MCA tells Muhyiddin to suggest action against racist principals

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 – The MCA today appeared to rap the Education Minister for passing the buck on disciplining two school heads accused of racism, and warned of a public backlash if not resolved soon.

The Public Service Department (PSD), charged with investigating the two principals, have been keeping mum on the matter nearly two months after they were made public.

“We feel the minister can make recommendations to the JPA,” its president Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek (picture) told reporters at its headquarters, calling the government department by its Malay initials.

Dr Chua was referring to Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s seeming reluctance to intervene, citing he had no power to act against the two principals who were senior-ranking civil officers and that the PSD was in charge.

The ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Chinese chief said his party understood the separation of authority, but pointed out that the public did not.

“The final decision is with JPA, but the rakyat don’t understand, and this includes the parents from the affected schools,” Dr Chua said.

“If the government does not take stern action and quickly, it will send the message that the government does not care about this issue,” the former cabinet minister observed.

The two principals – one from Johor and the other from Kedah – had triggered a national uproar in August after their ethnic Chinese and Indian students complained of being verbally abused with racially-tinged remarks.

Some 20 students of SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai, Johor had lodged police reports against principal Siti Insyah Mansor, claiming she had called them “passengers”, inferring they were not qualified to be citizens and likened the Hindu students wearing prayer strings around their necks to leashed “dogs”.

Ungku Aznan Ungku Ismail, the principal of SMK Bukit Selambau in Sungai Petani, Kedah, got into trouble after his ethnic Chinese charges complained of being scolded for eating in the school compound in front of their Muslim peers during the fasting month of Ramadan.

The two school heads were suspended following the outcry, but upset parents and politicians want a stiffer penalty imposed against them, including sacking.