“SK Desa Pandan canteen closed for Ramadan”: Non-Muslim parents agreed, school says

YESTERDAY (April 4), a Facebook post went viral apparently showing a letter from Sekolah Kebangsaan Desa Pandan announcing its decision to close down its canteen during the fasting month.  

In the post, its senior assistant principal (student affairs) called Noor Ainon was claimed to have said that the school canteen would be closed so as to “train and respect Muslim students who are fasting”.  

“If you’re children are not fasting, we hope the parents can provide them with breakfast before coming to school.  

“Students are also disallowed from displaying their water bottles in the public,” she was reported as saying.  

The post has gone viral on Facebook, receiving over 1,000 comments and 418 shares, with many netizens lashing out at the school for its decision.  

When contacted, an official from the school clarified that the Facebook post was not accurate and the matter is being probed by the district education department.  

“The notice was actually given out to our Muslim students to show respect for those who are fasting for the first time, particularly pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 

“As for the canteen closure, we discussed the matter with all the parents of our non-Muslim students and they were agreeable to this. For your information, our school has only 11 non-Muslim students in total,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FocusM 

The official remarked: “We have provided a special room for the 11 students to have their meals during break time and they are allowed to bring water bottles from home too.”  – April 5, 2022

Subscribe and get top news delivered to your Inbox everyday for FREE