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Friday, 24 September 2010

Plan for parliamentary motion on racist principals

(Malaysiakini) Pakatan Rakyat will move for an urgent motion on the first day of Parliament when it convenes on Oct 11 if the government does not act against the two school principals who allegedly made racist remarks against non-Malay students recently.

NONEDAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang (left) noted that Prime Minister Najib Razak himself had said that there would be "zero tolerance of racism" two weeks after the incidents took place.

"If (there is) no satisfactory action to honour Najib's declaration, particularly in the public service with commensurate penalty meted out to the two principals... Pakatan Rakyat will move an urgent motion (in Parliament) to demand a full debate," he said in a statement today.

Pakatan's decision follows a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday, saying that it was out of his jurisdiction as a minister to act on the matter.

Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, told the press that only the Public Services Department could mete out disciplinary action against the principals due to their senior ranking in the civil service.

Lim, who is the Ipoh Timor MP, said like his previous declaration of being "Malay first and Malaysian second", Muhyiddin's "latest gaffe" made a "total mockery" of his boss'1Malaysia slogan.

"(His statement) raises troubling questions about whether Najib's 1Malaysia policy represents serious government policy and the degree of Muhyiddin's support and loyalty to it," he said.

More disturbing than the lack of action against the principals, Lim observed, was the "thunderous silence" by the deputy premier on the incident that happened six weeks ago.

"Is it outside of Muhyiddin's power to condemn school principals for racist slurs?

"Forty-five days have passed since the first incident... without any sign of meaningful action being taken to effectively check the rise of racist bigotry and religious extremism, (even) in the 18 months of Najib's premiership," he said.

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