I received an email this morning, which was infuriating, and has extremely annoyed me. I think it warrant a whole article written in rebuttal, but I do not have the time. I am not one to move rashly and always try to verify my facts before speaking, and after doing a little research, I found what the email contained to be true, and that was when I was most distraught.
Anyway, here are the two excerpts and the cover of the document which in my opinion are credible enough for me to take them as truth that such a thing actually happened. Click on each one to read further if you understand Bahasa.
And this is the unofficial translation of the hansard at the Third Meeting of The Fourth Session of the Eleventh Parliament (Dewan Rakyat) on Monday, 29 October 2007 as seen at http://www.parlimen.gov.my
Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros [Parit Sulong]: Yang Di-Pertua, I would like to touch on a matter regarding the Ministry of Education, which are Christian missionary schools like Convent, La Salle, Methodist, and so forth. I was made to understand that the Board of Directors at these schools are partially administered by churches in foreign countries, for example in the Vatican City. I was also made to understand that the application to build a ’surau’ in some of these schools had to go through the approval of these Board of Directors whereby they are partially administered by the church. Therefore, it shames me that the school administrations are still controlled by the church. I was also made to understand that many Muslim parents send their kids to these schools, and that they have complained that sometimes, the school is started with church songs. I do not know if this is true, but what I discovered from these parents are the display of religious symbols. I feel disappointed that in an Islamic country, Malaysia, if I go to a convent school, the statue of St. Mary is displayed in the front of the school.
Datuk Haji Mohamad bin Haji Aziz [Sri Gading]: [Stands up]
Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros [Parit Sulong]: Please proceed, Yang Berhormat for Sri Gading.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Yusof bin Yacob]: Yes, Yang Berhormat for Sri Gading.
Datuk Haji Mohamad bin Haji Aziz [Sri Gading]: I am not shocked at all, Yang Berhormat for Parit Sulong. It’s not just a simple question. The question is, why has this happened? One. During the last Hari Raya, I was told by a father, when Aidilfitri was celebrated, these types of schools were not closed. Thank you.
Tuan Syed Hood bin Syed Edros [Parit Sulong]: Not only statues, but fellow Yang Berhormat, go and see for yourselves, Christian crosses are displayed in front of schools. I do not understand the Ministry of Education, did the officers not see that, or is it our policy to allow such a thing? Nevertheless, I, as a responsible person to my religion, race, and country, I state my views that these statues need to be demolished, these crosses need to be destroyed and church influences in these schools need to be stopped. Also, the funds that are collected at these schools. Do we have a report? If possible, the ministry should reveal the funds for these schools. I was made to understand that these schools are also sponsored by the church.
The translation was taken from
http://www.darnmalaysia.com
Anyway, what the email also stated was as follows:
The duo’s irresponsible and unsubstantiated comments clearly demonstrate their glaring narrow-mindedness and TOTAL IGNORANCE of the following; thus distracting and sabotaging the way forward and urgent progressive steps being taken by the Government to arrest the decline in competitiveness and to rebuild the nation:
- The Constitution of Malaysia (Read Part II, Articles 11 and 12 at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki
/Constitution_of_Malaysia )
- Absolute no idea how mission schools are run and conducted in the best interest of the nation-building.
- Among the distinguished old boys from mission school Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan St John Kuala Lumpur, or St John's Institution are Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Education Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussein, the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, just to name a few.
- Mission schools are not fully Government funded, but categorized as a "sekolah bantuan modal" or Government aided school. This means that for many needs including school building projects and maintenance, the school would have to find its own funds.
- The Government’s stand on mission schools as announced in the various media as seen at Assunta Alumni’s news archive on mission schools at http://www.assuntaalumni.com
/media/missionschools.html
The email also asked for people to sign up for a petition which is available online regarding a more specific issue, but which in a larger frame may set a precedence for future government policy making.
PETITION: Respect the Ethos and Character of Mission Schools
http://www.petitiononline.com
Please note that the above Assunta online petition is still ON (initiated early April 2005). Subsequently, we wrote to the Minister of Education and relevant education departments on 15 June 2005. We hope to see this redressed before school resumes in January 2008 and as we are going to celebrate Assunta Golden Jubilee next year:
Please sign the petition online if you have not done so. All past students of mission schools and the public are also encouraged to sign the above Online Petition. Just state the school you are from. A gentle reminder: Please do not flame at the online petition as we’ll be submitting to the relevant authorities again if need be. Flames will be deleted, positive and constructive comments are most welcomed.
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