Interlock and the intimidation continues.

Interlok: NIAT will respond to DPM’s reckless statement,

 

 Thasleem

”NIAT would not react but would respond firmly” to the recent “reckless, irresponsible and misleading statement” by Dpm Muhyiddin Yasin, NIAT chair Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim said today.

Muhyiddin Yasin said yesterday that “the government will not bow to pressure over the ‘Interlok’ novel as the issue had been resolved and the final decision already made, raising of the issue again to gain support is irresponsible and ill-intended.”

For the whole saga of the Interlok controversy “who is actually irresponsible”? Whose scheme is “ill-intended”?, Thasleem asked.

Let it be clearly understood that the dpm’s “stand on this issue is very ironical and does not reflect him as a leader of a multi-ethinic nation like Malaysia, Thasleem added.

Thasleem made it clear that NIAT would not react to Muhyiddin’s reckless, irresponsible and misleading statement, but would respond factually to reaffirm NIAT’S firm stand that Interlok must be removed from the spm syllabus and replaced with a literature book from the other zones like “Kempara Amira” or “Sutera Dalam Lukisan”.

He pointed out that NIAT’s stand is based on its research findings, which are:

1.Interlok is against Islamic teachings and every other religious teachings;

2.Interlok is against educational guidelines, text book guidelines and national educational policy;

3.Interlok is against all the races in Malaysia – Malays, Chinese, Indians and others;

4.Interlok is against UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC);

5.Interlok is against the Prime Minister’s 1Malaysia concept which seeks to foster national unity.

NIAT’s stand is further strengthened by the stand taken by the Chinese NGOs, Thasleem claimed.

Thasleem pointed out that the Chinese NGOs had stated that “Interlok is against racial harmony; that it adds to the teachings of Brio Tata Negara and Malay supremacy and it is a part of the process of indoctrinating our youth.”

NIAT had given all the necessary information which formed the basis for its demand that Interlok be withdrawn from the students. But, “there has been no explanation nor any refutation from the dpm till today”, Thasleem pointed out and asked, “Does he think that as the no.2 leader of the country he is not obliged to give any explanation to any reasonable questions raised by concerned citizens?”

Thasleem warned that NIAT will hold the dpm solely responsible for the “racial tension and disharmony” that the introduction of Interlok as a text book has created amongst the people and for the “unscrupulous manner” in which he has been handling the issue.