Muslim parents want to yank out kids from MGS
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UNTIL the alleged events of last week, prayers had never been recited at the Methodist Girls’ School (MGS), parents of pupils said.
It has put the Penang school under the spotlight with a police investigation pending and a warning from the director-general of education.
Some Muslim parents now said they plan to transfer their children out of SK (P) Methodist next year.
Citing discomfort with the “practice” of reciting “Christian” prayers in public, parents met outside the school today said this was the first time it had happened at an institution where Muslim pupils are the majority.
A parent, Juliana Abd Hamid, said she was present when the prayer was recited during an awards ceremony for pupils on September 27.
The 42-year-old mother said she and other Muslim parents present that day were caught by surprise as the itinerary for the ceremony did not list any prayer by any faith.
“The short prayer looked spontaneous. Suddenly a woman stepped up to the stage and said a ‘prayer for unity’,” said Juliana, who was picking up her child.
“I thought after that, an uztaz would go up on the stage to recite an Islamic prayer. But nothing happened. The woman’s prayer had elements of Christianisation.”
When asked what she meant by that, she could not explain what she meant by “Christianisation”.
“The years before this, there was no recitation of Christian prayers. The majority of pupils here are Muslims and I am worried if something like this continues,” Juliana said.
She said she had not thought about transferring out her child out from the school.
But a father when met today said he had decided to do so next year.
“I was also invited to the awards ceremony but I could not make it. But if I had been there, I would have scolded the school,” said the Muslim parent who declined to be named.
The incident was made public after a police report was lodged by a local man, Muhsin Abdul Latheef, 35, last Friday.
He accused the school of attempting to proselytise to Muslim pupils there, and in his police report, said there were 347 Muslim pupils and only 161 non-Muslims. He also said there were 26 Muslim teachers and 14 non-Muslim teachers.
Penang’s northeastern district police said today they are calling up several individuals, including the school’s administrators, for questioning.
The school also received a warning from director-general Dr Amin Senin for breaching regulations on protocols for such events in mission schools, whereby Christian prayers should only be said by pupils and teachers of the faith during school events or assemblies.
The regulations in a 2016 circular are based on a directive in 1977 on how activities in mission schools should be conducted.
MGS was established by Christian missionaries from the Methodist denomination in 1891. Like other mission schools in the country, it was taken over by the government in the 1970s. Teachers are considered government servants whose appointments and deployments are determined by the Teachers’ Service Commission.
Attempts to get the school’s comments on last Friday’s incident have been unsuccessful.
The MGS board of governor’s chairman Kee Shaik Chern responded to a news portal saying the school authorities would not comment on the matter pending police investigations.
A non-Muslim parent when met outside the school today said MGS still had a few Christian elements but stressed that these were not aimed at proselytising to pupils.
“There are a few Christian elements but they’re not to spread Christianity to non-Christians. I guess it’s up to individual parents on whether they are comfortable with these things,” said the parent who declined to be named.
But a Muslim man who was picking up his grandchild after school today said the incident has sparked worry among parents.
“I wasn’t at the event but my grandchild told me about it last Friday. In parents’ WhatsApp groups, they are now talking about whether to move their kids out of the school.” – October 1, 2019.