'Urine drinking' remarks meant as a joke, says Kedah exco member

Pupils at the school playing after classes were over on Monday.

ALOR SETAR: The statement by a teacher telling pupils to drink their urine was meant as a joke, said a Kedah exco member. 

Earlier, the Education Ministry had called for a probe over the issue.

The teacher from a high-performance cluster school in Sungai Petani had reportedly asked non-Muslim pupils to drink their urine to quench their thirst.

State Education, Transportation and Public Works Committee chairman Datuk Tajul Urus Mat Zain said the speech of the primary school senior assistant of student affairs was misconstrued.

"He actually said it in a berseloroh (joking) tone.  

"What he said was jangan minum air kencing kamu pula (don't you instead drink your own urine) which was misinterpreted by the pupils," Tajul told reporters at his office at Wisma Darul Aman here, Monday afternoon.

He added that with the clarification, the issue was now resolved, and it should not become a political and racial matter.  

The teacher, believed to be in his 50s, allegedly made the remarks during an assembly on Sunday. 

He allegedly said that non-Muslim pupils could only drink in the toilet and not in the classroom during the fasting month.

He reportedly went further and said that those without water could drink from the pipe and if not, consume their own urine.

A complaint letter detailing the incident has since gone viral over social media. 

The remarks had not gone down well with many parents who went to the school to demand an explanation on Monday morning. 

At least 30 parents had lodged reports with the police and the Kedah Education Department over the matter. 

In a Facebook post, Deputy Education Minister II P. Kamalanathan said he had directed the Kedah Education Department to launch an investigation.

"… they are currently doing that and we are awaiting the results. The teacher will be dealt with seriously for breaching the Ministry's policy if the complaint is true," he said on Monday.

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