Unlike Umno, DAP has no need to compel teachers to join the party, said the party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, because it is attractive enough by itself to be deserving of the people's support.

"DAP has its own merits. Its reputation and achievements makes it attractive enough for people to join the party on its own," he claimed.

Lim was referring to an event in a Putrajaya school earlier this week attended by Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, where the Umno secretary-general warned teachers that their futures would be in jeopardy if the opposition took control of Putrajaya, and urged teachers to join the party.

Guan Eng said the school event – which saw Umno flags being displayed around the compound and the party song being sung by students – indicated that Umno was turning schools into “indoctrination camps.”

"This is what happened in North Korea and Nazi Germany," he noted.

Previously, chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa claimed that there was no problem urging teachers to join Umno, which DAP de facto leader Lim Kit Siang called a “faux pas.”

"Would Ali say that teachers can join DAP and the other Pakatan Harapan component parties?” he had asked.