Politicians want probe into shower room canteen fiasco

Several senior politicians from both sides of the divide are insisting that the Education Ministry conduct a thorough investigation into the actions of a primary school which made its students have their meals in a shower room, irrespective of the explanations provided by school authorities.

MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong said it was “unacceptable” for SK Seri Pristana’s headmaster to use the excuse that the changing room was clean and only used as a temporary measure.

“From a health perspective, it is simply unhygienic to use a changing room or toilet for eating. This is common sense on the most basic level,” the former deputy education minister said in a statement.

This came following a visit to the school by Deputy Education Minister II P Kamalanathan (right) today, who explained that the school’s action had nothing to do with race or religion.

Instead, Kamalanathan had said the move, which the school claims was enforced on both Muslim and non-Muslim students as well as teaching staff since March, was due to space constraints at the school’s existing canteen, which was also “under renovation”, and not because the canteen was closed during the fasting month, as previously claimed.

MP: Investigate ‘under renovation’ excuse

Meanwhile, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali called the move by the school as “shocking and scandalous”.

“Ramadan teaches us to be generous, considerate and more caring to others. This is an insult to Islam and whoever is responsible must be dealt with accordingly,” he, too, said in a statement.

Joining in on the urgings for a thorough investigation into the matter, DAP national vice-chairperson M Kulasegaran said this must be done as the school’s excuse that the canteen was “under renovation” has been disputed.

A group of parents have claimed that the makeshift canteen was only put into use two days into Ramadan and the renovation merely comprised the erection of glass doors for the teacher’s canteen.

“I also urge the government to make the probe results public and take stern action against the school headmaster if probe result shows the continued decision to make the pupils have their meals in the changing room during the fasting month when the canteen was empty was not due to renovation work,” the Ipoh Barat MP’s statement reads.