Speak up over Ain Husniza issue or resign, Maszlee tells Radzi

PETALING JAYA: If Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and his deputies aren't able to speak up on the Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam issue, then they should all resign, says his predecessor Dr Maszlee Malik (pic).

Dr Maszlee urged Mohd Radzi and his deputies not to ignore the issue, given that it has gained a lot of traction on social media among Malaysians.

“I urge the minister and his deputies to show their leadership and not ignore this issue. It’s not an isolated one. It happened for a long time and it has to end. Please speak up!

“With the current attitude shown by the minister and his deputies towards this case, distrust between parents and schools will widen. They need to be more proactive or just resign," he said in a tweet on Sunday (May 9).

Dr Maszlee, in his tweet, also attached a memorandum he wrote during his tenure as education minister in December 2019, which detailed his intention to beef up laws to better protect children.

The memo also stated that teachers who are being investigated cannot be allowed to meet any student, and the transfer of such teachers must be halted immediately.

In his tweet, Dr Maszlee also urged the Education Ministry to implement the contents of his memo.

“The ministry must push the policy I was trying to bring to the Cabinet to put an end to all the sexual misconduct at school.”

In a Mother’s Day forum organised by Khadijah Learning Centre on Sunday (May 9), Ain, who was accompanied by her mother, had said that it is disappointing that the Education Ministry hasn’t reached out to her since the incident took place.

Earlier on Sunday, Ain had said she received her first warning notice of expulsion from school, for being absent for three days.

The warning letter came about despite her father Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab having met with the school authorities to explain that his daughter did not feel safe in school.

Ain Husniza made headlines after she uploaded a TikTok video detailing a male PE teacher as making distasteful jokes about rape in class, with the hashtag #MakeSchoolASaferPlace trending on social media.

I had been asked by many about the latest issue involving Ain and her school.

I would like to urge:

1) The minister and his deputies to show their leadership, and to not ignore this issue. It’s not an isolated one. It happened for a long time and it has to end. Please speak up! pic.twitter.com/AsXAUFFopB— Maszlee Malik