Subang Jaya rep ‘banned’ from function at old school

PETALING JAYA: Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh is allegedly “banned” from attending her alma mater SMK Subang Utama’s (SMKSU) prefects’ reunion, scheduled for July 5 because she is from Pakatan Rakyat.

In her blog, hannahyeoh.blogspot.com, Yeoh said organisers had been asked by the school to withdraw their invitation to her, or the event would be cancelled, as she is from Pakatan Rakyat.

“It’s not that I insist on attending the function. My question is, what is playing in the minds of the students and how will they perceive the new state government if schools act like this?” asked Yeoh, the school's head prefect from 1995/96, when asked to comment yesterday.

When contacted, the organising chairman of the reunion said the school had received a circular from the Education Ministry concerning VIP guests.

The circular, available on the ministry’s website, refers to official school functions and VIPs in general.

When asked to comment on this yesterday, education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the circular only stated that permission was required from the state education director before any VIP could be invited to attend school functions.

He added that the circular was not applicable to the SMKSU prefects’ reunion as it was a private function.

SMKSU declined to comment.