KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 — The father of Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam today said that there will be no police case initiated against a group of schoolmates who had threatened to rape his daughter after she exposed a male school teacher’s rape jokes during class.
Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab told Malay Mail that the case will be recorded as no further action (NFA) by the police after the boys and their families had sought Ain’s family for forgiveness.
“The perpetrators who made threats against my daughter apologised with their families and I take it that the matter has been settled, as the aim is to educate and not punish.
“So it is settled since they are underage, so it was NFA-ed and we agreed to that,” Saiful said.
The father of the 17-year-old teenager said he viewed the matter as a small triumph and the start of a good change, in the father-daughter duo’s effort to make schools in the country a safer place for students.
However, Saiful said that they would still be pursuing the case against Ain’s school, as an example must be set to prevent such incidents from happening again.
“I forgive the teacher and Ain too forgave him, but the proceeding will go on. We are not going to retract the report and this has to be an example to prevent other daughters and sons from going through the same issue,” he said.
Saiful added that he had already attended a meeting with the school’s management, which included its Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chairman.
He said those present understood why Ain exposed the matter and why the father and daughter are serious in pursuing their case.
“This should not be just another case. A precedent has to be set for the safety of our children and to ensure we raise better generations,” the father of five said.
Allegations surfaced that Ain was teased about the video that she had posted on social media, in which she described how her teacher had been explaining sexual harassment in class before the conversation lapsed into inappropriate jokes.
Ain has since made two police reports including the latest one which has been classified as NFA.
The incident which occurred to Ain comes amid outrage after the period spot check incident which was also brought to social media and eventually sparked national attention.
Politicians including DAP’s Kasthuriraani Patto and former education minister Maszlee Malik had come forward and urged the Education Ministry to step up investigations into the matter.
Public figures and non-governmental organisations who offered supportive messages to Ain including chief executive officer of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Surina Shukri who said: “Ain, you are not alone and your courage to stand up and speak out inspired others to do the same. Am behind you all the way.”
Ain’s hashtag #MakeSchoolASaferPlace has also set Twitter abuzz and appeared among the top 10 trending topics in the country — with even celebrities sharing their personal stories of sexual harassments.
