PETALING JAYA Dec 3 (FMT): DAP\u2019s Teresa Kok has called on the education minister to make an official stand on a teacher\u2019s decision to sue a student for alleged defamation over claims he made \u201crape jokes\u201d during physical education class earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Seputeh MP said the timing of the suit could not \u201chave been worse\u201d especially since Putrajaya was on the verge of presenting the anti-sexual harassment Bill in the Dewan Rakyat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam, she said, was reported to have suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the teacher \u2018s behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI ask the education minister, who is duty-bound to guarantee students a safe environment to study, to take an official stand on the legal action taken by this teacher,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The teacher, Khairul Nizam Sanuddin, 43, filed the suit in the Shah Alam sessions court on Nov 26, claiming that Ain made defamatory statements against him in April on her social media accounts, as well as in media interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khairul said her statements implied that he was obscene and purportedly harassed students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also alleged that Ain\u2019s father, Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab, made defamatory statements against him in a WhatsApp group and on his Facebook page on April 24, where it was said that he made \u201crape jokes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khairul has denied making rape jokes during the class or encouraging a rape culture, adding that the remarks against him had tarnished his reputation and humiliated him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kok said she was appalled by the suit filed by Khairul, saying that the legal action has \u201cmade a mockery of the teaching profession in Malaysia\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n