PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Teresa Kok has called on the education minister to make an official stand on a teacher’s decision to sue a student for alleged defamation over claims he made “rape jokes” during physical education class earlier this year.
The Seputeh MP said the timing of the suit could not “have been worse” especially since Putrajaya was on the verge of presenting the anti-sexual harassment Bill in the Dewan Rakyat.
Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, she said, was reported to have suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the teacher ‘s behaviour.
“This cannot be ignored.
“I ask the education minister, who is duty-bound to guarantee students a safe environment to study, to take an official stand on the legal action taken by this teacher,” she said in a statement.
The teacher, Khairul Nizam Sanuddin, 43, filed the suit in the Shah Alam sessions court on Nov 26, claiming that Ain made defamatory statements against him in April on her social media accounts, as well as in media interviews.
Khairul said her statements implied that he was obscene and purportedly harassed students.
He also alleged that Ain’s father, Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab, made defamatory statements against him in a WhatsApp group and on his Facebook page on April 24, where it was said that he made “rape jokes”.
Khairul has denied making rape jokes during the class or encouraging a rape culture, adding that the remarks against him had tarnished his reputation and humiliated him.
Kok said she was appalled by the suit filed by Khairul, saying that the legal action has “made a mockery of the teaching profession in Malaysia”. - FMT
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