Banners in support of HM condemned

Why punish the whistleblower and intimidate the students of SK Seri Pristana? asks MCA.

PETALING JAYA: An MCA leader today condemned public support for SK Seri Pristana headmaster, Mohd Nasir Mohd Nor, saying it was irresponsible and highly unethical because it targets the students.

MCA National Organising Secretary Tan Chin Meng was responding to reports of banners hung outside the gates of SK Seri Pristana in Sungai Buloh in support of Mohd Nasir.

“These irresponsible actions appear to daunt and constrain the non-Malay students. This is highly unethical mainly because the people targeted are children,” Tan said in a press statement.

He condemned the allegations that the headmaster and an unidentified man have been taking photographs of the non-Muslim students.

“This can be construed as a measure of intimidation and debilitation. If these actions are true, this behaviour is vile and stern action must be taken at once,” he said.

“It is one matter for average people to take these methods, but, the headmaster has joined in as well, further tainting his already sullied name,” he added.

Tan also slammed Selangor Umno chairman Noh Omar for calling for the parent who first exposed the makeshift canteen in changing room issue to be investigated and charged under the Sedition Act.

“It is utterly disappointing that a senior public figure could make such a disdainful remark against a parent standing up for the rights of her child,” he said.

“Any individuals who supports charging the whistleblower is a practitioner of selective sight, a legitimate characteristic of prejudice,” he added.

Tan explained that the headmaster had already apologised, thus indicating that he was in the wrong.

“What’s point is in charging the whistleblower? This is a complete misuse and abuse of the Sedition Act,” he said.

He called for the banners to be taken down and for Mohd Nasir to be “dealt with severely”.

“I stand with the parent and others like her who felt obligated to expose the unfair treatment of the children,” he said.

“The progression and harmonisation of our country can develop at a faster rate with the help of people brave enough to speak up and speak out.”

Don’t prolong the issue
Yesterday, FMT reported that four out of five banners put up on the fence at the front portion of the school showing support for Mohd Nasir.

The most prominent banner is by the Taman Seri Pristana Umno branch. It has a photo of the teachers breaking fast in the same shower room used by the students.

When asked by FMT, the security guard said he was not sure when the banners were put up.

The school had come under fire for using a changing room as a makeshift canteen, ostensibly due to some minor renovation work at the canteen.

Parents however said it was done to keep away the non-Muslim students from eating in the open during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Following a national uproar, the school and the Education Ministry apologised to the parents, with the school headmaster saying that he had set up the makeshift canteen as the school canteen was too small.

Meanwhile, MCA youth education bureau chairman Chong Sin Woon called for the issue to be “settled and allow education of the student to continue uninterrupted”.

“Education is first, and the atmosphere in which the students can learn is of most importance. This type of bullying cannot be permitted to any degree,” he said in a statement.

He described the “matter on hygiene” as tumbling “into a storm of racial and inter-faith issues”.

“This alternating game of politics inside the school must end at once as it is impeding the daily operation of their education,” he said.

“Action ought to be taken against the headmaster but this episode should not meddle into the daily education of the students. SK Peristana is still in full operation,” he added.