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Nothing unusual in 'blessed water' dispenser, says ministry
Published:  May 30, 2016 6:00 PM
Updated: 11:58 PM

The Ministry of Education had found nothing suspicious in the purported ‘blessed water’ dispenser that was placed at a primary school in Klang, said its Deputy Minister, P Kamalanathan.

Instead, when the ministry checked on Friday last week, the machine was found to be dispensing ordinary water out of a standard water filter.

“The filtering machine was opened and it was found that its interior only contained some filters and nothing suspicious.

“Nevertheless, following objections from the Parents-Teachers’ Association (PTA), the distribution of the water has been stopped immediately,” Kamalanathan was quoted as saying in Berita Harian’s online edition today.

He added that the investigation on the school’s headmistress Lim Siok Hui is still ongoing, and the Klang District Education Office is still waiting for a report from the Ministry of Health (MOH) on the water filter.

“Once we receive the MOH report, only then will the (Education) Ministry decide on further action against the headmistress,” he said.

Previously, the MCA and a representative of the school’s board had raised complaints against the headmistress of SRJK (C) Pandamaran A.

They claimed that despite objections from the school board, alumni association, and PTA since 2014, the headmistress Lim had persisted in promoting the ‘blessed water’ at school.

She purportedly claimed that it would help boost the students’ results, as well as parents’ participation at school events.

However, Lim had denied any religious links in the water, saying that the water from the dispenser only promoted ‘positive vibrations’ at school.

She said the water dispenser was provided by a Singapore-based group, which she had heard about from another teacher.

“I am not against this concept, and allowed the organisation to come to the school. They subsequently sponsored the drinking water.

“This was not religious, just a normal sponsorship,” she was quoted as saying in the Sinchew Daily on May 27.

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