Stop ritual slaughter of cows in school compound, urges DAP MP

The practice of slaughtering cows in school compounds in conjunction with Hari Raya Haji must stop as it hurts the sensitivity of children, in particular the Hindus, said DAP's Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran.

Kula (pic) described several ritual slaughter events carried out at several schools in the Klang Valley as baffling and unacceptable, and questioned the ignorance of school principals over the Hindu community's veneration for cows.

"There is no reason that can justify such a ritual being carried out in a school compound, especially in a national school where there are multi-racial children," he said in a statement today.

He pointed out that in a multi-racial and multi-religious society, the sensitivities of all must be respected.

It was reported that a parent, S. Dineswary, was told by her daughter that a cow and a calf were slaughtered on Thursday for a feast in conjunction with Eid al-Adha celebrations at a Kuala Lumpur school. Similar events were held at schools in Bandar Baru Bangi and Puchong.

Kula called on the Education Ministry to take stern action against the schools for failing to respect non-Muslim sensitivities.

He recalled how in 2007 BN MPs slaughtered cows in the Parliament grounds to celebrate the marriage of then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Kula had then criticised the act, saying it was disrespectful to the Hindus.

"The Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib responded that cows were slaughtered everywhere.

"He was then asked if other animals were also slaughtered in Parliament grounds, would this be acceptable.

"He didn't respond to the question, but the open slaughtering has since stopped,” Kula said.

He added the issue of cows being slaughtered in school compounds would be raised at the next parliamentary meeting tomorrow.

On Friday, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism president Jagir Singh urged the authorities to respect the sensitivity of Hindus as the cow was sacred to them.

He had said the continued slaughter of cattle in schools also violated the constitutional rights of non-Muslims.

"The Education Ministry must send circulars to school heads to stop slaughtering cows in the school premises," he said.

But Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia, a Muslim NGO which last August sparked outrage after it produced a controversial video for National Day, has come out in support of the practice of slaughtering cows in schools.

Its deputy president Aminuddin Yahaya said that Muslims must have the courage to defend their religious practices.

"Why should we bow to pressure from them (Hindus)? This is our country and it is an Islamic country," he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.