The Cabinet next Wednesday should order the immediate suspension of school principals who acted as “Little Napoleons” in unilaterally and arbitrarily imposing rules and regulations which trample on cultural and religious rights and sensitivities in a plural society – demonstrating that they lack the most fundamental qualification to be school principals.

The latest manifestation of such “Little Napoleons” is Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (formerly English College) in Johor Bahru in making “songkok” part of the compulsory uniform of school prefects in the school.

I put up on my blog the protest letter of a parent of a school prefect in Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar who said his son, who is in Form Five, would resign as a school prefect – appointed since Form II because of his exemplary conduct – if he is forced to wear the songkok. There are over 160 responses in the two threads in my blog on this issue in the past 24 hours, showing the intensity of the sensitivities over the matter.

Recently there have been an unchecked increase of incidents whether in schools, universities or involving the government decision-making process showing growing indifference, disrespect and even contempt for the sensitivities and rights of the diverse races, cultures and religions in the country – which are most detrimental to the goals of nation-building and the Vision 2020 objective of creating a Bangsa Malaysia.

Yesterday, Malaysians learn to their shock another incident of the “Little Napoleons” running wild in Malaysia – the confiscation of English language Christian children’s books said to contain offensive caricatures of prophets from several bookshops in Johore Baru, Senawang (Negri Sembilan) and Ipoh by state enforcement officials of the Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department under the Internal Security Ministry.

What happened in Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar, Johor Bahru goes against the 2004 Barisan Nasional general election manifesto to create public confidence in national schools by making them as the educational institution of choice of all Malaysians.

In his last year as Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was quite outspoken in expressing his concern at the failure of national schools as instruments of nation-building and national unity.

He openly admitted that there had been two hijackings of the national education system from its original objective to cater to all races in Malaysia, alienating non-Muslims as in denying the right of the Chinese and Indians to learn their own languages and introducing Islamic practices in the school system which “puts off the non-Malays”, with boys forbidden from wearing shorts, even for playing games, and “even games are discouraged”, when “before, we had no problems with girls wearing skirts and boys wearing shorts, especially for games”.

When Abdullah became Prime Minister, he pledged to carry out Mahathir’s “unfinished business” to end such extremism and intolerance by the “Little Napoleons” so that the national schools will become the school of choice of all Malaysians regardless of race.

Instead of “walking the talk” and delivering his election pledge to end the intolerance and extremism in the schools, the reverse has taken place with “Little Napoleons” running wild in the schools, whether as principals or other capacities, creating a situation even worse than during Mahathir’s time.

The latest songkok issue in Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar in Johor Bahru is the latest known manifestation of such “Little Napoleons” in the national schools. Other recent “Little Napoleonic” outrages include:

• The segregation of boys and girls in SMK Seremban Jaya in Senawang although it is a co-ed school. Boys and girls were not allowed to mix whether to study in the same classroom or eat at the same table in the canteen. In fact, a new block was built to ensure their classrooms were located away from each other.

• Islamisation of Penang Free School, once the premier school in Penang and the country, with what many old boys regard as the “last straw” when a Jawi signage was installed at the main entrance of the school.

Although the scandalous segregation of boys and girls at SMK Seremban Jaya in Senawang has been ended after a public outcry, no action has been taken against the “Little Napoleons” responsible for such outrageous rules.

I call on the Cabinet next Wednesday to order the immediate suspension of school principals in these three schools and in others where there are principals who acted as “Little Napoleons” in unilaterally and arbitrarily imposing rules and regulations which trample on cultural and religious rights and sensitivities in a plural society.

The Cabinet should also institute a national inquiry into all the national schools to smack down the “Little Napoleons” whether principal or administrator for their disrespect and insensitivity to the rights and sensitivities of diverse races, religions and cultures in plural Malaysia – giving the aggrieved parents an opportunity to publicly voice their objections and protests at such perversion of the national education policy and nation-building objective.

(Media Statement when launching the 2-day 12-place “whistlestop” campaign in Perak to highlight the DAP national general election theme of “Good Cops, Safe Malaysia” at the Bidor market (first of the 12 stops) on Saturday 12.1.08)