Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was lambasted for saying he cannot decide the fate of the ‘racist’ Bukit Selambau principal who allegedly told his non-Malay students to go back to China for eating in the school canteen during Ramadan.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said he was surprised that Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said he cannot make any decision on government officers with the pay grade of 48 and above, and the principal’s grade is 52.

lim guan eng pc on doctored pix and penang bridge 25th anniversary Lim ( right ), who is also DAP national secretary-general, said many Malaysians cannot believe and cannot accept this shocking statement.

“As DPM and education minister, of course he (Muhyiddin) has the power to act against the principal; if he says he cannot, he does not respect his positions,” Lim told a press conference in Penang today.

“If he cannot act even against a school headmaster, what kind of DPM or education minister is he?” queried Lim.

“It seems he is the only one in the world who has such positions and cannot act on such issues,” he added.

Yesterday, during a press conference in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, Muhyiddin had said that for officers of such a grade only the disciplinary board of the Public Services Department (PSD) headed by the director-general can take action.

deputy prime minister muhyiddin yassin at sekolah menengah sains hulu selangor 020410 02 Muhyiddin ( left ) added that the ministry has done its own investigation and had handed over the results to the PSD to consider and mete out their decision.

The Star had reported on Sept 4 that the PSD has received a 16cm-thick report from the ministry and were mulling over what decision to take.

However, the apparent lack of disciplinary action against Ungku Aznan Ungku Ismail had raised the ire of MCA who said that it will protest if no action is taken.

It has also irked the DAP, who submitted a memorandum yesterday to the Kedah education department, urging that the principal be replaced.

Meanwhile, Lim said it was better for Muhyiddin to say he does not want to act against Ungku Aznan as he then could be taken to task for saying so.

He added that Muhyiddin must have the power to act against the principal as the latter’s actions were “wrong, extreme and contravenes the Malaysian spirit and the 1Malaysia concept”.

He stressed that principals cannot be allowed to cause disharmony or create disunity among students by uttering such ‘racist’ statements.

“We are disappointed at the DPM’s statement; it is better to say he does not wish to act instead of running away from the issue,” said Lim.

“He is insulting the intelligence of Malaysians by saying this,” he added.