Melaka classroom gang rape: 'Enough talk, we need safer schools now' - Ain Husniza
She said stronger protections within the education system are needed, beginning with the introduction and strict enforcement of a specific law against sexual harassment in schools.
SHAH ALAM – Education reform in Malaysia is long overdue and the country can no longer delay efforts to make schools safer for all students.
Social activist Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam stressed that the country urgently needed stronger protections within the education system, beginning with the introduction and strict enforcement of a specific law against sexual harassment in schools.
In a video she shared on her Instagram account, she said it was time for Malaysia to move beyond discussions and take concrete action to ensure that classrooms become places of safety and respect, not fear.
“Malaysia already has an anti-sexual harassment law for workplaces. So why don’t we have one for schools?
“It’s not only rape cases, there are also sexual harassment and bullying incidents that have even led to deaths. So where did we go wrong? Reform in our education system must happen and we need safer schools now,” she said in the video.
Ain, who is also the founder of Pocket of Pink, an initiative advocating consent education and safe spaces for women and youth said the case reflected the systemic failures she has long campaigned against.
“Waking up to read this kind of news is so hard because this is exactly what I’ve been fighting for over the past four years with #MakeSchoolASaferPlace, pushing for laws and policies that actually protect our girls in schools,” she added.
Her comments came in response to a case involving two Form Five boys who allegedly gang-raped a Form Three girl in a classroom at a secondary school in Alor Gajah, Melaka on Oct 2.
The incident was reportedly recorded and witnessed by two other students.
According to sources, the victim had returned to her classroom on the third floor to retrieve a science project item she had forgotten. Upon entering, one of the suspects allegedly grabbed her, covered her mouth and forced her back into the room.
The victim is now receiving care at Hospital Melaka. All four suspects, who were due to sit for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations next month, have been remanded.
The case is being investigated under Section 375B of the Penal Code.
“These seventeen-year-old boys stalked and raped a 15-year-old girl and then recorded and shared it online and still, people leave comments blaming the victim.
“I remember when I was 17, people said the same things about me, questioning what I wore in school and blaming my background,” Ain said.
Ain first came to national prominence in 2021 after disclosing that a teacher had made a rape joke in her class, igniting a crucial public conversation about sexual harassment and the lack of consent education in Malaysian schools.
Her ongoing campaign, #MakeSchoolASaferPlace, continued to be a rallying cry for comprehensive education reform and robust student protection policies.
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