The MCA has slammed the caning of a 10-year-old boy by his school administrator because he had brought fried rice and pork sausages to school for recess.

Calling the issue “disturbing”, the party had also said that it is not up to teachers and school senior assistants to impose a ‘halal food’ policy in schools.

malaysiakini interview loh seng kok 061108 04 “If the allegations are accurate, action must be taken against the said senior assistant. The school authorities, including the headmistress and the senior assistant ought to apologise to the child and his mother for the trauma which the boy had to endure,” said party central committee member and  publicity bureau deputy chairman  Loh Seng Kok ( left ).

“MCA finds it disturbing that the senior assistant had allegedly warned the parent ‘Don’t blow up this matter, as it is a very sensitive issue among Muslims’.

“This trend of resorting to the excuse of being expected to remain silent so as ‘not to stir up sensitivities’ is a simplified excuse to enforce one’s religious values on other faiths, as well as to sweep issues which would have unsettling impact on minority groups under the carpet,” he said in a statement today.

Punishment hasty and excessive

Calling for the Education Ministry and the Sarawak State Education Department to seriously look into the allegations of the incident, that took place in SK St Thomas in Kuching, Loh said that it was even more upsetting when the senior assistant later allegedly denied the caning episode when confronted by the boy’s mother ( left, in photo below ).

NONE “Surely, for a pupil to be caned by a senior assistant, there will be a school record taken for the offense which justified the penalty?

“Is it a case of sudden amnesia realising the excessiveness and speed in his disciplinary action against the boy? Or is it a case of ineffective school administration which canes pupils but does not keep record of disciplinary problems?” asked Loh.

He also said that teachers should not arbitrarily impose their religious values on others, more so when no school circular has been issued to parents.

sarawak diverse population percentage breakdown of race 160106 “Moreover, to define non-halal food as sensitive should be taken in the context of religious sensitivities of other believers in entirety.

“The school should also disallow mutton and beef being brought out of respect for Hindus and Buddhists. To take a step further, perhaps fish and chicken should also be prohibited out of respect for vegetarians,” said Loh.

SK St Thomas, a mission school, is said to have a student population of 900, of whom half are Muslims.

Less than a quarter of Sarawak’s population is Muslim.