Absent Teacher Case Govt Yet To Pay Court Ordered Damages Lawyer

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The government has not paid a single cent of the court-ordered damages totalling over hundreds of thousands of ringgit to three Sabahan students who sued their teacher for absenteeism since the case was decided in 2023.
Lawyer Sherzali Herza Asli, who appeared for Rusiah Sabdarin, Nur Natasha Allisya Hamali, and Calvina Angayung in the case, also confirmed that there is no stay of execution order granted to postpone the payment.
In a press conference today, he also confirmed that the government did not appeal against the verdict.
“Their win in the High Court was a win for all Malaysians, for our children and our nation’s future. The government did not appeal (against the decision).
“(So) by not appealing, the government, by conduct, agrees and accepts the course of judgment. But agreeing without doing anything means absolutely nothing. This is an insult to the judiciary.
“Today, more than two years later, there has been no institutional reform, no accountability, and shockingly, the government has not even paid a single sen to my clients (and) this can only mean one thing; the government has failed my clients, and, by extension, has failed all of us.
“Where is the ‘reformasi’ promised by the Madani government? Where is it?” Sherzali (above) said, adding that his clients are being pushed to hold a press conference to demand that the government honour the court order.
This flagrant neglect by the government, he added, is not reflective of a system that is committed to integrity or reform, adding that the rakyat could not trust the government if a court order is disobeyed.
The lawyer, in acknowledging the need for education reform, further questioned where things could have gone wrong following non-payment in the last two years.
“Is the problem the government? The institutions? Or the inherently flawed system?
“I asked this because if a simple court order cannot be honoured by this Madani government, how can the rakyat trust (them)? There is absolutely no question in my mind that our education system needs reform.
“But where is the political will to improve? When the system cannot protect our children, and when it cannot even obey the court order, the system is broken. The rakyat (and) our children deserve better.”
Accumulation of interests
The Kota Kinabalu High Court had ruled in favour of Rusiah, Nur Natasha and Calvina, the former students of SMK Taun Gusi who sued their teacher, Jainal Jamran, the school’s principal, Suid Hanapi, the education director-general, the education minister, and the government over Jainal’s absenteeism.
The court found that the plaintiffs had successfully proved that their teacher was frequently absent in the months leading to their examination in November 2017, without evidence that he was on leave or involved in other school activities.
Judge Leonard David Shim had ruled that the defendants had breached their statutory duty under the Education Act 1966 and Regulations 3C, 25 and 26 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.
Following this, the judge awarded RM150,000 damages to the plaintiffs, as well as another RM50,000 of nominal and aggravated damages to each plaintiff, as well as five percent interest per annum from the verdict date, which was July 18, 2023, until the full settlement.
Calvina, who was present alongside Sherizal in today’s press conference, confirmed that a total of RM17,541.67 in interest has accumulated to date. - Mkini

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