KOTA KINABALU, Nov 9 — A subpoenaed witness told the High Court here on Wednesday that an English Language teacher had cried and regretted for not entering classes to teach his students.
The said English Language teacher is Mohd Jainal Jamran, who is one of the seven defendants in a suit filed by Siti Nafirah Siman, a former student of a secondary school in Kota Belud.
The witness, who gave evidence from the witness dock, claimed that Mohd Jainal had cried and expressed his regret with what had happened when she met him at the school.
Under examination-in-chief by counsel Shireen Sikayun who represented the 23-year-old plaintiff, the witness, who was a teacher, claimed that Mohd Jainal regretted that he did not enter classes.
The witness, who testified before Justice Datuk Ismail Brahim, further claimed that Mohd Jainal had told her that as a teacher, he should not be doing so.
To another question, the witness testified that they did attend a meeting which was chaired by the then State Education Department director Datuk Maimunah Suhaibul.
The witness testified that she recalled that Maimunah had held a “Buku Rekod Mengajar” (Teaching Book Record) and heard her saying that by looking at the book, she (Maimunah) could tell that the records inside had just been prepared because the papers glued inside still looked fresh.
The witness further testified that Maimunah also said if the record book was the old one, the papers would look yellowish.
“Datuk Maimunah said there was also incomplete information inside the book. She then said ‘Kalau begini, awal-awal lagi kalah sudah kita’ (If it is like this, we are already lost),” said the witness when recapping what transpired in the meeting.
Siti Nafirah had named Mohd Jainal, Hj Suid Hj Hanapi (sued in his capacity as school’s principal), Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taun Gusi, District Education Officer of Kota Belud, Director of Education Sabah, Director General of Education Malaysia, Minister of Education Malaysia and Government of Malaysia as first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth defendants respectively.
Siti Nafirah, who is the sole plaintiff, had filed the suit against the first defendant for his alleged failure to teach the English Language subject to her and her classmates during his assigned periods or timetable for the academic year of 2015.
Siti Nafirah, who was represented by Shireen, also sued the other defendants for their alleged failure to take action against the first defendant for allegedly failing to teach her and her classmates.
The trial will resume on November 30. — Borneo Post
