Dozens of federal lawmakers denounce AGC for ‘siding’ with teacher who sued Ain over rape joke exposure
The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) appointing a senior federal counsel to represent a teacher and ex-headmistress in a defamation suit involving student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam and her father would erode public perception of the government, said 75 critical MPs.
(MMO) – Urging the AGC to reconsider the “appalling” decision, the MPs including former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, and Muda president Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman said it was improper for the government agency to take sides in a private matter and civil dispute.
“The act of appointing a federal counsel in the civil action to defend private actions by the teacher who had initiated the suit will further tarnish the already negative perception of the Ministry of Education and the government,” they said in the statement.
The MPs said that while the teacher and ex-headmistress were fully entitled to legal representation, it was a waste of taxpayers’ funds to appoint a government lawyer to do so.
They further said the move would invite suspicions towards the impartiality of the AGC, which was the party responsible for drawing up the country’s laws including the Anti-Sexual Harrassment Bill 2021.
