[UPDATED] ‘Barbaric’ punishment of schoolgirl: Penang DCM warns against cover-up

KUALA LUMPUR – Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy wants police and the state Education Department to take due action on a teacher who allegedly meted out “cruel punishment” on a Form 1 student who did not wear laced shoes at a school in Tasek Gelugor.

He said it was uncalled for that the teacher had allegedly forced the 13-year-old student to kneel with her hands raised in front of the school assembly for not wearing “acceptable” shoes.

It was also completely out of line for the teacher to allegedly cut the student’s religious thread worn on the wrist and remove holy ash from her forehead.

“I understand from informed sources that the school authorities are trying to prevent those who witnessed the incident on Tuesday from telling the truth,” he claimed. 

“In other words, there is an attempt at a cover-up.”

“Who gave the teacher concerned the authority to remove religious symbols such as the holy string and ash on the forehead of the student?

“The girl said she was wearing shoes without strings because her family could not afford to have shoes that were acceptable to the school,” he said in a statement.

Calling it “barbaric treatment” and “religious persecution”, he noted that police in Butterworth have confirmed that a report on the matter was lodged by the student.

“What are police and the Education Department going to do about the incident?” asked Ramasamy, who is also Prai assemblyman. 

“Are they going to sweep the incident under the carpet as a minor one?”

He said that he sent a message to the director of the Penang Education Department for his action on the matter, but there was no response yet.

“I would like to know whether the department would launch an investigation on the case.

He stressed that it is not just the barbaric punishment of shaming the student in front of the school assembly, as claimed, that raises concerns, but also the “unpardonable act of gross interference” in the student’s religious practices.

Father does not have money to buy shoes

In the report lodged at the Tasek Gelugor police station on Tuesday itself, the schoolgirl had alleged that she was made to kneel on a tar road with both hands raised high.

“I had told her (the teacher) that we could not buy laced shoes, as my father still does not have money,” the pupil said. 

She added that the teacher later stopped her when she was going to her classroom after the assembly. 

Her red religious wrist-thread was cut off, and she was told to remove the traditional dot-mark (pottu) and sacred ash (vibhuti) from her forehead, she said.

She said that she suffered from depression and has a fear of returning to school due to the humiliation brought about by the incident.

“I am also unhappy, as the said teacher seemed to have insulted my religion by cutting the thread and discarding the (sacred) mark from my forehead,” she said, adding that she later had told her father what had happened.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow also expressed concern, urging the education authorities to investigate immediately and take appropriate action.

“The state government will not at all compromise on such matters, and we hope that the Penang Education Department can take swift necessary action to avert negative feedback and perception by various parties towards educational institutions in the country.” – The Vibes, November 3, 2022