The Tawau Education Office directive to schools in the district to complete a survey revealing the political leanings of teachers demands an investigation, SAPP's Tawau MP Chua Boon Sui said today.

Debating the royal address in Parliament, Chua said the matter should be viewed seriously as it could "adversely impact teachers".

NONE "Does the ministry allow this? What is the motive behind it and is the officer-in-charge abusing his powers to instruct (the survey be done)?" she asked, calling also for the results of the probe to be made public.

Last week, Malaysiakini reported that Tawau education officer Darman Shah Asakil had on March 1 issued a directive to school heads in the district to record the political leanings of all staff under them.

Those who support the opposition are to be categorised as "black", those who are "grateful" and supportive of government "white" while those in between are considered "grey".

However, Darman Shah, however, withdrew the directive after the Malaysiakini report went viral on the Internet and said that it was a "mistake".

He also said it was not a directive from the ministry or Sabah education department but an initiative by the Tawau office to encourage teachers to focus on their teaching.

Malaysiakini has received information that a similar directive was also made outside of Tawau and more details on the matter are being gathered.