both her parents were named as respondents in the letter, which demanded, among others, an apology and monetary compensation of RM1 mil. Failure to fulfil the demands will result in further legal action.
This did not sit well with many Malaysians, who took to Twitter to express their support for the Form 5 student.
“Imagine trying to sue a minor for exposing your sexual assault(s) for one million ringgit in seven days. They said the youth [is] ‘fragile’ for being brave [but] at least they are not shameless unlike some so-called ‘educator’ that should be a ‘good’ role model,” user @flowerlikehana commented.
User @izwanosman similarly pointed out that this is a testament to “how sick we are as a society”, adding that the teacher thinks that he is right, and the police thinks that this is not a serious matter.
“No one in authority sees how very wrong this is. Why? What [is] blinding them all? Who will stand up to protect Ain and all our girls?” he wrote.
Meanwhile, user @aniesazhr opined that it is really disheartening to see someone standing up for the rights of the minors being served with a RM1 mil lawsuit.
The user further urged fellow netizens to sign a petition that is circulating online regarding this matter, adding, “If the petition signed is not heard by the people, I have no hope in humanity anymore. Stay safe Ain, we are with you.”
“What is scary about Ain’s case is that later, if sexual assault happened [and] rape jokes happened, more girls will keep silent because [they are] afraid of the counter-attack by the perpetrator,” user @dha_nuy remarked.
“Even though they are teachers, we cannot let them intimidate and harass the innocent [and] vulnerable youth who will be the leaders of the nation in the future. Ain, you are not alone,” user @nnadieraaaa said.
Ain Husniza made headlines in April this year after posting her experience during a school lesson involving a male teacher who allegedly made a rape joke, while in the presence of his students, both male and female.
The online post sparked furore both online and offline, and the student received threats from the public via social media as well as from her classmates, including an alleged rape threat from a fellow student.
She then lodged two police reports – one against her classmates for the rape threat and another, against her school teacher for making the rape joke.
On May 12, it was reported that the teacher has been transferred to the Selangor State Education Department and would remain there until police investigations against him are completed.
The Education Ministry has remained mum on the matter as the case is still under police investigation. – Aug 6, 2021.
Picture credit: Change.org
