KUALA LUMPUR: The action by a school in Kajang, which had allegedly barred its students from wearing saree during the National Day celebration, was akin to disrespecting the traditional culture of the people in a multicultural country of Malaysia, MCA said.
The party's spokesperson Saw Yee Fung said the alleged action of the school not only deprived students their right to represent their cultural identity but also was contrary to the inclusive values as espoused in the "Malaysia Madani" concept advocated by the unity government.
Saw feared that such an action could result in the student feeling ostracised from their own culture, subsequently exacerbating racial inequalities and division in the country.
"The instruction by the said school is simply puzzling. Even more bizarre is that Indian students were disallowed from wearing sarees.
"This suggests that said school's authorities are ignorant about the characteristics of Malaysia's multicultural society or try to impose values over others," she said in a statement.
Saw added that in addition to dragging the school into controversy, such episodes stirred public dissonance which undermined national unity and diversity.
"It is regrettable that incidents of 'Little Napoleans' holding sway recur again and again.
"To prevent such incidents from recurring in the future, the Education Ministry must investigate the matter as well as taking practical actions to tackle such 'Little Napoleans' from overstepping their authority to serve as warning and deterrent," she said.
A news portal reported that students from the secondary school were banned from wearing sarees at an event aimed at fostering unity among them.
A student quoted by the portal claimed that those wearing sarees were instructed to report their names to the discipline teacher, which was then recorded in the school's Sistem Sahsiah Diri Murid (Students Discipline System).
The matter triggered wrath among social media users who demanded actions to be taken against the school.
The ministry, in a statement, confirmed that it is investigating the matter and said that proactive measures would be taken once it had concluded a probe over the incident.