Truant teacher made tearful apology renouncing plot - witness

A teacher at the centre of a lawsuit for his prolonged absence from class had made a tearful apology years after the incident, the Kota Kinabalu High Court was told.

The SMK Taun Gusi teacher Mohd Jainal Jamran also disavowed his role in a plot to falsify documents regarding his attendance in school, according to the plaintiff’s witness Nurhaizah Ejab.

According to Nurhaizah, who is one of two teachers who reported Jainal’s seven-month absence in 2015, Jainal apologised to her on two occasions on Nov 5, 2018, at the principal’s office and on Nov 7, 2018, at the school’s student affairs room.

“Jainal cried in the (student affairs) room and said he regrets not coming to class and wants to go along with the plaintiff (Siti Nafirah Siman).

“He would bear witness to the defendants’ falsification of documents. He no longer wanted to be involved in the falsification ordered by the other defendants after the lawsuit came out,” she said when questioned by the plaintiff’s lawyer Shireen Sikayun.

Speaking on the earlier meeting at the principal’s office, Nurhaizah recounted that Jainal said he does not fault his former student for filing the suit and is instead grateful for the suit and views it as hidayah (divine guidance) for his prolonged absence.

Last year, education officer Norhana Ijek told the same court that Jainal failed to send his daily lesson plan from February to August 2015.

Upon receiving Jainal’s logbook, she backdated her signatures to confirm she had received the logbook every week during the period.

She said she only realised her mistake when Siti Nafirah filed a lawsuit in 2018 and proceeded to lodge a report to the Sabah Education Department admitting what transpired.

Discussion recording

Meanwhile, when asked about a Sabah Education Department meeting on Nov 2, 2018, to discuss the impending lawsuit, Norhana told the court that she was not present at the meeting but had obtained a recording from a teacher who attended it.

She said the recording discussed Jainal’s absence while the Sabah deputy education director at the time Mohd Kasim Ibrahim spoke about ways to ensure the case would not have its day in court.

However, the recording was not played in court. The judge Ismail Brahim said he would listen to it before the hearing continued.

The proceedings have been adjourned until April 22.

Siti Nafirah is suing Jainal SMK Taun Gusi Principal Suid Hj Hanapi, SMK Taun Gusi, Kota Belud district education officer, state education director, director general of education, education minister and the federal government for allegedly failing to meet their legal obligations to teach her English and prepare her for her examinations.

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