Reports of Kelantan's closure of St John 'concocted': official
The Kelantan state government did not close down any of the St John Ambulance Malaysia's units in schools as reported in major newspapers today, said the organisation's state commander Abdul Rahim Omar.
"The media have either misquoted me or simply concocted their own stories," said Abdul Rahim when contacted by malaysiakini .
He stressed that four divisions - two in secondary schools and two primary schools - became inactive as there were no qualified teachers to oversee them.
This resulted in the school authorities concerned shuffling the St John Ambulance members into other societies and organisations, he added.
"But the divisions are definitely not closed (by the government). When we have more experienced teachers next year, the divisions will be made active again," said Abdul Rahim.
He was responding to recent news reporting that the PAS-led Kelantan government had ordered the closure of several St John divisions due to its alleged association with a 'foreign religion'.
The Kelantan state government did not close down any of the St John Ambulance Malaysia's units in schools as reported in major newspapers today, said the organisation's state commander Abdul Rahim Omar.
"The media have either misquoted me or simply concocted their own stories," said Abdul Rahim when contacted by malaysiakini .
He stressed that four divisions - two in secondary schools and two primary schools - became inactive as there were no qualified teachers to oversee them.
This resulted in the school authorities concerned shuffling the St John Ambulance members into other societies and organisations, he added.
"But the divisions are definitely not closed (by the government). When we have more experienced teachers next year, the divisions will be made active again," said Abdul Rahim.
He was responding to recent news reporting that the PAS-led Kelantan government had ordered the closure of several St John divisions due to its alleged association with a 'foreign religion'.
The Star daily today reported that the Islamic state government had deemed the organisation a Christian movement due to the misconception that its emblem resembled a cross.
The report quoted Penang Deputy Chief Minister Dr Hilmi Yahya as saying that the incident had demonstrated how "narrow-minded" Kelantan is in its thinking.
Dragged into politics
On Aug 8, Malay daily Utusan Malaysia quoted Abdul Rahim as saying that the divisions were closed down because the Kelantan government thought that the name 'St John' was 'unIslamic'.
However, Abdul Rahim refuted the report, adding that he did not make such comments to the daily.
He said there are 34 St John divisions in schools in Kelantan and about 90 percent of the members are Muslim.
He said there has not been any 'unpleasant' experience between St John and the local authority, citing the example of the Kelantan government contributing RM2,000 last year for the construction of a surau (prayer centre) for the organisation.
He also added the organisation is a social service group promoting first-aid skills and therefore it should not be dragged into "local politics".
"We hope that the St John Ambulance Malaysia headquarters will call for a press conference soon and put the matter to an end," said Abdul Rahim.
Minor matter
Meanwhile, the National St John Ambulance Malaysia chairperson Dr Low Bin Tick told malaysiakini that he was not unduly worried by the controversy.
"It was not really an issue or a problem," said Low.
He said the Kelantan St John state committee will submit an official report soon to brief him about the matter.
He added the organisation's council had adopted minor changes to the existing logo, where a yellow crescent will be added to the left of the eight-pointed star to give it a dash of local flavour.
Yellow represented royalty while the crescent was inspired by the national flag, he explained.
However, he said the changes are yet to be approved by the organisation's president Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
