Controversial conversion case in school, act quickly and firmly: Mositun
Published on: Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Papar: Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) Secretary-General Datuk Johnny Mositun wants the Director of Education to act quickly and firmly against teachers and school officials who exceed their authority and act beyond the limits of propriety.Mositun, who is also Deputy Speaker, said he was not opposed to anyone converting to Islam or any other religion but only that such an important thing should be done in a proper manner with full observance of social norms and upholding of family values."Being educated people entrusted with teaching our children proper values and respect for the law, the school principal and teachers concerned should have handled the matter in a humane and compassionate manner. ADVERTISEMENT
"After all, it is a matter for the student and her family, affecting their lives not just for now but till the end of their days in this world. But they seem oblivious or unconcerned about the mental stress and problems they have visited upon a whole family," he said.He said the parents of the 16-year-old student concerned were distraught and traumatised, and offended at the way in which the school authorities seemed so unwilling to let the family sort things out properly as a family should."Anyway, I hope the Director of Education will impress upon all principals and teachers the need to conduct themselves with decorum and full observance of the country's laws and confine themselves to teaching and instilling good family values in their students and respect for their own parents. "Matters of religion and conversion should be left to the religious authorities," he said, adding that the school principal should also be in the know of what is happening in the school.
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He said the police and Education Department needed to conduct a thorough investigation for the sake of justice and restoring public confidence in the administration of schools in the State and country."The police cannot just say that the student is not a Muslim and leave it at that. The student's religious status is not for the police to determine but that of the religious authorities and courts.
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"But having said that, the police still cannot wash their hands off the matter because whether or not the conversion is valid, the police are duty-bound to investigate the school authorities. They must determine if the teacher or teachers concerned had violated the law. "They cannot be let off scot-free if they had broken the law. The Director of Education also has some explaining to do," Mositun said. He expressed appreciation and gratitude to Member of Parliament for Papar, Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, Kawang Assemblyman Datuk Gulam Haidar Khan, numerous NGOs and individuals and politicians who had visited and extended their sympathies and other forms of assistance to the student's parents."This is a very poor family. The student and her three other sisters have no choice but to study in Kinarut and stay in the school hostel. Now with all the pressure brought about by what has happened to their daughter, the parents have asked me to talk to the education authorities about transferring their children to another school. "They feel a change of environment is necessary for their daughter and her siblings to get over this traumatic event," he said.Schools should also be the place where family ties are fostered and not the other way round, he said referring to the police report lodged by the student who claimed she did so because she was afraid she would be hit by her father.Mositun was also touched by the dilapidated condition of the house where the student's family lived in and had approached the District Officer to see what could be done to alleviate their problems."I will also approach the relevant ministry to look into the possibility of providing this poor family decent housing under the Ministry's housing programmes for the poor," Mositun said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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