PETALING JAYA: An anti-graft group has urged the government to provide whistleblower protection for a teacher whose testimony exposed a colleague’s absence from duty for months on end.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) said Putrajaya should shield Nurhaizah Ejab from “any real or implied harassment” and issue a warning that those who threaten whistleblowers would be severely dealt with.
“TI-M calls on education minister Fadlina Sidek to ensure the whistleblower teacher Nurhaizah is given full protection against any form of retaliation or intimidation,” its president, Muhammad Mohan, said in a statement.
Last week, the High Court in Kota Kinabalu awarded RM90,000 in damages to three former students of SMK Taun Gusi, Kota Belud, in their lawsuit against a former teacher and others, for refusing to teach them English in 2017.
Justice Leonard David Shim held that the plaintiffs – Rusiah Sabdarin, Nur Natasha Allisya Hamali and Calvina Angayung – had proven their case on a balance of probabilities.
Nurhaizah was listed as a witness against the trio’s truant English teacher, Jainal Jamran.
The students also named former headmaster, Suid Hanapi, the director-general of education, the education minister, and the federal government as defendants.
They said that Jainal had been assigned to teach English thrice weekly from January to October 2017, but only showed up in the first two months. They said the government also failed to take steps to rectify Jainal’s absence and breached its statutory duties through inaction.
Several media previously reported that Nurhaizah had testified that she had received death threats and that her car tyres were slashed after she filed complaints about Jainal with the school authorities.
On July 21, FMT reported that a former student of SMK Taun Gusi launched an online petition seeking legal protection for Nurhaizah.
Commenting on the case, Muhammad said Putrajaya should improve the governance culture within the civil service, including enforcing the “surcharge” clause against public servants found to have been negligent in their duties and abusing their positions.
He said the government should also make it easier for whistleblowers within the private and public sectors to report issues without fear of being reprimanded, harassed or penalised.