National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general N Siva Subramaniam today warned the Education Ministry not to issue unnecessary threats against him with regard to the Independent committee on segregation in schools report.

In its findings on March 20, the seven-member committee stated that the unions claims of racial segregation in schools was unfounded.

When contacted today, Siva said the ministry should provide the union with a copy of the full report before making such statements like asking for his apology through the media, which only serves to politicise the issue now.

Dont use unnecessary threats against me. They (ministry) have already prejudged me before I can even study the report and respond accordingly, he said.

Yesterday, Bernama reported Deputy Education Minister Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin as saying that Siva faces disciplinary action if he insists that there is racial segregation in schools.

Siva said the union had sent a written request to the ministry on Saturday, March 22, for a copy of the full report and the 20-page executive summary, copies of which were released to the media during the press conference last Thursday.

The proper thing to do would be to give us a copy and then discuss the findings. That is why Im waiting to meet the deputy prime minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) so that I can explain all the facts and figures.

On calls made by politicians and unions for him to apologise, Siva said the NUTP as a professional organisation will not get into the politics of the matter.

Dont pull peoples throat and say dont talk. It is only fair to deal with this problem professionally, he added.

Complaints by parents

On Nov 19 last year Siva responded to media reports of racial segregation in schools based on complaints by parents of students in a Port Klang school by saying that about 10 percent of schools were involved, prompting Education Minister Musa Mohamad to challenge Siva to prove the unions allegations.

The committee headed by Prof K J Ratnam began its probe on Jan 2 following the unions initial revelation that 210 primary and secondary schools were segregating the children according to their race.

Other committee members are former education deputy director-general (I) Omar Mohd Hashim, former economics and administration lecturer Prof Murugesu Pathmanathan, Pintas CEO Prof Dr Wan Halim Othman, Universiti Malaya social psychologist Prof Chiam Keng Heng, former director of schools Jumaat Mohd Noor and former state education director Saw Chee Leng.

Since last week, pressure has mounted from various quarters including Abdullah, asking Siva to apologise for causing distress and unhappiness among teachers in the 210 schools.

But Siva has stood his ground, saying that the union will only apologise if it finds that its allegations are baseless after scrutinising the independent committees report.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, upon his return from a nine-day visit to Russia yesterday, maintained that it was just a result of confusion and a misunderstanding on the part of the NUTP.

Stressing that the governments stand was to get students together to enhance racial integration, Mahathir said he was confident the matter would be resolved amicably between the parties involved.