KUALA LUMPUR: No CCTV coverage was available at the Yong Peng school crime scene where Form Four student Irene Sofiya Mohd Khairool Faisal was killed, according to a visibly emotional Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek (pic).
“The school has CCTV installed, but it was not fitted at the scene of the crime. So we are improving the situation and taking immediate action,” the Education Minister said yesterday.
Fadhlina’s eyes welled up, and her voice shook as she spoke about the 16-year-old, telling reporters she was not speaking merely as a minister.
“I am not here only as the Education Minister. I am also a mother,” she said.
She said parents send their children to school every morning, trusting that they would come home safely.
Irene Sofiya was found with multiple injuries in the school hall after extra classes on Saturday.
Several students have been detained to assist investigations and a 16-year-old boy has been remanded for six days.
Fadhlina said the ministry was checking the patrol records of the security firm guarding the school. The firm could face action if it was found to have breached its contract.
She acknowledged that some schools had broken or poorly maintained CCTV units and requested that they report them to the ministry.
A third phase of the ministry’s CCTV programme, worth RM15mil, will cover 1,000 schools in 2027. The first two phases covered 533 schools with hostels at a cost of RM8mil.
“But CCTV is not a complete solution to school safety,” she said.
Fadhlina also dismissed claims that the victim had been dragged from the school’s surau to the hall and that a mirror in the surau had been broken.
She reminded the public that those detained were minors.
“Do not try or punish them first through social media before the legal process is complete.
“We cannot return this child to her family. But we can make sure her death does not simply pass,” she added.
