KUALA LUMPUR: The Indian-centric party Urimai criticised the Education Ministry (MOE) for its inadequate follow-up regarding the prohibition of Tamil songs at the national Tamil Language Carnival in Kepala Batas.
United for the Rights of Malaysians (Urimai) interim council president Dr P. Ramasamy made the remark following an aide to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the responsible officer had been transferred to another department in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Dec 6).
The former Penang deputy chief minister II questioned if the ministry was serious about meting out punishment against the officer, emphasising that the currently revealed information is insufficient.
"In the past, transfers of officials have been used more as measures to sweep things under the carpet rather than meting out punishments.
"Urimai wants Fadlina to provide a complete and comprehensive explanation of the action taken against the officer. Was the transfer a lateral one or a demotion?
"We want the officer's name, the nature of the punishment, and the steps that the ministry might adopt to avoid cultural deprivations of Indians and others to be revealed," he said in a statement today.
Ramasamy further questioned Fadhlina for not announcing the updates on her own.
"Why did Fadhlina use her special officer Thiagaraj to reveal the scanty information? Why did she not come forward? What is she afraid of?" he said.
Ramasamy reiterated that until MOE is ready and willing to reveal the details of the punishment, the public, especially the Indian community, will not be satisfied.
"Humiliation of Indians in the country is not something new. It has been going on for a long period. Most of the time, the complaints of the Indian community are not taken seriously on the grounds of their weak political power.
"If there is no acceptable closure to the incident, then it might merely confirm Indians' disgust with the Madani government," he said.
The banning of two Tamil songs, "Kadavul Valthu" (a worship song) and "Tamil Valthu", at an event organised by the ministry sparked public outcry. Banners featuring a Tamil literary and philosophical figure, Thiruvalluvar, were also disallowed at the same event.
In response, Fadhlina publicly apologised to the Indian community, acknowledging the ministry's responsibility for the incident.
She assured that strict action was taken against the negligent officer and pledged to prevent similar incidents in the future.