SHAH ALAM: The government will go after teachers and school administrators who fail to report sexual abuse cases among school students, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said today.
The minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), in her warning to teachers who conceal or don't report sexual abuse cases, said action would be taken against them under Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 (Act 1972).
She said one challenge in combating sexual crimes against children was underreporting.
"If you know (of students experiencing sexual abuse) and you don't report it, you will be charged.
"We will go after you for not reporting. So you better report, because the law says you must report," she said after launching the Convention on the Protection of Students from Sexual Exploitation.
Her ministry and the Education Ministry are organising the convention to create awareness among teachers and school administrators about the law and sexual exploitation involving children.
Azalina and Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek had signed a memorandum of understanding of their collaboration.
According to Section 19 of the act, anyone who is aware of sexual abuse against children but fails to report the matter to the police, can be charged in court and if convicted, fined up to RM5,000.
Azalina said the law would protect informants, adding that teachers should work with the ministries to protect children.
"Reporting doesn't mean you're guilty.
"So we want teachers to be the eyes and ears of children to help them because we are worried about underreporting.
"As far as the law is concerned, the law is good," she said adding that teachers should not focus only on teaching.
She added that teachers should not worry about being a "busybody" as they should play their role to protect the children.
She said everyone, including teachers, should send a clear message to perpetrators about being afraid of the law.
"You cannot create a culture of disbelief or a culture where the children are victims twice because you also think that they are lying.
"We cannot have that culture, so we have to create a culture that encourages reporting," she said adding that children were scientifically proven to always tell the truth.
She said Malaysia had adequate laws but it needed to step up on their implementation, so she called on teachers to help the government to do so.
She said more of these conventions, including in other areas, would be organised.
She said her ministry would engage with community or neighbourhood associations to share information on the law and encourage neighbours of victims to report sexual abuse cases.
Present were Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and the prime ministers' wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is the Bandar Tun Razak member of parliament.
