Making the rounds on social media over the weekend was a video clip purported to be of enraged parents confronting a Kuantan tahfiz (religious) teacher over allegations that he had been abusing their children.
In the two-minute clip shared to Twitter, a parent on-camera laments ever having sent their child to the institution, adding that they are in possession of photos that corroborate their child’s claims.
In the video making it's way through WA, a group of parents confronted a tahfiz (Tahfiz Al Walid, Kuantan, Pahang) teacher who allegedly:
– kissed the student on the lip (wtf?)
– ask them to massage him, and beat them up if they do it wrong
– abusing the student etc pic.twitter.com/FSw3CZvjSt— Hilmi Adi Ruzaini (@HilmiAdi) March 23, 2019
The individuals who posted the video adds more details, alleging that the teacher would kiss students on the lips, ask for massages, and abuse the children if they did so “wrongly.”
A police report has since been filed so that investigators can look into the matter, and whether any misconduct took place. In the shared copy of the report, more claims are made including being caned in the head, cursed at, and kicked in the back.
Netizens have since been weighing in on the matter, with some pointing out the obvious: Regulatory bodies were needed across the country to keep tabs on schools, and that illegal tahfiz needed to be shut down in order to ensure the safety of children.
Sounds fair.
Conditions and regulations at religious schools across Malaysia have come under increased scrutiny over the last few years, after stories of abuse leading to the death of a child, human trafficking, and lack of living-quarters fire safety hit headlines. Many have been calling for tighter controls, with some state rulers such as Selangor’s Sultan issuing royal decrees that shuttered unregulated, illegal institutions.
