Another teacher testifies on ‘truant teacher’s’ death threat

 

Another teacher has testified at the Kota Kinabalu High Court on their colleague Mohd Jainal Jamran’s alleged death threat for reporting his prolonged absence from class.

“He (Jainal) spoke in Bajau saying ‘Careful, I’ll kill you both’. The words refer to me and Ibrahim Jadoon,” teacher Norhaizah Ejab told the court yesterday.

She said Jainal uttered those words during a meeting at the Kota Belud District Office on August 24, 2015.

Her testimony corroborates Ibrahim’s testimony last December.

Ibrahim had told the same court that during the meeting to discuss Jainal’s failure to show up to class to teach, but he supposedly refused to answer the question and instead told Ibrahim and Norhaizah Ejab: ‘Jogo kam, pepatai ku kam’.

Unsure of the meaning of those words, Ibrahim had said that he had asked a student who explained it was a death threat in the Bajau language.

The English teacher Jainal is accused of failing to teach his class from February 2015 to October 2015. Ibrahim and Norhaizah had reported his absence to the school principal.

Jainal is now facing a lawsuit from his former student Siti Nafirah Siman for allegedly violating her right to education by failing to show up to class and teach.

The school’s principal at the time Suid Hanapi, the school and the government are also among those named and defendants.

Meanwhile, Norhaizah told the court that other teachers at the meeting must have heard the threat too, particularly the language department head Norhana Idek.

“That’s because on the night after the meeting, I received a call from Norhana saying that she had informed the school clerk and Ibrahim and I would not be attending school the following day, due to concerns Jainal would do something malicious towards us.

“We took this advice and warning because I was really afraid and concerned about our safety,” she said in response to questions from the plaintiff’s lawyer Shireen Sikayun.

The defendants are represented by senior federal counsel Jesseca Daimis and federal counsel Mohd Fazried Fardiansyah Abdul Kadir.

The hearing before judge Ismail Brahim continues today. - Mkini