KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — Malay rights group Perkasa have thrown their weight behind “racist” principal Siti Inshah Mansor and urged the government to retain her amid calls from various parties for her sacking.
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang yesterday gave Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday a 60-hour deadline to prove his “zero tolerance” policy on racism by taking action against Siti Inshah and another school head accused of spouting racial slurs by National Day.
“We urge the Education Ministry to retain Siti Inshah Mansor,” Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters following the group’s supreme council meeting today .
“What she said has nothing to do with politics or racism. She was just giving advice to the students,” he said, adding that he made the conclusion after talking to teachers and students in her school in Kulai.
Siti Inshah, the school head of SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra in Kulai, has since apologised but various parties are still calling for stern disciplinary action against her, including sacking.
The school principal allegedly said during a school assembly that “Chinese students... can return to China,” and likened the prayer strings used by Indians to dog leashes.
Representatives from DAP, MIC and even Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth have condemned Siti Inshah and called for stiff punishment to be meted out against her if the allegations were proven true.
Ibrahim, however, today accused politicians of “twisting” the issue for political purposes.
“There are people exploiting this for political reasons,” said the Pasir Mas MP.
Perkasa’s defence of Siti Inshah follows a Facebook fan page that was recently created in support of her, which also claimed that she was a victim of political machinations.
The Facebook page titled “Support Puan Siti, a political victim (Sokong Cikgu Puan Hajah Siti Mangsa Politik) has now garnered 1,943 fans since its creation last Saturday, August 21.
Many “fans” believed that the attacks against the school principal were “racial and ethnic”.
Hours after The Malaysian Insider carried out a story about Siti’s support page, a rival Facebook page condemning the alleged remarks of the Johor principal was also created.
Titled “Do not support Puan Siti (Tidak Sokong Cikgu Puan Hajah Siti)”, the page had 454 followers as of August 25.
The police are currently investigating the case under section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine or both.
A total of 20 complaints have been lodged with the authorities.
Siti Inshah had reportedly made the derogatory remarks earlier this month during the launch of the school’s Merdeka celebrations.
“Chinese students are not needed here and can return to China or Foon Yew school. For the Indian students, the prayer string tied around their neck and wrist makes them look like dogs because only dogs are tied like that,” Siti Inshah was quoted as saying in at least one police report.
Last Friday, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom to set up a task force and probe the incidents.
Alimuddin had previously claimed the matter was a mere misunderstanding that has been settled.
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