Education Ministry plans protest against Gaza offensive
Posted: January 10, 2009 Filed under: Politics, Society | Tags: Education, Gaza, Hishammuddin 7 CommentsThis from NST (hat-tip: Kak Nuraina):
Nearly all the schoolchildren in the country will be mobilised to protest against the Gaza offensive by Israeli forces.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that about five million pupils and 360,765 teachers from more than 10,000 schools would be involved.
The article does not mention what age-group these school-going children are in. Is this protest, planned by the Ministry, going to include primary school children as well?
On the NST page, most, if not all of the comments following the article are against this idea of a massive protest using schoolchildren.
If I was still a student in Malaysia today, I’d rather I had a choice on whether or not to participate in this massive protest. As it stands, the article doesn’t provide much details, so I assume that participation from schools (staff and students) is not much of a choice.
I will not *assume* that schoolchildren don’t understand the situation in Gaza. But it is also not right to assume that all schoolchildren, especially those still in their younger years, will know what they are protesting against.
If any massive protest rally should be planned by the government, it shouldn’t be the Education Ministry. And participation should never be compulsory.
I Am Malaysian 
I remember some one said that we SHALL never mislead the school going children/students. So, what is this? Creating awareness or what sort of education? We know from our heart that we do no agree on any war. So, this is the way to educate the pupils huh? What a great ways. Moron is still moron. Period.
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Even though I support the Palestinians I think this is an utterly silly initiative that is not going to impress anybody, least of all the Israelis and the Americans. The poor kids don’t have a clue about the conflict and they are forced to take sides. It’s a kind of indoctrination.
The world knows what’s really going on in Palestine and that’s why they came out with the UN resolution. The arrogant Israelis have not even spared UN schools and trucks from the orgy of destruction. Gaza has done severe damage to Israel’s reputation and they don’t know it.
The MOE’s ridiculous gesture contributes absolutely nothing to the resolution of the conflict and demonstrates it has no business handling education. Do we want to hand our venacular schools to these idiots?
im not even sure I want to hand my kids to them but oh well.. serious revamp needed in that ministry…(if not all haha).
The Education Minister assumes that all the 5 millions pupils and 360,000 thousand over teachers and the parents will and must support the artificially manufactured protest. What happens if they don’t? Is he going to arm-twist them till they submit like what the Israelis are trying to force the Palestinians to accept the humiliation of occupation?
It is totally unethical of the minister to use the school or the children to further whatever agenda he has.
Schools are containers of universal and humanitarian values and not prisons of hate. It is OK to encourage the children to talk about the war and the disturbing images and what their feeings and thought are. Guide them and comfort them, if necessary. Develop their empathy for human beings from whatever nationality, race, religion and class. Raise their moral reasonings to the levels of human rights so that they can think beyond their race and religion. But, forcing the school children to show hatred will warp their conscience. This is most unkind.
I was watching RTM this morning and someone was saying that Malaysians need to be aware of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict because the Jews could appear at our houses one day. What an utterly stupid statement! I’ll bet he doesn’t know there are only 20 million Jews in the world today. And he is responsible for “informing” the country!
By employing violence, Israel is already self-destructing. Have a look at this: http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/war_on_gaza/2009/01/2009110112723260741.html
Where was the protest over Dafur killing ? They are Negro muslims(raisin heads),after all,okay,pass. No land belong to the Jews,no land belong to the Christians,no land belong to the Hindus,no land belong to the Buddhist,no land belong to infidels.Allah said so. All land, dar al-Harb,belong to the muslims if not today, tomorrow when it becomes dar al-Islam. When the Israel jews and the Lebanon Christians are completely subjugated like the rest of the other religious minorities in the Middle east,Islam can go ahead with their world hegemony, making the world their dream of daral-Islam become a reality.Great ! But please after achieving world dar al-Islam,do not turn around and kill eaach other to prove who is more “Allahish”.