The advocates of Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR) or the people's religious schools are not convinced by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that the government has no intention of closing down the schools, stating that the actions and statements of government officials showed otherwise.

Save the SAR movement (Gegar) chairperson Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid told malaysiakini that Mahathir's clarification and explanation did not hide "the government's real intention" to do away with the people-run religious schools.

He said the actions and statements made by government people, be they politicians or from the Education Ministry, contradict the premier's assurance.

"We cannot forget the prime minister's earlier statement that SAR is no longer relevant at this time and age and that it was o­nly relevant at the time of the British," he said today.

"Neither can we forget that they took away the per capita grant. They denied our schools from being designated as examination centres.

"Also, what about the o­ngoing campaign against SAR in the mainstream media? Reports alleging that our students have no standard, our teachers are not properly trained and so o­n. All these untrue reports are made with the agenda to diminish public confidence in SAR. All these show that their ultimate aim is to close down SARs."

New committee

He was commenting o­n Mahathir's statement that the government is not closing down SARs but that it has merely stopped funding such schools.

Justifying the government's action, Mahathir said SAR teachers have deviated from the true teachings of Islam and taught the students to hate the government and other Muslims.

In a special briefing to Umno division leaders yesterday, Mahathir also announced the setting up of a committee led by former Education Ministry director-general Murad Mohd Noor to restructure the national school system so that religious studies will be incorporated in national schools. This is to dissuade Malay Malaysian parents from going to the privately-run SAR.

When contacted today, Mohd Azmi also reiterated his call for Mahathir and all government officials to substantiate with cogent evidence and facts, their allegations that SAR students are not receiving the real Islamic education.

"We have been asking for the proof that teachers are not carrying out their duties. To date they have yet to give any evidence. They (government officials) cannot simply make allegations based o­n their perception and without proof. This is bias," he said.

If they fail to provide the relevant evidence, he added, Mahathir and the government must tender a public apology to SARs.

Room for improvement

As for the newly formed committee, Mohd Azmi wondered if the government had made the decision with genuine concern to improve religious studies in the country.

"The reason why anyone would consider any reform in the system is to ensure that the learning and teaching process is effective for the students. Here, I do not see any genuine concern from the government to actually improve Islamic studies. While we feel there is always room for improvement in SAR, we think they merely want to ensure that students are stopped from being critical," he said.

We think that the government would 'sanitise' the subjects to rid of any ideas that would promote critical thinking among students, he added.

Mohd Azmi also questioned Mahathir's claim that the government's decision o­n SAR was not politically motivated.

"This claim is denied by his own actions and words. When he was asked by o­ne of the participants why the government did not close down the national-type Chinese and Tamil schools (to promote the national schools), his reply was because the government wants the non-Malays to continue supporting them.

"It's obvious here that politics is in the picture. The truth is that the government is repressing SAR because it believes that the teachers and students are greatly influenced by the opposition political parties," he said.

"We believe that the prime minister is 'addressing' the issue after being pressured by the people o­n this. We are aware that even Umno grassroots are questioning the government's decision which is obviously marginalising SAR," he added.

Killing SAR

Another advocate, Mohd Suhaimi Saad, who administers Sekolah Menengah Agama Fauzi in Yan, Kedah, said that he, too, was unconvinced by Mahathir's word o­n SAR.

"If they really want SAR to continue, why did they make all those decisions that will eventually lead to the death of SAR?" he said when contacted today.

"We have been ridiculed, looked down upon and had our commitment and effort questioned by the government. The prime minister's statement did not change anything," said Mohd Suhaimi.

He said that if the government was really concerned about SAR, they should continue with financial assistance and devise programmes to enhance the standard of education instead of throwing up lies about the schools to the media.

He was also disappointed with the allegations that SARs are not teaching its students 'real' Islamic subjects and that SAR students are taught to hate government and Muslim leaders.

"The Islamic subjects taught in SARs are based o­n the syllabus designed by Al-Azhar University with the approval of the respective state religious departments. We have never strayed from the syllabus as we want to ensure that our students would qualify for tertiary studies. Why are they suddenly finding fault o­n this?" he questioned.

He said Islamic subjects o­nly teach students how to differentiate "the wrongs and the rights within the religious context" and nothing more.

He added that the national curriculum is also emphasised by SAR teachers who worked very hard to see their students excel in national examinations like PMR and SPM.