Putrajaya Umno Youth has denied claims that the event at SK Putrajaya Presint 14(1) yesterday, which saw students waving Umno flags and singing the party song, was political in nature.

Echoing what Federal Territories BN chief Mohd Razlan Rafii said last night, Putrajaya Umno Youth leader Ahmad Faisal Abdul Karim said the event was a competition where students re-enacted historical scenes of Malaysia's road to Merdeka.

"Students had interpreted what they understood about Independence and the roles played by Umno, together with MCA and MIC, through their class decorations and performances.

"This is because of historical facts. It was not fiction, nor was it manipulation. The students were reliving the struggle for Independence," Ahmad Faisal said in a statement today.

He added that there was no attempt to politicise the event, which was organised by the Federal Territories Ministry, the Putrajaya Education Department, the Putrajaya Umno division education bureau and two other NGOs.

"If the Federal Territories Ministry tried to politicise teachers and students, surely the Umno song would be sung alongside the national anthem and the Federal Territories anthem during the opening ceremony.

"Neither did the organiser urge all teachers or students to fly the Malaysian flag and the Umno flag. Therefore, the issue of the organisers trying to politicise the school does not arise," he said.

Ahmad Faisal also accused Malaysiakini of misreporting the event.

However, he did not address the fact that Umno flags were draped all over the school, that students were made to sing the Umno song when Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor was escorted into the venue, that the minister had urged teachers to join Umno and warned them that their jobs were in danger if the opposition parties came to power.

Meanwhile, Putrajaya Pakatan Harapan has condemned the Federal Territories Ministry for the stunt, accusing it of "victimising" the teachers and students of the school.

"It is clear that the teachers were uncomfortable with the event and did not agree with the theme... We strongly object to such programmes and demand that it never recurs.

"This is because civil servants are bound by laws that prohibit partisanship in public-owned facilities," Putrajaya Harapan said in a statement today.