Kindergarten engagement held in school hall, not church, says education DG

 Azam Ahmad says claims the engagement session took place in a church are aimed at tarnishing the ministry’s image.

A Threads user, who appeared to have attended the engagement session at Assumption International Secondary School in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, had questioned the choice of the venue.

PETALING JAYA:

 The education ministry has denied claims that an engagement session with private kindergarten stakeholders for the northern zone was held in a church.

Its director-general, Azam Ahmad, said the session took place on Thursday in the hall of Assumption International Secondary School in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, a registered institution under the ministry.

“The school was selected based on factors such as the availability of facilities, the intention to highlight international schools as part of the country’s private education institutions, and to demonstrate the strong synergy between the ministry and private education providers,” he said in a statement today.

Azam described the claims as malicious and misleading, aimed at tarnishing the ministry’s image.

“In the spirit of Ramadan, the education ministry calls on all parties to increase their acts of worship and avoid engaging in slander,” he said.

The claims stem from a Threads post by a user who appeared to have attended the session and questioned the venue.

“I feel cheated with the programme being held here. Are there no other suitable places for us Muslims during this holy month?” the user wrote, sharing photos that appeared to depict a church.

According to a Buletin Mutiara report, the school was formerly known as SK Assumption.

It repurposed St Joachim Church, a former Catholic church building on its grounds, as a multi-purpose hall. - FMT