Kota Kinabalu: A Syariah teacher who was recently appointed as the new Chief Warden of SMKA Tun Datu Mustapha told the Coroner’s Court that he was unsure whether his appointment is valid.
Rezany Mohd Taupek, 45, who resides in the warden’s quarters at Block D of the school hostel, said he is currently carrying out the duties of Chief Warden.
However, he was uncertain if his latest appointment letter was legitimate because it was issued using the school’s letterhead instead of the Sabah State Education Department (JPN).
He said the validity of his appointment ultimately depends on the school administration.
Rezany explained that it has long been the school’s practice to appoint teachers as hostel wardens due to a shortage of officially appointed JPN wardens.
He confirmed that Cikgu Adzlee and Cikgu Addorie were not officially recognised wardens as their appointments did not come from JPN.
Rezany also carries out his warden duties without receiving any additional allowance.
He said he declined an official JPN warden appointment because accepting the warden allowance would cause his housing allowance to be withdrawn, which would significantly reduce his overall income.
Although the school had nominated him for an official JPN appointment, he said he has never seen any approval letter from JPN confirming this.
Rezany further agreed that after Zara’s incident, there was another bullying case involving male hostel students adding that, students involved were suspended from school.
He disagreed with the suggestion that the school’s priority was to “protect the school’s image first” rather than safeguard Zara’s welfare or her family’s interests.
The inquest continues.
