By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Nov 5: Although the Palestine Solidarity Week programme is not mandatory for schools in Sarawak, the schools still need to submit their progress report and feedback as requested by the State Education Department, says Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen.
According to Chong, schools that did not organise any activities on the solidarity programme should specify it and submit their report as the Education Ministry (MoE) want schools nationwide to issue the progress report and feedback on the programme.
He added that if the schools face any difficulty from the MoE, they could seek him for help.
“Please contact me if there are issues, and I will liaise with the ministry to resolve it,” he said at the Rocket Inter-team Badminton Tournament prize-giving ceremony at the Stapok Badminton Court today.
Chong, who is Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chief, said despite clarification by Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek that the programme is to instil humanitarian knowledge and spirit among the students, there is no detail and no specific guideline to implement it.
Chong also said he is worried that many schools might have gone on a tangent along hatred and violence, which he thinks defeats the programme’s purpose.
He further opined that it is too rushed to carry out the programme in the first place as the nature of the programme and issue is international politics and is a complex and delicate issue that needs to be handled appropriately.
Chong explained that was the reason he contacted the deputy education minister with confirmation the programme is not mandatory for schools in Sarawak.
“That is why I issued that statement so that I could convey the message to school principals and headmasters so that they would not be obliged or compelled to organise this programme,” he said. — DayakDaily
