Education dept probing ‘racist’ teacher

The Penang education department has initiated an internal inquiry into allegations that a teacher from SMK George Town uttered racial slurs against a group of Indian students.

PETALING JAYA: The Penang education department is conducting an internal probe into the alleged “Hindu Pariah” remark made by a secondary school teacher in the state.

State education director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin told FMT that two officers have been sent to gather more information from the school, students, parents and police on the matter.

“We knew about it since last Friday and our officers are investigating. We’re gathering evidence for our internal inquiry and we’ll also see what the police have to say, as we don’t want to jeopardise their case,” he said.

Ahmad Tarmizi also said that his department was also concerned about allegations of attempts to cover up the case by his department and the school.

“That’s what is being alleged. I want to know who is the officer who is talking about covering up or trying to hide information about this case. Is this person from the department or what? For now it’s just hearsay.

“I want to know. Who is the one who hid this information? How did this happen? The issue is what she actually uttered. Did she actually say those words? If it is true, she should admit it, if she did not, we also need witnesses to prove it. If the school is hiding information from us, why was that done? I was informed that our information was different from what reporters received,” he added.

Ahmad Tarmizi said aside from the police case, the department could take various actions against the teacher if she was found guilty.

“If we look at this case, if it’s true, the teacher can be punished for breaching discipline. We can give her a warning or deduct her pay, depending on what we find. If she really did such a thing, we can suggest to the upper management, the ministry, to take stern action,” he added.

Independent probe

Ahmad Tarmizi assured that the department, as “third party observers”, would follow up on the matter, and added that he had even advised his investigating officers to conduct the probe independent from each other.

Responding to a question, he said the teacher had no prior disciplinary problems.

Earlier today, FMT reported that a teacher at SMK George Town had allegedly used racial slurs to scold a group of Indian Form Five students.

The teacher, Sabariah Ramli, had allegedly uttered the words “Hindu Pariah” and was also accused of deliberately giving high demerit points to the students during the incident on May 9.

She also allegedly ticked off two other Indian Muslim boys for befriending the Indian students.

There were also claims of an attempt by the state education department and the school’s headmistress to cover up the incident.

Meanwhile, National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Hashim Adnan declined to comment on the matter.

“It’s only reported online? No hard copy? I only comment on things that have been published and printed in national newspapers and which is already out in the public. Please call my secretary-general for comments,” he told FMT.