DAP: Education Ministry should clear issue on festive celebration, Putra is illogical
PUCHONG: A DAP MP today called upon the Education Ministry to issue a clear directive to schools that it is not wrong to put up decorations in schools to celebrate festive seasons.
In a statement today, an irate Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh also hurled brickbats at Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) for threatening a school in Puchong for putting up decorations to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration.
“The threats by Putra is uncalled for and unprecedented. Going by their skewed logic, all Chinese New Year decorations in the country should be taken down for allegedly being unconstitutional.
“This is simply incomprehensible and illogical,” he said.
Yesterday, Putra vice president Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz threatened to take legal action against SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong 1, in Pusat Bandar Puchong, for putting up elaborate Chinese New Year decorations.
The right-wing lawyer claimed that it was aimed at confusing Muslim students and propagating non-Islamic teachings.
However, Khairul’s irrational threat received rebuke from two ministers, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Gobind Singh Deo.
Saifuddin even schooled Khairul; reminding him that the Chinese New Year was a cultural celebration, not religious.
The school principal, Rohani Mohd Noor had confirmed in an email that the decorations would be taken down, claiming it was put up without her consent.
Ramkarpal scoffed at Khairul, saying that being a lawyer, the latter should know that there has been no judicial pronouncement proclaiming that festive decorations in public places is unconstitutional.
“As such, the school cannot be faulted for breaching any law in doing so,” he said.
While Ramkarpal concurred that the school principal had agreed to take down the decorations as they were put up without her approval, he said that Malaysians have always come together for festivities and the tradition should continue.
‘And I wonder whose approval is required for such decorations to be put up in a school?
“It is unfortunate that the school succumbed to the pressure by Putra and I urge the school principal to ignore their threats,” he said.
This was not the first time Khairul caused a controversy. The right-wing politician last month filed a suit in court in an attempt to challenge to constitutionality of vernacular schools.
By G Vinod
