PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry will examine the guidelines for selection of motivational speakers to ensure a safer environment in schools.
Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said this was to avoid any untoward incidents, such as sexual abuse, against students.
"There are many approaches that are currently used by schools when organising motivational programmes.
"We realise this and we want to study the existing guidelines," he said in a press conference after the Fuelling Education Transformation: Safe And Conducive Infrastructure event at Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah here on Monday (Sept 12).
Radzi added that while it was important to give schools more autonomy, there needed to be comprehensive monitoring.
"When there is no comprehensive monitoring, it will lead to issues. We are looking at loopholes in the system," he said.
Radzi was commenting on the recent arrest of a motivational speaker for alleged sexual abuse of four teens.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed, in a statement on Sept 10, said that the police had received four reports on the alleged abuse on Aug 30.
Reports were lodged in Klang, Shah Alam and Kajang.
All reports were lodged by four individuals, aged 17 and 18, who claimed they were victims of sexual abuse with the perpetrator being a known motivational speaker.
"Investigations showed that the suspect, aged in his 40s, had known all four victims during motivational programmes in Selangor.
"After getting to know them, the suspect would then sexually abuse the victims," Arjunaidi said.
The suspect had been remanded until Sept 14 and investigations were being conducted under the Sexual Offence Against Children 2017.
