No News Is Bad News
What is this teacher advocating to her students?
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So, Malaysia is now advocating ‘violence’ to school pupils
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27, 2023: Has Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government (UG) gone bonkers?
In the name of race and religion, educators are now teaching school children to brandish “guns and weapons” clad and masked in “fighting gear”.
Images of primary school students and teachers brandishing toy guns resembling M-16s and dressing up as militants, believed to be taken during preparations for the Education Ministry’s (MoE) Palestine Solidarity Week, have promptly garnered backlash from concerned activists.
What’s this? Masked “freedom fighters”, “terrorists” or “militants” in Malaysian schools?
Peace-loving and law-abiding Malaysians did not send their children to school to appreciate violence and the use of firearms.
No News Is Bad News wonders how the UG will react if parents tell them to stay away from such programmes or not let them attend classes and school when such programmes or teachings are held.
Also, what happens if any parent takes the education teachers and authorities to court for such madness of promoting violence to their children?
We reproduce below shocking news and visuals (also view the above video clip):
Palestine solidarity programmes in schools need to be controlled, says PM
This comes amid reports of students and teachers carrying toy guns in a school.
Faisal Asyraf - 27 Oct 2023, 3:09pm
Anwar Ibrahim said schools are encouraged to show solidarity for Palestine but the programmes should be controlled to avoid problems.
SEPANG: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for better control of Palestine solidarity programmes in schools amid reports of students and teachers carrying toy guns at the events.
“We have to control this. We discussed this in the Cabinet meeting. We encourage schools to do this (show solidarity) but we do not force them.
“Secondly, we have to control it so it won’t become a problem,” he told reporters after Friday prayers.
A 55-second video that went viral on social media showed an event held in a school involving what appeared to be a man wearing a bulletproof vest, a balaclava mask and pointing a toy rifle at students while leading a group of teachers into an assembly.
One of the teachers was seen holding a placard while others waved the Palestinian flag or wore Palestine-themed scarves across their faces and shoulders. Some also held toy rifles.
Several social media screenshots of an event at a school in Klang, which has also gone viral, showed children wearing green bandanas with the words “Save Palestine” across their forehead while carrying toy guns.
In response, the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) told the education ministry to provide a stern warning against schools who were involved in allowing the students to bring toy guns for Palestine solidarity week.
Magpie chairman Mak Chee Kin said the incident is worrying as children should be instilled with positive values.
“Please leave the young ones alone and let the leaders tackle this issue (Palestine and Israel conflict),” Mak told FMT.
Separately, when asked about an MP’s call for the government to boycott the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Week happening next month, Anwar said: “We’ll look at the situation and then decide.”
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Bersatu’s Machang MP, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, urged Putrajaya to boycott the event as a sign of the country’s protest against the US government’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.
‘Control’ Palestine Solidarity Week activities, PM says after toy gun furore
Govt won’t force all schools to participate, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim adds
Updated 3 minutes ago · Published on 27 Oct 2023 5:44PM
Activities held during Palestine Solidarity Week in schools under the Education Ministry need to be controlled and monitored, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. – AZIM RAHMAN/The Vibes file pic, October 27, 2023
BY The Vibes Team
KUALA LUMPUR – Activities held during Palestine Solidarity Week in schools under the Education Ministry (MoE) need to be controlled and monitored, said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The prime minister was quoted as saying that “we need to ensure that it doesn’t become a problem”.
“We discussed this in the cabinet meeting earlier today.
“...we encourage the organisation of such programmes, but we won’t force all schools to participate,” he added.
Anwar’s comments followed the surfacing of images of pupils brandishing toy guns resembling M-16s and dressing up as militants, believed to be taken during preparations for Palestine Solidarity Week.
The photos have promptly garnered backlash from concerned activists and members of the public, with Global Human Rights Federation president S. Shashi Kumar cautioning that teachers are not trained to conduct such programmes.
Urging MoE to cease the programme, he said efforts to generate awareness on such conflicts should be universal and not limited to any particular ones.
Criticism has also been levelled against MoE’s Palestine Solidarity Week for its potential ramifications stemming from the educators’ own lack of understanding of Palestinian resistance.
Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories such as Gaza and the West Bank has long been condemned by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Its ongoing brutal escalation of airstrikes on Gaza following armed resistance group Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 has been deemed by Israeli historian Raz Segal as “textbook genocide”.
One of such bombings by the Israeli army killed at least 16 Palestinian Christians at the St Porphyrius Church in Gaza on October 19, Al Jazeera reported.
In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Segal said: “Without the historical context of Israeli settler colonialism since the 1948 Nakba, we cannot explain how we got here”.
Users on social media platform X have also criticised the government for conducting the Palestine Solidarity Week without ratifying the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Refugees, which would allow Palestinian refugees to obtain formal education in government schools. – The Vibes, October 27, 2023
Stop Palestine solidarity events in schools, says parents group
PAGE’s Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim says children carrying toy guns were an example of what could go wrong with such events.
Shahrul Shahabudin - 27 Oct 2023, 11:35pm
PAGE’s Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said there were concerns over the appropriateness of programmes such as the Palestine solidarity events in schools. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The government has been urged to stop holding Palestine solidarity programmes in schools following reports of students and teachers carrying toy guns at the events.
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said there were concerns over the appropriateness of such programmes in schools.
She said the photos and videos of children carrying guns were an example of what could go wrong with such events.
One 55-second video that went viral showed what appeared to be a man pointing a toy rifle at students while leading a group of teachers waving Palestinian flags into an assembly.
There were also photos of children at a separate school wearing bandanas bearing the words “Save Palestine” and carrying toy guns.
“Students are being used. Such programmes should be stopped immediately,” Noor Azimah told FMT.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for better control of Palestine solidarity programmes in schools to avoid causing any issues.
The education ministry had said the events in the photos and videos which went viral were not in line with the ministry’s guidelines.
It also said it was held outside of the Palestine Solidarity Week between Oct 29 and Nov 3.
The ministry said it would not compromise with any extremist activities and that the use of toy guns or the portrayal of provocative logos was not allowed.
MALAYSIA
[UPDATED] Activists lambast ‘horrifying’ images of pupils toting toy guns
Selective support, concerns on domestic economy among issues raised about Palestine Solidarity Week
Updated 2 minutes ago · Published on 27 Oct 2023 3:19PM
Global Human Rights Federation president S. Shashi Kumar has called on the Education Ministry to put a stop to the programme, saying that the way the activities were carried out was not age-appropriate. Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim has also taken the government to task for enforcing the programme in schools. – Screen grab pic, October 27, 2023
BY Jason Santos
KUALA LUMPUR – Images of primary school students brandishing toy guns resembling M-16s and dressing up as militants, believed to be taken during preparations for the Education Ministry’s (MoE) Palestine Solidarity Week, have promptly garnered backlash from concerned activists.
Global Human Rights Federation president S. Shashi Kumar has called on the Education Ministry to put a stop to the programme, saying that the way the activities were carried out was not age appropriate.
“The pictures of the young pupils can be seen clearly…they are just primary school children believed (to be) from a school in Klang, posted on WhatsApp by a person named ‘Cikgu Nisa’…
This is horrifying, unimaginable and shocking. This is what all of us were worried about, just like the concerns raised by the NGOs from Sabah and Sarawak,” said Shashi.
Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim took the government to task for enforcing the programme in schools.
Calling the scenes “sick”, she said: “Are we training jihadis now in our schools? What’s with the weapons and all?”
She said this is exactly the reason why there is opposition to the ministry’s directive on Palestine Solidarity Week.
MoE had earlier issued a notice dated October 21, calling for all schools to demonstrate and observe a solidarity week in support of the Palestinian cause.
The notice from the office of the Deputy Director-General of Education singled out six proposed activities to be carried out in all schools.
Untrained teachers, selective solidarity
Shashi cautioned that the teachers are not trained to conduct them.
He said efforts to generate awareness on such conflicts should be universal and not limited to any particular ones.
“They (teachers) are not trained at all. If they want to conduct these programmes, they can call it solidarity week, excluding the word ‘Palestine’.
They can do it on humanitarian grounds. Other parts of the world are also experiencing crises, like Yemen or Syria,” he said.
Worry about sanctions, plummeting domestic economy
Shashi also questioned why the Malaysian government is indulging in the Palestinian cause when the domestic economy is in critical condition.
He cautioned about the possibility of economic sanctions being imposed on Malaysia by the European Union.
“Malaysia is just recovering from the pandemic…many are still jobless and suffering until today.
“Many cannot buy basic needs like rice, chicken, eggs. All the prices have gone up.
Our economy is now in a very bad shape. Look at the US dollar and Singapore dollar,” he said.
Shashi said Malaysians, including the non-Muslims, have come forth to assist the innocent in the region, but bringing the conflict into our local schools is wrong.
Palestinian cause: anti-colonialism
Criticism has also been levelled against MoE’s Palestine Solidarity Week for its potential ramifications stemming from the educators’ own lack of understanding of Palestinian resistance.
Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories such as Gaza and the West Bank has long been condemned by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Its ongoing brutal escalation of airstrikes on Gaza following armed resistance group Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 has been deemed by Israeli historian Raz Segal as “textbook genocide”.
One of such bombings by the Israeli army killed at least 16 Palestinian Christians at the St Porphyrius Church in Gaza on October 19, Al Jazeera reported.
In an opinion piece for The Guardian, Segal said: “Without the historical context of Israeli settler colonialism since the 1948 Nakba, we cannot explain how we got here”.
Tagging Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, X user @nadsmarhaen said: “If this is what is meant by ‘solidarity with Palestine’, it’s obvious that Malaysia’s solidarity with Palestine is not based on any basic understanding of Palestine’s anti-colonial struggle.”
“This is shameful,” the user added.
JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
25th October 2023
KEEP INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS OUT OF SCHOOLS
A group of NGOs including from Sabah & Sarawak were shocked over a notice from the Minstry of Education dated 21st October 2023 calling for all schools to demonstrate and observe a solidarity week in support of Palestinians' cause.
The notice from the Office of the Deputy Director-General of Education singles out six proposed activities to be carried out in all schools.
The collective of NGO's is deeply concerned over this controversial event by a simple administrative ruling without discussions on its appropriatness at Dewan Rakyat or without consulting the parents. The proposed action has not been adequately considered for its long term impact. We NGO's here are seemingly reflecting community views as well.
We are looking at the seriousness of dragging school children's in becoming part of the global, grown up adult world of protests and not subject young minds getting embroiled in this Middle East crisis.
We caution that the six propositions can go wrong and be a cause for concern and with far-reaching repercussion.
We have seen before how a particular school in Malaysia, very recently, had made its young students to stomp on an Israeli flag. Social media had gone viral on that posting causing alarm among citizens. Many netizens criticised this action and rightly held that the school is sowing hatred in these young, impressionable minds.
Parents send their children to National type schools, not only for academic progress but also hope for mental and social balance, developing, learning and interacting with other pupils of other races and religious faiths. School is a place for the instilling of moral ethics and values that enrich a multiracial, multicultural and multireligious Malaysian society.
We also remind the Government of Malaysia on the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 17th February 1995 and under Article 29, which states:
1. States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to:
(b) The development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and for the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations;
(d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin.
We therefore categorically urge the Ministry of Education and the government to keep international politics (conflicts), religious disputes and war-cries out of schools and education institutions.
Members of NGOs and netizens has raised their concerns that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is giving the impression of angling the Israel-Hamas war also as a religious perspective as well as taking political and territorial sides.
The government has clearly taken sides and joined various quarters globally hinting anti-semitism. Malaysia has a long track record, known globally, as a peace loving and peace keeping nation.
We should stand up for peace and demand for the halting of all civilian casualties and not spike the crisis further by siding one nation state while condemning another with racist undertones. Malaysia should be focusing more on reviving our economic crisis and the fall of Malaysian Ringgit in the wake of this Middle East war.
We fear the misalignment of sentiments, condemnation, hatred and prejudices being championed by zealous teachers who are led to believe this is a religious war and that anti semitism is therefore justified. We cannot poison our young children's minds.
Hence, the government also needs to consider Malaysian students who are studying abroad. Their welfare and safety cannot be jeopardised as a result of the government's stand on the war crisis.
Thus the government needs to bare in mind regards to many Malaysians travelling abroad would be subjected visa refusals getting crutunize or any sort of other danger of life threatening situation.
Let us stop getting our children and the people of Malaysia baited to the problems that are growing larger by the days.
List of NGO's In Support of This Collective Press Statement:
1. Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) Deputy President- Peter John Jaban
2. Dato' RRM Krishnan
President
Persatuan Bekas Pelajar Sekolah Tamil Malaysia (PERTAMA)
3. Daniel John Jambun President Borneo's Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo)
4. Bill Jugah, President, ICON - Independent Coalition Of Natives, Sarawak
5. Kanul Gindol Chairman Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo
6. Cleftus Stephen Mojingol President Pertubuhan kebajikan Rumpun Dayak Sabah
7. Jovilis Majami President Persatuan pembangunan sosial komunity Sabah (BANGUN)
8. Voon Lee Shan President party Bumi Kenyalang Sarawak.
9. Dominique Ng, President, Sarawak Association for People's Aspirations
10.Thomas Patrick.
Sec General
Persatuan Kebajikan Persaudaraan Sahabat Miri Sarawak.
11. Valentino Ngabong
President
Persatuan Etnik Dayak Asal Sarawak
12.Badindang Lai Upeng
(President)
Gerempung Raban Dayak Kuching
13. Tan Boon Tak (President)
Malaysia Chinese Educated Students Association)
14. Arun Dorasamy (Chairman- Centre for Education Excellence - Hindu Agamam Ani Msia)
15. Siti Kasim - Founder MAJU
16. Brig Gen Dato Mohamed Arshad Raji
Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan
17.Dato Fabian Wong
Vice president for
Persatuan Veteran Tentera Kor Renjer
Sarawak Patriots Association.
The Society for Kuching Urban Poor.
18. Datuk Dr Johan Arriffin Samad
Chairman,
Board of Trustees
Sabah Action Body Advocating Rights (SABAR)
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1, 2023: In just 10 months of this year, the Education Ministry recorded 4,994 school bullying cases.
Lim Hui Ying said if the number of bullying cases increases, the education ministry will add more counselling teachers as an immediate response. (Bernama pic)
