We must correct a wrong as soon as it’s detected
Ace: Well done, National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Hashim Adnan. You have our respect.Vegetarians never ask their friends not to eat meat in front of them. Buddhists and Christians who fast never ask others not to eat near them. Why is it that some Muslims have to ask others not to eat and drink near them when they are fasting?
Anonymous_1421406986: I am sure Malaysian Muslims travel to non-Muslim countries during the Ramadan month, for pleasure (tour) or business, and are likely to witness many things disagreeable with Islam or the conducts observed during the fasting month.
But do we complain and kick up a fuss? We respect the dictum ‘each man to his own’. If we are fasting to atone for our sins and earn God’s blessings, why must we be bothered about things happening around us?
Ipoh pp: Quote “He said the teacher then went on to joke that they could drink in the toilet as well, but had actually warned pupils ‘not to drink their urine as well’.” Unquote.
As a retired teacher I must say that this ‘joke’ is uncalled for. We don’t crack such jokes to primary school children. Apparently, it looks like the intention to ‘ridicule’ was there. And now the school/Education Department is trying to justify it by saying it’s a joke.
So can we say that blogger Alvin Tan’s ‘bah kut teh’ prank was also a joke? If so why was he charged with sedition? Only one group of people can feel pain, while the rest of us are supposed to feel no pain even if pierced with a needle. So much for 1Malaysia.
FairMind: Alvivi (Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee) made a bak kut teh joke and both were charged with sedition. If a Muslim makes a joke to a non-Muslim, it is a joke. If a non-Muslim makes a joke to the Muslim, it is sedition.
Is this what Malaysia has come to, after more than 50 years of independence? You can be sure that this kind of incident will repeat in future.
Keturunan Malaysia: Hashim Adnan, well said. Our society gets more rotten each time when we refuse to transparently correct a wrong (such as this one) as soon as a wrong is clearly detected.
Baiyuensheng: There will never be an ending to this story. I propose two types of national schools be implemented. One school for Muslim students and the other for non-Muslim students.
Of course, students can choose to go to either school. And that way, Muslims will not be slighted in any way. On the same note, for those electing for non-Muslim schools – the medium of instruction should be in English.
Haveagreatday: Thank you, Hashim, for speaking with honesty and frankness over this absurd action by that teacher. Yes, even if he is a union member, the unjustifiable should not be justified!
Anonymous_3f6d: If all our leaders have such a positive attitude, then Malaysia would have been a better place that what we are like now.
Pisasu 7: En Hashim, we need more teachers like you, similar to the ones we had for a long time, until someone became education minister and changed to the system we have now.
My children had so many good dedicated Malay teachers in sports and academic subjects who were colour blind. Probably, with the current education minister being ‘Malay first’, then expect more toilet examples to recur every year.
Imran: So if a non-Malay teacher tells a class with Muslims to “go eat some pork” jokingly, will they also accept it as a joke?
Anonymous_1425871172: I remember back in my schooling days, the non-Muslims were allowed to eat and drink during their recess break. The non-Muslims in return respected their Muslim classmates by trying not to purposely eat/drink in front of them. Where has this kind of common sense gone nowadays?
Each year there will definitely be a few teachers with their own set of rules for non-Muslim students. Fasting or not is between you and your God. No requirement for the teachers to enforce a new ruling on others.
Exranger: Please, air-condition all the classrooms so that students feel cool and are not tempted to drink. Tear down all food billboards around the country so that Muslims don’t get tempted by the advertisements. Close all restaurants. Only open for breaking of fast. Ridiculous.
Otakechik: I am non-Muslim. But if I fast, I would not mind others eating in my presence because it will test me if I am strong enough not to succumb to temptation.
ZhuGeLiang: Well said Hashim and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Rohani Abdul Karim. Now this is the BN we want, not those who are arrogant and have no respect for others.
A toilet is filthy, infested with bacteria and smelly. To force young children to drink in the toilet and if they have no water, to drink their urine, is really demeaning, joke or no joke.
Sleepy: Before any major event, schools, preferably via assemblies, should explain the significance of such events, instead of joking.
Sali Tambap: The moral is do not joke with something that both hold dearly. Even if you must, use an appropriate one, like a clean, harmless joke. But then again, people are becoming more and more stupid each day. Sigh.
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