Aim for equipping students with compassion, not violence, says MCA's Saw

PETALING JAYA: Teach compassion and not war, MCA central committee member Saw Yee Fung says as she appealed to the Education Ministry to stop the Solidarity With Palestine Week in schools.

“If the ministry really intends to inculcate 'humanitarian values and concern for the suffering of others regardless of race, religion or social status' as conveyed in its press statement after concerns were raised by netizens and NGOs, then it should have inculcated multicultural programmes, emphasising how diversity, mutual respect, compassion, care and self-help programmes for the underprivileged irrespective of ethnicity or faith professed is the most successful model for multiracial co-existence and goodwill,” she said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 28).

She said this could encourage schools to organise food rations and medical aid donations which could be handed to the embassy of Palestine or the Red Crescent Society, to be sent to Gaza.

She was commenting on a video clip showing students and teachers carrying toy firearms in a school programme that went viral on X and TikTok.

“Likewise, in view that charity homes appear hardest hit by the economic downturn, the schools could also organise fundraisers for welfare homes or refugee schools recognised by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees),” she said.

The ministry could have conducted an interview with the Ambassador of Palestine or other Palestinians residing in Malaysia and broadcast that said interview via social media platforms, or invited the said persons to give a first-hand account of the hardships, and turmoil suffered by Gazans to school students, and what measures could be undertaken to work towards peace,” she added.

She said in recent days, Malaysians and NGOs have voiced concerns against the directive by the ministry to organise a week-long "Solidarity Palestine Week" at schools and urged the government to keep international politics out of schools.

“Just today, alarm, even outrage have been raised over a viral video of educators brandishing toy machine guns to school pupils, mimicking gunmen in battle in a performance of solidarity with the Palestinians. It is difficult, if not, impossible to draw commonality between humanitarian values and the said performance by primary school educators as firearms are associated with violence and mayhem, bloodshed, maiming and exterminating human life.”

We fully support the Malaysia Madani government’s position of supporting Palestine and the need to work towards a two-state solution. Like any other peace-loving person, we want peace to be restored, an end to the blockade and that all atrocities committed against civilians, bombardment of hospitals, houses of worship must halt and reconstruction to commence as quickly as possible,” she added.

However, Saw said irrespective of the position the government takes on the Gaza conflict, teaching innocent school children about gun-toting and that violence against another was simply a no-no.

The ministry said it does not endorse any demonstration of support for Palestine that borders on the waving of replica firearms or hoisting of banners inciting violence.