Uproar over school security guard’s criminal past

 

Malaysian Security Industry Association president Ramli Yusuff said security firms were at all times responsible for vetting their employees. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: News that a security guard at a school in Cheras has prior convictions for outraging modesty and snatch theft has opened up a “can of worms”, says an education activist.

Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim.

What has made the matter even more disturbing, says Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, is that the security guard has been revealed as the main suspect in a murder case.

While the investigation is still under way, Noor Azimah, who is chairman of the Parent Action Group for Education, questioned how the suspect was employed as a school security guard despite his criminal record.

“As parents, we would trust that background checks are conducted on security companies and their personnel,” she told FMT. “This incident opens a can of worms about ancillary support staff in schools and the education ministry’s verification checks.”

Police reportedly arrested the security guard after the charred body of a female bookshop supervisor was discovered following a recent fire at a secondary school in Bandar Tun Razak where they both worked.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Azmi Abu Kassim has since revealed that the security guard, who had been working at the school for two years, has four previous convictions, among them for outraging modesty and snatch theft.

Ramli Yusuff.

Ramli Yusuff, president of the Malaysian Security Industry Association, the umbrella body for security firms, said the association was investigating the matter.

He said while it was the education ministry that awarded contracts to security firms, it remained the responsibility of security firms to vet the guards they employed.

He said the contracts usually ran for three years and specified certain zones, with each zone consisting of about 12 schools.

Ramli, a former director of the police commercial crime investigation department, said security firms and their guards cannot operate without clearance from the home ministry.

Mak Chee Kin, the chairman of the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie), said stern action must be taken against security firms whose employees were involved in criminal cases, including the termination of their contracts.

Mak urged firms to be more stringent when hiring, stating that those desperate for manpower would employ “any Tom, Dick or Harry” without proper background checks.

“From my experience, some of these guards are not properly trained and are just rude. Some even sleep on their job and don’t enforce Covid-19 SOPs when visitors come over. All this is sometimes due to the lackadaisical attitude of school management.

“(Having said that), I have also encountered responsible guards. It’s all about the strictness of the (school’s) management.” - FMT