Johor Education Department director Markom Giran, who has been caught on video allegedly campaigning for the BN in Tenang, has denied the accusation.

He said he was merely identifying the political tendencies of teachers to ensure that they “support the government’s policies”.

NONE "I did not campaign. I was speaking to my subordinates. It is our right to identify which (political parties) our teachers are supporting," said Markom (right) when contacted today.

"If they are found to be against the government, we will call them up and send them for courses to let them understand that a government servant should not be against government policy."

He explained that a government servant is an executor of government policy and hence they should follow whatever policy is made by the government of the day.

"We are hired ( makan gaji ) by the government. So we should not go against the government. Whatever the policy is, we just follow."

NONE Markom cited as an example the policy of teaching mathematics and science in English that was reversed by the government in 2009 after seven years of implementation, saying that teachers should just follow the new policy instead of questioning the government on the U-turn.

A video ( left ) was uploaded on YouTube recently showing Markom addressing teachers , and telling them “to help the government to win the by-election this round".

In the video , Markom tells the teachers to organise motivational programmes for their students, after which the teachers are required to meet with the students’ parents to identify whether they are supporters of BN or the opposition.

Johor PAS deputy commissioner Dzulkefly Ahmad has since lodged a police report on Markom's alleged campaigning activities.