“No child should be afraid of going to school,” said Marianne Clark-Hattingh, Unicef’s representative to Malaysia.
“Teachers are supposed to be role models and nurture a child’s learning and development, not sexually abuse them.
“Any sexual abuse against children is a serious violation of their rights. When it is perpetrated by teachers at school, it is also a breach of trust and abuse of power. Such behaviour also discredits the education system.”
Unicef was responding to claims by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull, who yesterday branded this as one “form” of corruption taking place in schools.
According to Shukri, these cases had yet to be tried in court as the students supposedly affected were not willing to come forward to testify. This was because they were afraid their identities would be revealed, he said.
Education Minister Maszlee Malik has since responded by urging the purported victims to come forward and lodge police reports on the matter and verify such claims. He said the ministry would not be able to act unless this was done.
Maszlee said his ministry would take stern action against teachers who demanded sex from their students.
Marianne echoed Maszlee’s comments, saying sexual abuse survivors must be able to speak out without fear of repercussions or shame. She added that sexual abuse against children was an offence under the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017.
‘Handle with care’
Marianne said more needed to be done to empower both girls and boys with the necessary insight and skills to protect them from sexual abuse, adding that UN agencies and civil societies had long been working with the education ministry to tackle this.
Marianne said it was high time schools incorporated standard operating procedures (SOP) for reporting cases of this nature, saying other students and teachers will also then be aware of what they can do in cases like this.
Reports of such nature must also be handled confidentially and immediately, she explained.
She told FMT that children must also be educated to know what to do when they are abused, adding that many countries do this already.
But she said teachers who abuse children “need to go”.
“Once they’ve breached the trust they are entrusted with, that’s an abuse of power. So, they’re no longer fit to be teachers and no longer fit to be around children.
“They should be charged for that offence.”
Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh told FMT she was surprised when she heard of Shukri’s claims and said that she did not know the “rot” ran so deep.
“That is why the education ministry is in urgent need of reforms.
“Everyone needs to change and improve, not just teachers but also parents. This is a need for change within the ministry as well,” the Segambut MP said.