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Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Stop sexual assaults in schools
Recently, a retired school head expressed concern to me over rising cases of teachers sexually assaulting their students. He said such cases reflected badly on the teaching profession. What was worse, he said, was that some of them were teachers of religion. The retired headmaster, in his 80s, said that during his years as a teacher and later as a headmaster, he had never come across a case of a teacher raping or sodomising his student. 'What is happening to our teachers?' he asked in anguish. To my argument that there were only a few such cases and that the majority of teachers were decent people, he replied: 'You are not a career teacher, you won't understand. Even if one teacher does something like this, it tarnishes the entire profession.' He went on to give me a lecture on the qualities of a good teacher. But he is right. Although the primary role of the teacher is to educate, he or she is also expected to set an example and become a role model of sorts to young and impressionable minds. The teacher's influence extends beyond the classroom, beyond the textbooks to the personal development of students. A good teacher helps students to also develop life skills and the confidence to meet challenges that he or she might face in life. Parents expect teachers to be their substitutes in school; to watch over them, protect them and guide them. Society expects no less. Which explains why two deputy public prosecutors argued in court on July 30 for a substantive sentence against a teacher who sodomised some of his students. Norazihah Asmuni and Nurul Balkis Zunaidi told the Seremban sessions court that one Khairi Fitri Baharom, 38, as a teacher and warden, should have protected his pupils, but took advantage of his position to sexually assault them instead. The court subsequently sentenced Khairi to six years in prison and four strokes of the rotan on 12 counts of sexual assault against seven pupils aged nine to 12 at the time. On six of the charges, Khairi was accused of committing carnal intercourse against the order of nature without consent against five of the pupils. The remaining charges were of sexually assaulting six of the pupils. All 12 offences were said to have been committed at a boarding school in Jempol and at a house in Kuala Pilah between March 2024 and January 2025. Earlier, on June 12, Khairi had been sentenced to six years' jail and two strokes of the rotan after pleading guilty to three charges of sexual assault, sodomy and unnatural intercourse against two boys at the warden's room in the school in Jempol between 2023 and January this year. I cannot comprehend how a teacher and a parent figure can bring himself to perform such acts. Neither could the headmaster who spoke to me. As he pointed out, the fact that the perpetrator was a religious teacher made it even worse. On his insistence, I did a random search of stories carried by FMT to see how many cases of sexual assault involving teachers had been taken to court this year. On July 17, primary school teacher Ariffin Nor, 53, in Negeri Sembilan, pleaded not guilty in the Seremban sessions court to three charges of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old female pupil last year. On May 7, primary school teacher Abdul Halim Ismail, 37 pleaded not guilty in the Seremban sessions court to two counts of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old male pupil at a hotel in Port Dickson on June 28 and 29, 2023. On April 30, Bernama reported that Muzaidi Mohamad, the headmaster of a tahfiz school in Kelantan, pleaded not guilty in the sessions court to five counts of sodomising three male students aged between 12 and 15 over the past three years. On April 28, Lowoyon Elod Jiviol, 33, a primary school teacher in Kudat, Sabah, pleaded not guilty to eight charges of committing physical sexual assault on four Year 5 pupils – two girls and two boys- between Dec 31, 2024 and Jan 3 this year in a classroom at the school. On April 22, a former assistant bowling coach was ordered by the Kuala Terengganu High Court to begin serving a six-year prison sentence after losing his appeal against his conviction for sexually assaulting a Sukma athlete. Mat Salleh Jalani, 62, was found guilty on May 16 last year of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy at a housing estate in Marang in March 2018. On Feb 13, an assistant madrasah teacher, Faizal Man, 45, was sentenced to 10 years' jail and 30 strokes of the rotan by the Kota Tinggi sessions court in Johor after he pleaded guilty to 15 charges of molesting and performing oral sex on a 14-year-old teenager in a bedroom at the madrasah's surau at Air Papan, Mersing, from the middle of May to Oct 21, 2024. On Feb 4, a teacher at a religious secondary school in Perlis, Ahmad Fairus Abu Zaik, 44, claimed trial to five counts of sexual assault on two 13-year-old male students separately at the school in 2023. On Jan 15, teacher Fuad Abd Wahab, 33, claimed trial in the Melaka sessions court to five counts of sexual assault on two 16-year-old male students three years ago. On Jan 14, teacher Azhar Mohamad, 44, pleaded not guilty in the sessions court in Melaka with sexually assaulting two female Year Six pupils, aged 12, at a primary school in Melaka Tengah on Jan 8. Although most of the cases I've mentioned above are before the courts and the persons named have not been found guilty, it should give us an indication of the situation in Malaysian schools. There were many more such cases before the courts in 2024 and earlier. I fear to think how many cases go unreported by victims. While searching for such cases, I came across a November 2021 report on sexual harassment, bullying and abuse in schools that chronicled the testimonies of 770 respondents on a platform called Save the Schools MY and which was analysed by the All Women's Action Society (AWAM). Briefly, the report said figures of authority in school were the perpetrators of 41.1% of the cases reported by victims in the survey. At least 87.1% of the perpetrators were men. AWAM said 89.2% of all sexual harassment violations occurred in primary and secondary institutions of learning and that 81.4% of sexual harassment violations were not disclosed or reported to anyone. According to the report, there were 10 rape cases, three of which were allegedly committed by teachers. What does all this say about the quality of teachers today? What does this say about the recruitment of teacher trainees? What does this say about school administrations? Is the education ministry as concerned about this situation as my headmaster friend? Perhaps it is time to more carefully vet those entering teacher training institutions. Perhaps school administrators should keep a better watch over their teachers. Perhaps there should be constant in-house reminders to teachers to be good role models. The fact is, parents trust teachers and they trust the government to protect their children attending schools. Sexual abuse must never occur in a school, and certainly not at the hands of a teacher. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Headmaster accused of sexually assaulting pupil released on bail
The Year 6 pupil had told his mother he had been sexually assaulted in school on several occasions. PETALING JAYA : A primary school headmaster accused of molesting a 12-year-old male student in the school's restroom and office has been released on bail, Melaka police said tonight. Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said the suspect was arrested yesterday, the same day the boy's mother lodged a report. 'We are investigating the case for physical sexual assault on a child,' he told FMT. Dzulkhairi also said the suspect cooperated during the investigation. Earlier today, Utusan Malaysia reported that the Year 6 pupil told his mother that he had been sexually assaulted on several occasions. He claimed that the most recent incident took place in the school's bathroom on July 29. Citing a source, Utusan reported that the boy had gone to the bathroom with two classmates. The headmaster entered the bathroom and told one of the boy's classmates to return to class, unaware that the second classmate was in one of the stalls. The suspect allegedly hugged the victim from behind and whispered 'I love you'. He also allegedly forced the victim to say 'I love you, too'. The boy claimed that a similar incident occurred in June when he and a friend were asked to help attach clips to certificates in the headmaster's office. It was alleged that the headmaster had groped the victim in front of his friend.
The Australian
04-08-2025
- The Australian
The King's School headmaster extends leave amid student incident probe
The headmaster of one of Sydney's most prestigious boys schools has taken leave after he allegedly clipped a student on the back of a head. In a message to staff and parents on Friday, the King's School headmaster Tony George said he had decided to extend his leave from the 193-year boy's school while the incident is investigated, The Australian reported. 'As you know, I commenced planned leave at the end of term and have since been on personal leave due to illness,' he said in a statement to the school's community. 'While I am now well enough to return to work, I have decided to extend my leave to ensure the investigation proceeds without any perception of interference or a divergence from our standard practices. 'The wellbeing and safety of our students and staff have always been at the heart of my work, and I remain fully committed to those values.' It's alleged Mr George clipped the back of the head of a senior school student during a discussion about free speech and religion in a biblical studies class on the school's North Parramatta campus at the end of term two. Mr George said in an earlier letter to parents on Monday that he supported 'the integrity of the school's processes and welcome the opportunity for a full and fair assessment of the facts'. 'It is a testament to the strength of our culture that the incident was reported in accordance with the school's policies,' Mr George said. 'This reflects the strong child-centric culture within the school, an understanding of the pathways for reporting concerns and, most importantly, confidence in doing so.' Mr George said he would not comment further. The King's School is one of the largest boarding schools in the country, with two residential campuses offering boarding from Years 3 to 12. NewsWire NSW Police are reviewing footage of an officer allegedly pushing a woman to the ground during a dramatic arrest after a car was damaged outside a school. NewsWire Flights have been delayed as thousands of passengers were forced to be rescreened for security from Brisbane Airport following a technical fault.
News.com.au
01-08-2025
- News.com.au
Headmaster of Sydney's Kings School Tony George extends leave after allegedly ‘clipping' pupil on head
The headmaster of one of Sydney's most prestigious boys schools has taken leave after he allegedly clipped a student on the back of a head. In a message to staff and parents on Friday, the King's School headmaster Tony George said he had decided to extend his leave from the 193-year boy's school while the incident is investigated, The Australian reported. 'As you know, I commenced planned leave at the end of term and have since been on personal leave due to illness,' he said in a statement to the school's community. 'While I am now well enough to return to work, I have decided to extend my leave to ensure the investigation proceeds without any perception of interference or a divergence from our standard practices. 'The wellbeing and safety of our students and staff have always been at the heart of my work, and I remain fully committed to those values.' It's alleged Mr George clipped the back of the head of a senior school student during a discussion about free speech and religion in a biblical studies class on the school's North Parramatta campus at the end of term two. Mr George said in an earlier letter to parents on Monday that he supported 'the integrity of the school's processes and welcome the opportunity for a full and fair assessment of the facts'. 'It is a testament to the strength of our culture that the incident was reported in accordance with the school's policies,' Mr George said. 'This reflects the strong child-centric culture within the school, an understanding of the pathways for reporting concerns and, most importantly, confidence in doing so.' Mr George said he would not comment further.
Daily Mail
29-07-2025
- Daily Mail
One of Australia's oldest and most elite private schools costing upwards of $45,000 a year is rocked by scandal involving principal
The headmaster of one of Sydney 's most elite private schools has taken leave amid allegations he struck a student on the back of the head. Rumours of The King's School headmaster, Tony George, being incredibly blunt and cynical about 'victimhood' began shortly after he took on the top job in July 2017. However, those whispers of authoritarianism around the campus in Parramatta, western Sydney, took a new tone following an alleged incident in the last week of Term Two. Sources close to the school claimed the headmaster struck the back of a senior student's head during discussions in a biblical studies class at the historic Futter Hall. The description of the severity of the assault drastically differs, with some likening it to a 'clip' to the ears while others alleged Mr George descended from the stage to 'hit' the teenager. With students resuming classes for Term Three this week, the school sent a letter to parents informing them it was investigating the alleged incident. In the meantime, Mr George has taken a two-week leave after contracting shingles. The letter, seen by Daily Mail Australia, reassured parents 'the wellbeing of our students and the integrity of our learning environment are of paramount importance'. 'The school is aware of concerns regarding an interaction that occurred during a lecture attended by approximately 100 students and staff,' it read. 'The matter is being reviewed in accordance with the school's established procedures.' The King's School is one of Australia's oldest private schools, having been built in 1831. Fees at the institution start at almost $30,000 for kindergarteners and $47,000 for Year 12 students. Costs are significantly higher for children boarding at the school. Mr George has found himself in headlines several times over the years. Last year he drew attention for his response to negative media coverage of the attitude shown in Australia's elite private schools. 'Toxic masculinity has become a memetic cliché of progressive extremism,' he said. 'Unfortunately, genuine critical reflection and action has given way to movements of cancel culture. 'For example, 'wokeness', initially a call for heightened awareness and sensitivity to social and racial injustices, has evolved into a broader social movement of complaint and victimhood.' Mr George was also the centre of a financial scandal in 2022 after business class flights to London for he and his wife were covered by the school. The pair, alongside the school's deputy and his wife, flew to attend the world's most prestigious rowing event, the Henley Royal Regatta, where students competed. The King's School receives substantial funding from the government on top of its million-dollar profits. In 2024 alone, the school reported a surplus of $4million. In later 2022, the Department of Education launched an audit of King's following concerns it was misusing taxpayer money. The reports stemmed from the school council approving a request from the headmaster to build a plunge pool at his on-site residence. King's was ordered to stop construction of the pool after the government investigation determined it to be an improper use of the school's money. The school has since submitted plans for a $170million campus development. Construction includes a new science and technology building, nine staff townhouses and performing arts centre for primary students. King's also has 'concept plans' for a sports pavilion, new boarding and day boy houses, and an entrance through land owned by Tara Anglican School for Girls.
