74 MPs oppose appointment of federal counsel in Ain's suit
A total of 74 MPs said the AGC's appointment to defend the teacher, who allegedly made a rape joke in Ain’s (above) classroom last year, and her former principal is appalling and should be reversed.
"We, the Members of the Malaysian Parliament, are of the opinion that the Keluarga Malaysia Government...
Opposition MPs said today the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) should not have appointed a senior federal counsel to represent the teacher and former principal in the counter-suit filed by student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam and her father.
A total of 74 MPs said the AGC's appointment to defend the teacher, who allegedly made a rape joke in Ain’s (above) classroom last year, and her former principal is appalling and should be reversed.
"We, the members of the Malaysian Parliament, are of the opinion that the Keluarga Malaysia government, especially the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Education Ministry, should be impartial in this matter," said the MPs in a statement.
"The act of appointing a federal counsel in the civil action to defend private actions by the teacher who had initiated the suit will further tarnish the already negative perception of the Education Ministry and the government.
"Ain’s case will only create more unwarranted fears and trepidations in parents and students in all our schools. It will impair confidence in the education system. Taxpayers’ money should be spent for proper purposes," they said.
‘AGC shouldn’t take sides’
Further, the MPs said the government should focus on providing a conducive learning environment in schools, as well as respect the teaching profession.
Such institutions must bring forth the message that sexual innuendos and jokes about rape cannot be tolerated, they said.
"We must also stress that we do recognise that everyone has a right to legal recourse, including the teacher.
"However, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, as the guardian of public interest, should stop taking sides in this very sensitive case," said the MPs.
Last week, Ain and her father, Saiful Nizam Ab Wahab, filed an affidavit in which they said it was “improper” and irregular for the senior federal counsel to act for the teacher and former headmistress as they were sued in their personal capacities.
In filing their counterclaim in March, Ain and her father contended that the teacher’s defamation suit against them was done with the intent to cover up the truth behind the alleged lewd classroom banter.
SMK Puncak Alam’s former teacher Khairul Nizam Sanuddin, then high school principal Sarimah Mohammed Nor, Selangor state education director Anismah M Noh, Education Minister Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, and the government were listed as the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth defendants in the counterclaim.
Previously, it was reported that Khairul filed a defamation suit against the father and daughter over a TikTok video that alleged classroom sexual harassment.
Khairul was temporarily transferred to the Selangor Education Department while police investigated the matter. They later classified the case as no further action.
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