KUALA LUMPUR: A teacher who recently faced backlash from netizens, especially parents, has apologised for a video showing scripted actions of her taking items from students' bags and consuming their gummy bears without permission.
Shi Qi posted an apology video 12 hours ago, with slide photos containing her statement.
Also, she has removed all of her videos from her social media accounts to reflect her remorse.
"I would like to apologise to the parents and individuals offended by a recent video I posted. I am really sorry," Shi Qi expressed in her statement.
She explained: "The video was sponsored content. It was filmed during break time, and I placed the gummies into the bags before the shoot. I looked through the students' bags, took out a gummy and ate it."
Shi Qi acknowledged that unlike her other videos, which were filmed with parental consent, she failed to seek permission, an oversight in this instance.
She accepted full responsibility for her actions and expressed remorse for any distress caused to the parents and students involved.
A netizen took to social media to complain to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek about a teacher who allegedly uses her students as TikTok content.
Twitter handle @amuse_geule said that based on a video she received via WhatsApp, the teacher is seen as going through her pupils' things and posted a video.
"I don't know her profile name on TikTok, but the teacher is wearing a REAL school lanyard," she said in the tweet that received 5 million views and almost 2,000 retweets while tagging Fadhlina's Twitter account.
Fadhlina Sidek confirmed that the Education Ministry would consider appropriate intervention measures or actions if they received a complaint.
"We monitor this situation regularly. If there are any complaints, we ask them to be submitted to the Ministry of Education, especially if they involve a teacher's integrity and work ethic, which could negatively impact the entire education system.
"I closely monitor this matter, and I will provide updates from time to time regarding any actions or interventions that we may take at the Ministry of Education level in response to any official complaints we receive," she said during the launch of the Kindergarten Malay Language Empowerment Program for Chinese National Type Schools (SJKC) and Tamil National Type Schools (SJKT) in the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on Tuesday.
On the other hand, some netizens were forgiving towards the teacher, with a few defending her actions and stating that it was not a significant issue, and some individuals tend to blow things out of proportion.
A netizen commented: "She has shown remorse and taken corrective and preventive measures. Her apology seems heartfelt and should be accepted."
Another netizen expressed, "Hey, you are still a good teacher. It's not easy for a teacher to apologise when they doing wrong. We want to see your smile with those kids."
Shi Qi deeply regrets that the video has attracted negative attention.
Acknowledging that she is relatively new to content creation, she emphasised that she is still in the learning process.
This incident has made her more vigilant, serving as a valuable lesson to be more mindful and conscientious in the future.