SAR advocates not swayed by Mahathir's assurance

comments     Arfa'eza A Aziz     Published     Updated

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."

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