The special education committee tasked to formulate a report on the religious school system, including the controversial Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR), denies that it is deliberately delaying the matter.

Committee secretary Izzudeen Efendi said today that the report is "progressing well" and the committee is in the process of refining it.

"As what the committee chairperson (Murad Mohd Nor) informed the media recently, we have shown a draft of the report to the prime minister (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) who then requested us to refine a few things," he said when contacted.

"Some of the ways (to fine-tune the report) is for us to refer the proposals to educationists and experts to ensure that our proposals would benefit the students. There is no reason for us to delay," he added.

Serious issue

On the criticism that the committee is taking too much time to produce the report, Izzudeen said it is a time consuming process as it not only required an in-depth study but also feedback from the concerned parties.

"The issue we are studying is a serious one and the proposals - if accepted by the government - will affect thousands of students, teachers and parents...so we do not want to do a rush job.

"The important things is that we must ensure that the proposals are practical for implementation," he added.

Asked how soon the report can be made public, Izzudeen said the decision rests with the government and not the committee.

Last March, the Rulers Conference ordered the committee to conduct a study on religious education, namely the SAR issue, and to "take into account all the memorandum submitted by relevant parties".

Supporters of SAR sought the help of the rulers after the government withdrew an annual grant ranging from RM60 to RM150 per student to the schools.

The government decided this after former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused these schools, which are predominantly run by opposition party PAS, of instilling the students with anti-government sentiments. However, the schools have denied this.

Election tactic

Meanwhile, Save the SAR movement (Gegar) president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said the committee should not continue keeping the public in the dark over the issue.

"It has been months since the committee met us (supporters of SAR) to get our views but to date we have not even seen the draft yet. The method adopted by the committee lacks transparency which is bad because this is a public-interest issue.

"We are unsure if our request that the Rulers Conference be given a say in the development of the report was implemented. Where are the drafts that the committee said it would give to us? Shed some light on the matter, please. Everything seems so vague," he said when contacted.

Mohd Azmi said he is aware of the concerns that the government is deliberately delaying the report so that it can be used as a means to garner more votes at the upcoming general election.

"I cannot dismiss the concern. For all we know, the politicians are just waiting for the right time to announce the report. If this happens, the government would be guilty of deceit. It is also unfair for the students and teachers as they are made to wait when the proposals could have been implemented earlier.

"This is why we have asked from the beginning that the SAR issue must not be politicised. Many schools are affected by the withdrawal of the assistance - a decision made due to political interests," he said.

Baseless allegation

In a related development, a source close to the committee dismissed the allegation that the prime minister would use the report to secure votes.

The educationist, who requested anonymity, said Abdullah has been fair and open to the new ideas and proposals made by the committee thus far.

"Some of the committee members have said it is easy to work with the premier because his (Islamic studies) background helps him understand the issue in a much better way.

"They said that from their past meetings with the prime minister, his (Abdullah's) concern on the issue seemed genuine. So far the premier has been happy with the development and had informed the committee to take all the time they need to refine the report. So I think the allegation has no merit," he said.

He added that the committee is also confident of producing proposals that would benefit the country's religious education system.