"Unconstitutional" CNY Deco: Police To Investigate Author Of Letter To Puchong School
According to the IGP, the school "did not do anything wrong".
By May Vin Ang — 09 Jan 2020, 12:09 PM
The police have announced that they will investigate the man who penned the letter accusing a public school in Puchong, Selangor for putting up "unconstitutional" Chinese New Year decorations
"I have already ordered an investigation against the author of the letter," Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador told Bernama yesterday, 8 January.
It was earlier reported that a senior leader from Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (PUTRA) had threatened to lodge a report against SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong 1, claiming that the school's Chinese New Year decorations were religious in nature and went against the Federal Constitution.
The police chief said action will be taken because there were elements of intimidation and incitement found in the letter
He also hoped that by taking action, the public would not have to worry about losing their constitutional rights.
"I found that the school did not do anything wrong in their initiative to decorate the school in conjunction with Chinese New Year," said IGP Abdul Hamid.
He said the school was instead seen as putting in effort to build closer ties among the students through a greater understanding of each others' cultures.
"I commend the school for its initiative to cultivate mutual respect among the various cultures in the country."
Meanwhile, the school has put the decorations up again following a show of support by several ministers and Pakatan Harapan leaders
According to The Star, the students and teachers were seen decorating the school yesterday afternoon in preparation of a visit by several government leaders.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail led a delegation of ministers, deputy ministers, and lawmakers to visit the school.
Among those who came to show support were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Communications Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, Water, Land, and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Xavier Jeyakumar, and Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching.
Dr Wan Azizah said the decorations for any celebration should not have come up as an issue in the first place
"What we're seeing here is an issue made out of something which shouldn't have even been brought up," she was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
"We in the government want to promote unity in a nation that is multicultural and is diverse in religion and race."
"So don't let things like this break us up and I urge all parties not to create disharmony in the nation," she added.
