'Mission schools can defy remove Jawi words order'
Susan Loone & Rahim SabriPublished: Jan 9, 2014 5:24 PM | Updated: Jan 9, 2014 5:30 PM
Sekolah Menengah Convent Bukit Mertajam, which has been asked by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus Mission to remove Jawi wordings on its signboard, do not have to obey the directive.
Education Dept director says the words are the school’s name.
Sekolah Menengah Convent Bukit Mertajam, which has been asked by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus Mission to remove Jawi wordings on its signboard, do not have to obey the directive.
State education director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin said the principal, who received the letter from the mission provincial, can “defy” the directive as it is not against the education system.
“The words are in Jawi and Jawi is part of Bahasa Melayu. Those on the signboard are not Quranic verses but are the school’s name,” Ahmad Tarmizi told Malaysiakini.
“If we make an issue of Jawi wordings which is part of Bahasa Melayu, then issues may arise about words in Mandarin (which are also found in Chinese schools) but like Jawi, Mandarin is also part of the Malaysian education system,” he added.
Ahmad Tarmizi said he had not received a copy of the letter but is aware of it, and confirms it was sent to the school principal Che Azizah Ismail in November last year.
“Such letters must be sent to the Education Ministry and not directly to the school. Such matters are taken up by the ministry, where we need to discuss first before a decision is made, whether to remove or retain the wordings,” he added.
He was referring to a letter dated Nov 21 last year sent by Sister Celine Wong, the provincial of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus Mission, to Che Azizah.
In the letter, Wong said that Jawi wordings on the official signboard of the school’s name in front of the building is not a practice of any mission school, including the convents, and is not allowed by the mission.
Che Aziziah received the letter on Nov 27, but when asked, declined to comment and neither confirmed nor denied that there was such a directive.
“Please refer to the district education department,” she had told Malaysiakini.
In the letter, Wong said the convent is not a Jawi-medium school and the common language of the school is Malay and English.
A mission school, not a national government school
Wong reminded Che Azizah that SM IJ Convent Bukit Mertajam is a mission school and is not a national government school.
“So there are some procedures and rules that the head of mission schools need to follow which are different from the national government school,” she said.
“Kindly remove the Jawi wordings. I apologise for the inconvenience caused,” she added.
Wong also reminded Che Azizah that permission must be obtained from the landowner (the mission) for any alteration or renovation to the school building before work is done.
Mission schools have been part of the Malaya, and later Malaysian education system since 1852, when the the sisters arrived in the peninsula.
The mission first opened the first school and orphanage in Penang, followed by schools in other states like Federal Territory (Kuala Lumpur), Negri Sembilan, Perak, Johor, Malacca and Sabah.
The letter appeared on the Internet in the wake of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia, where hundreds of copies of the Malay and Iban Bible were seized and two of the society’s staff detained by the police.
State education director Ahmad Tarmizi Kamaruddin said the principal, who received the letter from the mission provincial, can “defy” the directive as it is not against the education system.
“The words are in Jawi and Jawi is part of Bahasa Melayu. Those on the signboard are not Quranic verses but are the school’s name,” Ahmad Tarmizi told Malaysiakini.
“If we make an issue of Jawi wordings which is part of Bahasa Melayu, then issues may arise about words in Mandarin (which are also found in Chinese schools) but like Jawi, Mandarin is also part of the Malaysian education system,” he added.
Ahmad Tarmizi said he had not received a copy of the letter but is aware of it, and confirms it was sent to the school principal Che Azizah Ismail in November last year.“Such letters must be sent to the Education Ministry and not directly to the school. Such matters are taken up by the ministry, where we need to discuss first before a decision is made, whether to remove or retain the wordings,” he added.
He was referring to a letter dated Nov 21 last year sent by Sister Celine Wong, the provincial of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus Mission, to Che Azizah.
In the letter, Wong said that Jawi wordings on the official signboard of the school’s name in front of the building is not a practice of any mission school, including the convents, and is not allowed by the mission.
Che Aziziah received the letter on Nov 27, but when asked, declined to comment and neither confirmed nor denied that there was such a directive.
“Please refer to the district education department,” she had told Malaysiakini.
In the letter, Wong said the convent is not a Jawi-medium school and the common language of the school is Malay and English.
A mission school, not a national government school
Wong reminded Che Azizah that SM IJ Convent Bukit Mertajam is a mission school and is not a national government school.
“So there are some procedures and rules that the head of mission schools need to follow which are different from the national government school,” she said.
“Kindly remove the Jawi wordings. I apologise for the inconvenience caused,” she added.
Wong also reminded Che Azizah that permission must be obtained from the landowner (the mission) for any alteration or renovation to the school building before work is done.
Mission schools have been part of the Malaya, and later Malaysian education system since 1852, when the the sisters arrived in the peninsula.
The mission first opened the first school and orphanage in Penang, followed by schools in other states like Federal Territory (Kuala Lumpur), Negri Sembilan, Perak, Johor, Malacca and Sabah.
The letter appeared on the Internet in the wake of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia, where hundreds of copies of the Malay and Iban Bible were seized and two of the society’s staff detained by the police.
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