KUALA LUMPUR: Politicians hit out at political party Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) for raising religious issues and racial tension for demanding Chinese New Year decorations to be taken down at a public school.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the celebration was a cultural festival and not religious in nature and it is not wrong for schools to put up Chinese New Year decorations.
The Puchong Member of Parliament stressed that Malaysia is a diverse country and had been celebrating various festival for many years.
“We are a society with various cultures and we have been celebrating such events at the national level for many years. We need to respect one another and celebrate these events together,” he said in a statement.
Gobind said the matters raised by Putra was unfounded and urged the school not to bow to such demands.
Yesterday, Putra vice-president and lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz has threatened to report SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong 1 over its “religious” Chinese New Year decorations. It was believed the demand was made on behalf of parents.
Meanwhile, Kinrara state assemblyman Ng Sze Han also strongly condemned the actions of Mohd Khairul Azam and the organisation.
“As we all know, Chinese New Year is a major celebration celebrated by the Tiong Hua people and not a religious celebration as Mohd Khairul Azam had claimed.
“This showed that Putra is a racist and extremist organisation that equated Chinese New Year celebrations to religious celebrations.
“Any decisions made by SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong 1 should first consult the Education Ministry on anything related to Chinese New Year celebration and not act based on instructions by anyone who is politicising the issue,” he said in a statement.
Earlier today, Ng brought extra lanterns to the school and had the Cabinet ministers visiting the school, led by Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, to sign the Chinese lanterns as a sign of support to the country’s unity.
Also present were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s office (Religious Affairs) Datuk Seri Dr Muhajid Yusof Rawa, and Subang MP Wong Chen.
Syed Saddiq also took to Twitter and said public schools are for all races and faith.
“Chinese New Year is celebrated together as Malaysia belongs to everyone,” he wrote.