Recently several rallies were held throughout the country in support of the Palestinians' plight amidst the ongoing war in Gaza; these were organised by the respective state governments, as well as by opposition parties and other sympathizers.
Inevitably though, the one that grabbed the headlines had to be the one led by PAS on Oct 28 with the party's president Tan Sri Hadi Awang in attendance; it was said to have attracted well over 10,000 protesters gathered near the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur. (Read here)
In fact, traffic at KLCC had to be halted in the afternoon as the crowd walked the streets while chanting slogans like “Hancur Israel”; FRU personnel were also on duty to maintain security. By and large though the rally was peaceful in spite of some "provocative" placards held up by several protesters.
However, what must have ruffled a few feathers, especially among non-Muslims in the country, was the controversial "Palestinian Solidarity Week" organised by the Education Ministry; it was originally meant to foster humanitarian values and compassion towards the oppressed Palestinians in schools and educational institutions.
Understandably, there was immediate opposition from some concerned citizens, especially parents, who did not want children in their formative years to be involved in a complicated geopolitical crisis dangerously mixed with religious undertones; this appeared to be somewhat justified, when soon enough, disturbing images of young pupils hoisting replica guns in several schools emerged and became viral.
Matters then took a turn for the worse when according to a report in the Star several non-Muslim MPs and assemblymen from PM Anwar's own PKR party, told the Education Ministry to review the decision to organise the "Solidarity With Palestine Week" in schools and public education institutions.
They had said in a joint statement on Oct 28 that schools and education institutions should be free of elements of any “vengeance and violence.” Their statement further read that it was inappropriate to “bring an international conflict into schools”.
However, this drew a sharp rebuke from Umno Youth who asked PM Anwar Ibrahim to send the 12 PKR elected representatives, who opposed the initiative, to Palestine. The wing’s chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh had even "mocked" that the 12 should be enlisted for a humanitarian mission to the war-torn area!
Furthermore, he urged the government not to cancel the initiative saying that it wasn't a question of violence or vengeance! Incidentally, Akmal is known to be a staunch supporter of jailed ex-PM Najib Razak.
His remarks seemed to receive the backing of PAS whose secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan claimed that the use of such terms as "vengeance" and "violence" in a negative context will not only spark misunderstanding but further extend the narrative of blasphemy and prejudice championed by the Western media, and those who support the Israeli apartheid regime when referring to the struggle of Palestinians.
Takiyuddin reminded the group of PKR representatives to be more careful in addressing the Palestinian issue so that it is not perceived to be painting a wrong picture on the Palestinian struggle or to subtly sabotage the MOE’s good efforts of exposing our pupils to the regional conflict and also Malaysia’s policy stance on it.
He cited the peaceful programme at a Chinese school in Jawi, Penang which involved pupils and teachers of multiple races and religions where it was filled with information sessions and video screenings, the launch of a solidarity fund, a photo session with the Palestinian flag plus prayers for Muslim teachers and pupils.
However, for some reason, he did not compare the “peaceful event” in the Chinese school with another provocative incident in a school in Kedah, as was reported by Nst, where a video depicted a man, believed to be a teacher from an Islamic religious school in Kedah, resorting to a violent act, as a means of expressing solidarity with the Palestinians.
For the record, the teacher was seen launching a flaming arrow at the Israeli flag and setting it on fire on the school ground, surrounded by school children, with chants of "Allahuakbar" and "takbir" resonating in the background.
This had prompted The Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF) to launch an online petition named "Save Our Education System" urging the government to keep international conflicts, middle east conflicts and wars away from schools and educational institutions.
According to the report, participants had left comments strongly opposing such activities held at schools with one even asking: "Are we churning out jihadists?" While another one commented that "firing your rifles whilst referencing God is the wrong message to espouse in the schools!"
Then, another news website The Vibes reported that following the Education Ministry's directive to organise events for Palestine Solidarity Week, several Chinese primary school headmasters found themselves in a Catch-22 situation, having to deal with the directive and parents who opposed such events; and to add to the agony, apparently they also have to submit a report on the events carried out.
Meanwhile, more disturbingly, the Star had reported on Oct 31 that some parents have now decided not to send their children to school during the “Palestine Solidarity Week” over concerns that it might expose them to atrocities and conflicts in other countries without giving them a comprehensive and balanced perspective!
In fact, one parent had even commented that it may lead to “division” in our society. Could that be exactly what's happening right now?
JK Joseph is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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