Petition: Protect Cikgu Nurhaizah Ejab, the MOE whistleblower teacher from Sabah

May

2023

Campaign

Petition: Protect Cikgu Nurhaizah Ejab, the MOE whistleblower teacher from Sabah

Cikgu Nurhaizah: grew up in Kg. Taun Gusi → SMK Taun Gusi student -> SMK Taun Gusi teacher. She is a national hero.

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In November 2022, my ex-English teacher Cikgu Nurhaizah Ejab testified in High Court. Due to GE15, most media did not report her testimony. She is now a historic Ministry of Education whistleblower teacher. But until now, she has no whistleblower protection. Where are our politicians, police, MACC, and the Education Ministry?

The police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) must investigate any criminal actions that Cikgu Nurhaizah and the three Plaintiffs shared in testimony, documents, and video-audio recordings. Go to whistleblowers.
The Government must immediately provide full whistleblower protection to Cikgu Nurhaizah. A 2nd trial soon will call her against the same Defendants.
All MPs must support whistleblower protection laws independent of the Executive. Why are senior public servants still able to threaten teachers? Teachers are ready to speak up.
All MPs must support an independent Public Ombudsman to investigate cases and take appropriate disciplinary enforcement. Sudah-sudahlah with the MOE’s internal investigations and weak disciplinary enforcement.

Cikgu Nurhaizah’s High Court testimony, at great personal risk, blew every whistle. From Malaysiakini, The Borneo Post, and The Daily Express:

“The star witness testified before Justice Leonard David Shim that the issue of the teacher did not enter classes to teach students was discovered in 2015.”
- “I made copies of all the classes’ record books and that was how I found out there are similar cases.”
- “I showed it to the principal but was rejected and he asked to write a full report. When I made the full report, he rejected it again saying it was a bad quality report if used as evidence.”
- “I was also intimidated by my Ketua Bidang Bahasa, one Cikgu Norhana, and another male English teacher named Cikgu Awang, saying that if I alerted the District Education Office, I would lose the entire school support,” she said.
- “I was humiliated, scolded, blamed, scapegoated and threatened, two times to death. My car tyres were slashed a few days right after the death threats.”
“She said her complaints and report also fell on deaf ears in 2015, so when the issue recurred with the same teacher in 2017, she took a different strategy.”
- “This included making 80 time-stamped video recordings of the class, at times when Jainal was supposed to be teaching but was absent, she said.
- “She took the initiative to hide a GoPro camera inside a recycled box and placed it inside the form four Sports Science class so that the students would not notice it.”
- “To a question, she said that she recorded many videos which she has 80 recording files taken inside the said classroom throughout September 2017 and within that period, Mr JJ never entered the class.”
“Asked the teacher whether she has any other evidence to prove the JJ’s absenteeism in class, the teacher said she recorded her conversation with one Cikgu Eddy.”
- “Once principal Suid learnt that history teacher was absent, Suid backed (protected) that teacher instead of acting against that absent teacher. Principal Suid instead put the blame on [History Panel Head] Cikgu Eddy…”
- “Eddy stated that Suid fabricated documents on school programmes and Suid had forced teachers to key in fake student’s marks (markah terbang) to make it appear as if teachers had quickly finished their marking.” “Eddy claimed these fabrications were rampant but his (Suid) goal is to make his school look ‘cantik’ even if there were underlying failures.”
- “He also confirmed that Suid was aware of teachers’ absenteeism, particularly JJ but blamed other teachers for not fixing the problem. However, in public, the principal would claim he was not aware of the absenteeism.”
“She said she was deeply disappointed with the school management and lost trust in it. She felt that it was a bad reflection of the education system.”
- “However, I believe many students were afraid of the potential negative reactions by the school against them.”
- “Indeed, I understand the school administration has the tendency to harass and make threats against students who voice out issues concerning teacher’s absenteeism.”

This is High Court Case BKI-22NCvC-88/11-2020, under High Court Judge YA Tuan Leonard David Shim. Cikgu Nurhaizah knew this horrible reality for years. She did everything to save her students. Still, she never burdened her students. She kept teaching, struggling, and sacrificing everything for us. And yet she was the only MOE teacher whistleblower in the entire trial.

I am an ex-SMK Taun Gusi student. That teacher, Jainal Jamran, was absent for months in my Form 4 Sastera class in 2013. No action by the school. In Form 5, Cikgu Nurhaizah became our English teacher and saved our class, again.

Cikgu Nurhaizah was born in Kota Belud. She grew up in Kg. Taun Gusi, was an SMK Taun Gusi student herself, and then became an SMK Taun Gusi teacher. She is a national hero. We are a rural B40 community; Kota Belud is one of the 10 poorest districts in Malaysia. Unfortunately, our heroes get no protection.

Without whistleblowers → no ground truth on all policies, Ministries, agencies, institutions. Without whistleblowers → no urgency nor measurement of reform. All disciplinary / civil / criminal proceedings are jeopardized without whistleblower protection, as witnesses give up or run away. Whistleblowers have run out of time.

Her whistleblowing came in the public interest litigation case by ex-student-whistleblowers vs Jainal, Suid, MOE, and Government. Since their 2020 summons, I have supported them:

1st Plaintiff Rusiah binti Sabdarin - Kg. Taun Gusi II, Class Monitor
2nd Plaintiff Calvina binti Angayung - Kg. Rampayan Laut, Head School Prefect
3rd Plaintiff Nur Natasha Allisya binti Hamali - Kg. Taun Gusi, School Prefect

The ex-students subpoenaed her. The MOE never asked Cikgu Nurhaizah to testify. Not only that, but these Plaintiffs entered into Court six more recordings of Principal Suid, Teacher Awang Erawan, Teacher Norhana, and others.

Teachers AND students need external + independent investigations AND enforcement: no more MOE and the Education Service Commission policing themselves.

This petition was prepared by the Tiada.Guru Campaign and Safiah Omar (pictured above, right), a former student of Teacher Nurhaizah Ejab (pictured above, middle).

Tiada.Guru

"The culture of fear for speaking up must end.”