A mother in Sarawak, Angela Jabing Beginda, is incensed that a senior assistant in Kuching caned her 10-year-old son about 10 times for bringing non-halal food to school.

She had earlier prepared fried rice with non-halal sausages on Oct 15 for his recess break.

NONE Jabing ( left in photo ) decided to go public with the matter at a press conference in Kuching on Wednesday after the mission school sent her a written non-reply dated Oct 29.

Earlier, the school’s senior assistant who had punished her son, warned her against making a big deal over the incident.

The senior assistant’s exact words, according to Jabing who confronted him on Oct 19, were: “Jangan besar-besarkan hal, kerana ini isu yang cukup sensitive di kalangan orang-orang Islam (Don’t blow up this matter as it is a very sensitive issue among Muslims).”

“When I met the school principal - a female Chinese Christian who was Jabing’s ex-teacher - on Oct 19 for clarification, the senior assistant was present,” said Jabing in elaborating on her press conference.

“The senior assistant at first claimed that he could not recall the caning incident.”

Apparently, the senior assistant later relented and made a big pretence of looking for any record of the incident in his book and said that there was none there.

Her son, continued Jabing, was also summoned to the principal’s office to explain himself.

The school principal advised her at the same meet that the senior assistant, who is a Muslim from Simunjan, had announced during a school assembly in February that pupils were prohibited from bringing non-halal food to school “even for their own consumption”.

Apparently, this was out of “respect for Muslim pupils”, according to Jabing in quoting the school principal.

Unsatisfactory e xplanation

Jabing, who was not satisfied with the school principal’s explanation, wrote in officially for a reply. Instead, the school principal called her on Oct 28 and suggested a further meeting.

She refused and insisted on a written reply which she subsequently received dated Oct 29.

The letter did not explain why her son needed to be caned over the non-halal food but instead assured her that the school doesn’t practice a policy of discrimination.

Jabing had also wanted to know whether the action taken by the school against her son was justified, why the school is trying to implement the non-halal food rule and whether the ruling was based on any instruction from the Education Ministry.

She does not recall her son’s school ever sending her any written circular on its non-halal food ruling.

Both mother and son could not understand why non-halal food being a sensitive issue among Muslims has anything to do with their own eating habits.

If the issue was about “respecting the religious beliefs of others”, she stressed, then the school should also not allow beef products out of respect for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists or any non-vegetarian food products for Hindus and Buddhists who were vegetarians.

She queries the school’s double standards in implementing the non-halal food ruling.

Jabing wants the Education Ministry to look immediately into the matter of her son being caned “severely by the intolerant school administration”.

“I am unable to produce halal food as I am non-Muslim,” said Jabing a working mother. “I am very concerned as my son has been arbitrarily punished and is now fearful of school.”

Not a matter of religion

Sarawak Wanita PKR vice-chairperson Voon Shiak Ni, who was also present at Wednesday’s press conference, deplored the “disunity” being fostered by the errant school administration.

“We hope that our children can sit down together and eat at the same table as a step towards national unity,” she said. “We live in a multiracial society.”

NONE Wanita PKR deputy chief Nurhanim Hanna Mokhsen ( second from right ) added that the errant school administration “had gone too far”.

“Caning a small child so many times for no reason is simply not acceptable,” she said. “The school should be realistic.”

She thinks that the school involved should have called in the boy’s parents “if they had a problem with his food”.

She suspects that the errant senior assistant was trying to make up his own rules to impose on the pupils.

In Kota Kinabalu, Common Interest Group Malaysia (CigMA) deputy chair Daniel John Jambun urged the Education Department to issue a show-cause letter to the errant senior assistant and appropriate follow-up action taken.

“This incident shows a clear denial of a person’s basic rights. Even children have rights under the Federal Constitution and the United Nations Charter on Children’s Rights,” fumed Jambun.

“We will be discussing this matter to ensure that Jabing is not alone in the matter. This is not a matter of religion but more about exercising control by intimidating others into submission.”

Education Dept investigates

He urged the senior assistant and the school principal concerned to apologise to Jabing, her son and the entire school at an assembly.

“They must also promise not to repeat their intolerance,” he added. “This doesn’t augur well for the Najib administration’s 1Malaysia theme.”

The State Education Department in Kuching declined comment pending an on-going investigation.

However, a source disclosed that four officials from the department had a meeting yesterday at the school with the school principal concerned, the senior assistant, Jabing, her son, and five other students who may be able to assist with the investigation.

One of the students is evidently the son of the senior assistant who allegedly ratted on Jabing’s son and got him punished for bringing non-halal food to school. Jabing also confirmed that she was present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, the school concerned - St Thomas Primary School - declined any comment.

sarawak diverse population percentage breakdown of race 160106 It was learnt that the school has a student enrollment of nearly 900 students of whom half are Muslim.

The school has 20 Muslim teaching and administrative staff, two Hindu teachers, and six Christian teachers, some of whom are Chinese.

Less than 25 percent of the Sarawak population of 2.4 million is Muslims, mostly 'Sarawak Malay' – Bidayuh and Iban along the coast who converted to Islam – and a third of the nearly 100,000 Melanau, the Kedayan and a handful of Indians.