A parent of a student in SMK Taman Selesa Jaya, Skudai, Johore has emailed his complaint of a new school ruling by the head master and discipline teacher banning the bringing of non-halal food to school.

This is put in black-and-white in the School Regulation 3.15 on “Makan dan minum” which stipulates:

“c. Makanan yang tidak halal tidak dibenarkan dibawa masuk ke kawasan sekolah.”

This is repeated and elaborated in Regulation 7.9 on “Barang-Barang Larangan” which states:

“7.9 Gula-gula, chewing gum, makanan ‘junk food’, makanan tidak halal.”

In his email, the parent was upset about one categorization of “serious offences” in breach of school discipline, viz. Item No. 28 which states “Menganjurkan atau membabitkan dalam acara kebudayaan tanpa kebenaran pihak sekolah, PPD, JPNJ dan Kementerian Pendidkan Malaysia”, causing him to ask: “I don’t understand why cultural activities outside of school is their concern. Soon going to church or celebrating Deepavali will need the same approval, or for that matter CNY.”

The School Regulation also prescribes the dress code for visitors to the school, viz:

“9.2 Pakaian pelawat, ibubapa mestilah kemas dan menutup aurat (tidak boleh berseluar pendek). Pihak sekolah boleh tidak melayan pelawat atau ibubapa yang tidak mengikuti/menendahkan peraturan tersebut.”

Malaysiakini columnist Helen Ang has coined the term “Little Mullah Napoleons” (LMN) to describe the little bureaucrats who are taking upon themselves to micro-manage how Malaysians dress – and this dress regulation for visitors to SMK Taman Selesa Jaya Skudai, Johor qualify its headmaster Haji Masdar bin Abu and discipline teacher Haris bin Ismail to join the rolls of Helen Ang’s LMNs.

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 school bureaucrats so that the national schools will become the school of choice of all Malaysians regardless of race. In fact, this became one of the pledges of the Barisan Nasional general election manifesto in 2004.

Four years have passed and there is an even longer catalogue of instances of hijacking of the national education system from its original objective to cater to all races in Malaysia with the rise of more LMNs as principals and discipline masters, as highlighted by the recent spate of school incidents whether over the compulsory wear of songkok for school prefects in Maktab Sultan Abu Bakar (formerly English College) Johore Baru (since withdrawn) , the sheaf of insensitivities of the SMK BUD4 Principlal or this latest incident.

It is time to have a new Education Minister if Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein is such a dismal failure to honour the Barisan Nasional election pledge to liberate the national education system from the clutches of LMNs to ensure that the national schools become the school of choice of all Malaysians regardless of race or religion.