Solidarity week has backfired - time to end it

It was in the making. It only needed a gentle nudge from someone in authority. It came despite vociferous objections from parents, civil society organisations, and lawmakers.

“We are looking at the seriousness of dragging school children into becoming part of the global, adult world of protest and not subject young minds to getting embroiled in this Middle East Crisis,” a group of NGOs said.

But did anyone listen? It went through one ear and came out of another of the powers that be.

The Education Ministry, in espousing the misjudged belief that the government knows what’s best for our children, ignored the protests and justified its decision.

Yesterday, we saw the result of that bird-brained idea. In a primary school in Klang, Selangor, we saw “freedom fighters” dressed in Arab garb “capturing” a school where pupils sat on the floor and watched in awe as unwilling witnesses.

It may have been a mock exercise but what message was conveyed? Pictures and videos of children carrying guns with green headbands and the black and white “Palestinian scarves” have gone viral on social media.

What are we teaching the young? We are teaching them violence and hatred.

Instead of a programme of sympathy and support for the human race and humanity, this was a classic case of transporting them to the war front and making them come face to face with violence.

On Tuesday, I penned a piece after a teacher ordered primary school pupils to stomp on the Israeli flag.

I asked: “But why are schools turning out as breeding grounds of hatred? Why are teachers sowing the seeds of hate and divisiveness?”

The stomping of the flag was condoned and declared acceptable. What then would the authorities do about today’s incident?

I now repeat what I asked four days ago: “Is this what our education system breeds? Is this not sowing the seeds of hate and discord? Is it not the worst form of religious education for young minds?”

Who is responsible for toy guns?

Solidarity does not give anyone a carte blanche to break the law and teach children wrong concepts and values.

Expressing solidarity does not mean poisoning young minds and inculcating wrong values – hatred and abhorrence.

Who is going to take responsibility for this? How were the toy guns acquired and then brought into the school? Even being in possession of such items is an offence under the Penal Code.

Photos circulated on social media show there were at least a dozen weapons.

Isn’t it the head of the school’s responsibility to keep such items away from the school? Did he or she approve of this and the drama that followed?

Amid protests by parent groups, the ministry said in a statement that the Palestine Solidarity Week in schools will teach students about humanitarian values.

This includes teaching them how to be colour-blind when it comes to empathy. This programme will teach students humanitarian values which also cover human rights and courtesy.

In the same statement, the ministry said because of modern technology, children are already exposed to all sorts of content, including international conflicts and humanitarian crises.

As such, the ministry said there needs to be intervention to clarify things with the students - hence the Palestine Solidarity Week.

But, showing solidarity with a nation several thousand kilometres away is not part of the curriculum and yet the ministry argued it was part of civics education.

Propaganda of hatred

Utter bunkum. It has done the opposite.

It has backfired stunningly and the eggs have scattered spectacularly on the faces of those who initiated and supported this.

Let me be blunt. This was part of propaganda created by politicians who sought to instil hatred, bigotry, and fascism in young minds.

And there was also a side benefit too. It is for all Malaysians to judge whose shade of green is brighter.

So, what next? The ministry should order all schools and colleges to stop such activities immediately.

So much damage has already been done and many young minds have already been filled with hatred. There’s no shame in retracting a circular that has done more harm than good.

The police have the work cut out for them. While they are quick to stop peaceful protests, they should investigate the incident and bring the culprits to book.

Leniency should not be shown just because they were answering the prime minister’s clarion call for massive protests.

It should be remembered that this incident was neither to show solidarity nor a protest over what is happening in Gaza. In short, to put it crudely, the organisers just turned one school into a breeding ground for hatred. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.