‘Racist’ teacher must be suspended

Indian community leaders have called for the suspension of the teacher who allegedly hurled racist remarks at her student.

GEORGE TOWN: A teacher, headmistress and education authorities have come under fire from various Indian community leaders and groups over an alleged racist remark hurled at school students last week.

Local Indian leaders and groups have all called on the state education authorities to suspend the secondary school teacher embroiled in the incident at SMK George Town.

They want Sabariah Ramli, 29, to be suspended pending an inquiry into complaints by Form Five students that she scolded them with derogatory remarks, calling them “Hei Hindu” and “Hindu Pariah.”

They also want her to issue a public apology to all students during the school assembly.

DAP’s Seri Delima assemblyman RSN Rayer even called on the authorities to sack Sabariah if the inquiry found her guilty of uttering those words.

“For now, she should be suspended, she must apologise and a full investigation must be carried out into the serious allegation,” he said.

The secondary school in Jalan Batu Lanchang falls under the Seri Delima constituency.

Rayer also called on the Education Ministry to conduct a full-scale probe into separate complaints against education officials for allegedly intimidating students after they complained about Sabariah.

“The ministry should look into this case seriously. It jeorpadises racial harmony,” he told a press conference at his office here yesterday.

Police investigating as well

Sabariah had also been accused of tampering with the students’ demerit points during the incident on May 9. She had allegedly committed the misconduct before 22 students after a class examination.

FMT learnt that headmistress Farah Shikh Abd Rahman, 52, and state education officials, including a three-man investigating team, were allegedly trying to sweep the issue under the carpet.

Two high-ranking police officers from Bukit Aman also conducted an investigation in the school yesterday morning following a police report by an affected 16-year-old student.

MIC state Youth chief J Dhinagaran, who led a group of party delegates, to meet Farah this morning told reporters later that Sabariah should have been suspended by now.

He said he had told Farah that her “carelessness, recklessness and incompetence” in resolving the case amicably had led it to explode into a national issue.

“MIC wants stern action on the teacher,” he stressed.