HM accused of telling students to 'balik India, China'

Coming hot on the heels of the shower room canteen imbroglio is another allegation that a principal of a secondary school in Shah Alam hurled racial abuses at her students.

It is claimed that the principal told her Chinese and Indian students to return to their respective ancestral lands.

Shah Alam MIC deputy division chief A Prakash Rao said the incident took place during the school assembly last Monday.

"Based on the complaints I received from the parents, the principal was furious because the students were making a racket during her speech.

"She then scolded all the students, but later targeted the Chinese and Indian students, telling them to 'balik India dan China' (go back to India and China)," Prakash told Malaysiakini.

He said that the students then informed their parents, who later brought the matter to his attention.

In an attempt to verify the allegation, the MIC leader led a delegation to the school this morning but the headmistress was on leave.

"When we told the school management that we would return tomorrow, they informed us that she had a meeting elsewhere and won't be in... so we told them that we would return on Wednesday then.

"We  intend to get to the bottom of this matter," Prakash said.

Parents afraid of lodging report
Responding to a question, the MIC leader said the parents were afraid of lodging a police report after what transpired when the SK Sri Pristana incident was exposed.

A parent who uploaded photographs of SK Sri Pristina pupils eating in the shower room had received phone calls from unknown individuals threatening to kidnap her daughter.

"So these parents are worried about their safety and the safety of their children," said Prakash.

He said the disgruntled parents had complained that while Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promoted the 1Malaysia agenda, it was not practised on the ground.

"This is becoming a never-ending saga... 

"It is like that Tamil proverb...'God grants us a boon but the priest stands in our way'," he said, referring to Najib's 1Malaysia slogan and the civil service's failure to implement it.

If the latest incident was true, Prakash said, the Education Ministry must take severe action against the headmistress.

"How can a person tasked with overseeing both teachers and students do this? If the principal herself utters such things, imagine what the students would think?

"These students would also resort to such racist rants thinking that it was justified to do so given that a principal could do it. This culture must be stopped," Prakash added.

Since Malaysiakini could not reach the principal or the school authorities for comment, the name of the school is being withheld for now.