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WANITA MCA today stressed that persons in authority should refrain from breeding enmity based on race and religion, but instead, they should strive for harmony.
Concerning PAS's stance on school canteens remaining open during Ramadan, Wanita MCA national deputy chairman Tee Hooi Ling said all children are born innocent, are colour-blind and know nothing about ethnic discord.
"School days are the best times and an opportunity to build friendships regardless of race or religion.
"It has been common practice for decades that school canteens stayed open, and there never was any issue of any student’s faith being weakened due to the canteen’s operations," she said.
Yesterday, the PAS ulama council said the Education Ministry’s directive for school canteens to operate during Ramadan was “excessive” and triggered “unnecessary” controversy among the people.
Council chief Datuk Ahmad Yahaya said the ministry should be focusing on educating Muslim students on the importance of fasting and their non-Muslim counterparts to respect the practice.
“Closing school canteens during Ramadan was a practice and a societal norm to respect fasting Muslims.
“Fadhlina Sidek (education minister) had hastily issued the directive which was disrespectful towards the holy month of Ramadan.
“We are not stopping the non-Muslim students from eating during the day, but it is also a form of ‘education’ for them to respect the Ramadan month since their schooling years,” the Pokok Sena MP said.
Tee said individuals, be they politicians or public figures, need to realise the divisive end result when they hype up and politicise the Education Ministry directive.
"Merely to serve one’s political agenda by sowing hatred, twisting the (Education Ministry) directive into a religious polemic is a disservice as it will only inflict further polarisation amongst communities," she said.
Wanita MCA also hopes that the unfortunate episode in 2013 when non-fasting pupils of SK Seri Pristana were made to eat in an area in a changing room next to washroom cubicles will never recur and remain an incident of the past.
"The last thing we need is for Malaysia to make it to international news, which happened 11 years ago, with such photos.
"We also need to bear in mind that certain students may have health issues which necessitate the canteen to stay open. For example, a student might be menstruating or has not reached puberty, is unwell or requires nourishment," she said.
She also said school canteens derive their income from students. To shutter its operations for a month would mean one month less income for the operator despite the need to pay the rent, utility bills, and employee wages. - The Vibes, March 13, 2024
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