Volleyball slap saga: Father of teen hopes coach won't be punished

MELAKA: The father of one teenager in the volleyball slapping saga hopes no action will be initiated against the coach.

Ab Halim Bakar, 50, said the coach Cikgu Hadi (Saiful Hadee Amar) had moulded his daughter Nur' Saidatul Akma, 14, and other children to be excellent volleyball players.

"Please stop criticising the coach and I respect him for disciplining my child," he said when met at his home in Kampung Melekek in Alor Gajah on Tuesday (Jan 3).

Ab Halim, who works as a technician, said the coach had spent his own money and time to train the girls including his daughters.

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"My other 16-year-old daughter Nur’ Syaafiah is also under his tutelage and he is a dedicated trainer," he said.

He said his daughters' performances in the game had improved tremendously under the hands of the coach.

"They have been training under Cigku Hadi since young and Nur' Saidatul has not endured any emotional scars due to the incident.

ALSO READ: Education Ministry meets parents of students in slapping incident

"She is stronger now and I would be the first to lodge a police report if my daughter was injured due to the incident," he said.

Ab Halim said the coach's contribution to the girls was vast and he hoped that no action would be taken against him.

"Cigku Hadi is a stickler for discipline and we have no issue with him," he added.

Earlier, The Education Ministry held a meeting with the parents of two players in the Melaka Under-14 (U14) girls' volleyball squad on Monday (Jan 3).

ALSO READ: Other volleyball players should come out if abused, says Wanita PKR

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, said that the meeting was aimed at getting feedback from the parents of the students involved in the incident.

She said that the feedback received from parents and other stakeholders would be looked at as a whole, and the investigation would continue, especially matters closely related to integrity and discipline.

Fadhlina said that the ministry, through the Melaka Education Department, had also conducted counselling sessions for the two girls.

Previously a video, showing a coach of a volleyball team slapping two of his teen players went viral on social media.

The incident is believed to have happened during the 2022 Malaysia Youth U-14 Volleyball Championship in Kota Tinggi, Johor, which was held from Dec 14 to 16 last year.