BANGI MP Syahredzan Johan has warned the PAS ulama wing against politicising the issue of school canteens after Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek’s announcement that school canteens will continue to operate during Ramadan.
The DAP leader said there are many reasons for school canteens to remain open during the holy month, including the presence of non-Muslim teachers and students who are not fasting, in addition to some Muslim children who are not obligated to fast as they have yet to reach puberty.
“We shouldn’t forget about incidents that were previously reported where non-Muslim students had to eat in school bathrooms and other inappropriate spaces during the fasting month,” Syahredzan said in a statement on Wednesday (March 13).
“Don’t PAS leaders like Datuk Ahmad Yahaya have any compassion for these children?”
It was reported yesterday that Ahmad had criticised the Education Ministry’s move, saying that Fadhlina should instead focus on educating Muslim students on the importance of fasting and their non-Muslim counterparts on respecting the practice.
Calling the move excessive, Ahmad further accused Fadhlina of being hasty in issuing the directive which he said was disrespectful to the Ramadan month itself.
He said this did not mean they were stopping non-Muslim students from eating during the day but this is a form of “education” for them to respect the Ramadan month.
Ahmad further said that the non-Muslim students can bring food and drinks to school and consume them in a space allocated for the purpose.
“This should suffice without the need for a directive for canteens to remain open (during Ramadan) which seems rather excessive,” he added.
On this matter, Syahredzan also stated that PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN) had once more demonstrated that their political stance is not in line with a multi-cultural and multi-religious country such as Malaysia.
“It is clear that they are more inclined to issue statements that divide the society instead of foster unity,” he remarked.
“I urge PAS and PN to stop politicising our children’s school canteens. Matters such as this shouldn’t be tainted by their narrow politics.” – March 13, 2024
