DPM steps in over molest case
THESTAR
Keep children safe: The ministry would not allow sexual predators in schools, says Kamalanathan.
KUALA LUMPUR: A teacher accused of molesting nine primary schoolchildren is back at another school – to the horror of parents and educators.
The inability of the Education Ministry or the police to keep the teacher away from children has sparked an outcry, with the Deputy Prime Minister promising to personally look into the matter.
Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday he would take a personal interest in the case where a teacher allegedly molested nine pupils in a Tamil school in Hulu Selangor.
“We must all work together in the interest of our students and children,” he said in reply to Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) at the Dewan Rakyat.
Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said police were still investigating the case involving the teacher.
“Although I have yet to speak with the Education Minister, the police will liaise with the school management and parents,” he told Parliament.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid also took a harder line yesterday.
“We will see if there are grounds to suspend the teacher and put him in an administrative post, away from school,” he told The Star outside the Dewan Rakyat.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan, who is the Hulu Selangor MP, said the ministry would not allow sexual predators in schools.
But he said there must be evidence before any teacher suspected to be involved could be sacked.
He said that none of the victims or their families had come forward to say they were molested, dismissing talk that the ministry had swept the matter under the carpet.
“Technically, he has been punished for almost two months (by being placed in an office job),” he said, adding that according to the Civil Servants Rule (Conduct and Discipline) 1993, someone under investigation by the ministry will be transferred to the State Education Department or District Education Office (PPD) for 15 days, pending investigations.
He added that this particular teacher was kept desk-bound at PPD Hulu Selangor for almost two months from May 18 and transferred to another school on June 27.
He added that although the department’s initial investigations showed there was a basis to the case, no one was willing to tell police that they were victimised.
He blamed social stigma involving anything sexual for the lack of evidence that prevented such cases from carrying on.
He said it was not true that the ministry did not take serious action against sexual predators, pointing out that two teachers were sacked in 2012 and 2013 for sexual misconduct.
He also said that despite public perception, the number of cases reported to the ministry had been minimal – a total of 15 reports of teachers molesting students were made between 2010 and October this year.
He said that six of these cases were found to be untrue, according to the ministry’s investigations.
On Monday, Mahdzir said that the primary school teacher had been transferred to another school.
Parents of pupils in the Tamil school were furious that the teacher was spared severe action and ended up only being posted to another school.
MPs from both sides of the divide spoke to the media to press for action against sexual assault in schools.
Gobind said the teacher must not be allowed to have access to schoolchildren until investigations were completed.
Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (BN-Masjid Tanah) said transferring a teacher suspected to be involved in sexual molest was not a solution.
“There are nine cases against the teacher and it is clear he poses a sexual threat. As a parent, I am worried and the Education Ministry should suspend the teacher,” she said.
Zuraida Kamaruddin (PKR-Ampang) urged the Education Ministry to immediately suspend teachers involved in such cases.
“Most importantly, there should be a distance between teachers with such tendency and students,” she added.
