KUALA LUMPUR: "You had better apologise. If not, you will face legal action," warned Cikgu Zack Kirana, a Malay language tuition teacher and social media influencer.
The warning was issued to a fellow lady teacher, who allegedly defamed her by claiming that Zack Kirana had provided deviant teachings to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates, and likening her to 'Ayah Pin', through a Facebook post.
As a result, Zack Kirana, 37, whose real name is Saliza Ibrahim, lodged a report at the Sungai Buloh District Police Headquarters in Selangor on Feb 1.
She said she was giving the teacher time until tomorrow to come forward and apologise for the defamation.
"She accused me of misleading and likened my teachings to Ayah Pin's cult teaching. That's why I filed a police report.
"However, I did not make the video demanding for the apology earlier because I didn't want my students sitting for SPM to get distracted with what was happening.
"That why I waited 17 days.
"Frankly speaking, I still respect the lady teacher despite her false accusations and that is why I didn't mention her name anywhere on social media. I'm still keeping it a secret."
She added that besides the female teacher, she also mentioned a male teacher who helped cause the conflict to become more widespread, but clarified that he had already apologised to her.
"The man has come forward to apologise by sending a message and also made a public apology video on TikTok.
"I found out that the female teacher is the mentor for the man, and yet she has not apologised until today. Moreover, it was the female teacher who uploaded the defamatory post against me.
"The male teacher quoted from the screenshot of the lady teacher's post in his TikTok video, which then caught my attention. I knew it was about me because my name was clearly visible in the screenshot.
"If it wasn't for his video, all this might not have happened."
Zack Kirana also expressed gratitude for the support she received from followers, especially her students and former students.
"I didn't expect so many to provide me words of encouragement and share their excellent results in the comment section.
"I'm also grateful because many school teachers have shown enthusiasm and acknowledged that they also share my teaching materials with their students.
"The same goes for some parents who have shown support because their children clearly enjoy learning with me."