Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tunku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalulail today expressed regret that several public religious schools or Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR) were teaching students to hate other Muslims.

According to a Bernama report, the King said this did not reflect the true teachings of Islam as the religion regarded all Muslims as brothers.

"If my government were to continue to support such deviated religious schools, it would mean that the government condones the teaching of that contrary to Islam," he said when opening the first sitting of the fifth term of the 10th Parliament this morning.

However, he added that he was grateful that many parents and students of SAR had responded to the government's call to switch to national schools where they can receive a balanced education o­n their obligations as individuals and as members of society.