Parent targets HM; Umno targets parent

Selangor Umno meanwhile wants action against the parent who uploaded photos of non-Muslim pupils eating in the school shower room.

SUNGAI BULOH: A parent lodged a police report against the headmaster of SK Seri Pristina in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, today for taking photographs of pupils who allegedly reported him.

Kumancan Veeriah said headmaster Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor had gone to the school, while he was on leave last week, and taken photographs of some non-Muslim students who he suspected had leaked the news that they were asked to have their meals in the school changing room, near the toilets.

“I am worried about the safety and security of my daughter who is in Year Four. The headmaster was supposed to be on leave. Why did he come to the school and take photos of the non-Muslim students?” asked Kamancaan who is a mechanic.

“The police need to investigate the matter. If anything happens to my child then the police and the headmaster will be held liable,” Kamancan told reporters after lodging the report. He was accompanied by about 10 people.

Last week, a parent uploaded photographs of non-Muslim pupils having their meals in the changing room next to the school toilet.

The issue blew up with various parties voicing their dissatisfaction over the matter. Initial reports revealed that the students were given the space to have their meals due to the fasting month.

However, the headmaster later clarified that the students were asked to use the changing room because the canteen was under renovation.

Photographs of the school and its canteen carried in newspapers showed no renovation work being carried out.

Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan, who then visited the school and donated RM10,000 for extension to the school canteen, said the issue was closed after meeting the headmaster and the Parent-Teacher Association.

Protest planned

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation said it would organise a protest outside the Education Ministry in Putrajaya if the police and the ministry did not act against the headmaster.

Malaysian Tamilian Today secretary K Gunasegaran, who accompanied Kumancan today, said the organisation would organise the protest onAug 15.

“The police must act and be transparent in their investigations. We want answers and results. Please do not just give us lip service by saying we are investigating,” he added.

Sungai Buloh OCPD Supt Junaidi Bujang meanwhile told reporters that the police had wrapped up investigations on the initial police report against the headmaster.

“That (police report against the headmaster for asking pupils to eat in the changing room) has been completed. Now we have a fresh report against the headmaster. We will start work on this immediately.

“Since a report has been lodged, we will leave no stones unturned,” he added.

Umno wants action against parent

Meanwhile, the Selangor Umno wanted the police to charge those responsible for uploading photos of the non-Muslim pupils eating in the school shower room with sedition.

Its liaison committee chairman, Noh Omar, who visited the school today, said the headmaster, Mohd Nasir, had lodged a police report against the parent who had posted the pictures on Facebook for creating tension.

“If possible, I want the police to investigate the headmaster’s report and action taken under the Sedition Act,” he said at a press conference in the school’s canteen.

Noh also urged the police to expedite investigations into the matter.

He also criticised the parent who had highlighted the issue without checking the facts of the matter first.

He said the school administration had resorted to using the shower room as the canteen because it did not have sufficient space for its increasing student population.

“If parents have a problem, they should refer to the PTA and not make a big issue of things like this.

“The parents of the child (who had posted the picture) had just enrolled the child in this school for a week and posted the pictures.

“Surely, she would not have known about the school’s decision to use the shower room as an extension to the canteen in March,” he said.