Mca Leader Links School Ban To Criticism Of Fadhlina

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An MCA leader has speculated that she was barred from entering a school yesterday for criticising Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
Monna Ong - the Terengganu MCA liaison committee chairperson - said that the Chinese primary school in Marang informed her yesterday that the authorities had issued a directive denying her entry to the Children's Day celebration.
She said she had attended the event at the school for five years without issues before this.
"It is difficult not to view this sudden restriction as a response to my recent public comments regarding the education minister’s handling of issues such as school bullying and the politicisation of classrooms - including the troubling directive for students to chant slogans like ‘I love the prime minister’," she said in a statement today.
Last month, fellow PKR member Rafizi Ramli criticised Fadhlina for leading schoolchildren to chant birthday wishes for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a school event.
The incident came to light through a video circulating on social media, showing Fadhlina encouraging students to say “Happy Birthday PMX, We Love You” for the prime minister, who turned 78 on Aug 10.
In good faith
Ong said her criticisms were respectful and made in good faith, urging Fadhlina to be open to criticism in order to improve herself.
"As chairperson of the Dato Sri Chia Siea Chok Education Aid Foundation, I attended the school in my capacity as the leader of a charitable foundation, not as a political figure. To conflate the two is misleading and unjust.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek"More importantly, it penalises the very students who stand to benefit from the foundation’s assistance," Ong added.
She cited DAP leader Hannah Yeoh being banned from attending an event at the latter's former school, SMK Subang Utama, in 2008 as precedent.
This was allegedly because of Yeoh's position in Pakatan Harapan, which was the opposition at the time, Ong added.
Ong condemned Harapan for continuing such actions, despite Yeoh later calling for an end to the practice of restricting the opposition from entering schools.
"Yet today, those who once championed openness and reform appear silent, or worse, complicit in replicating the very injustices they seemingly once fought against.
"What happened to the promises of change? What became of Harapan’s commitments to transparency, fairness, and depoliticisation of education?" Ong asked. - Mkini

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