of statues and crosses in mission schools

wow! didn’t know my post  ‘demolish the statues and destroy the crosses‘ had generated so many response/posts from other bloggers. well, it had  become so popular after kenny law from the blog ‘malaysia said the darndest thing‘ picked up my post and posted about it in his blog. many people become aware of this subject after kenny posted it in his blog (because his blog is more popular than mine), and many had taken up to blog about it. go and read again kenny’s post as now there are lots of comments there from ex-mission school students. ok here are the links of others who blog on this subject:

yein jee
zack
carbon copy
kopipengkau
meeky-meeky
fookiat
and many more which i missed, i’m sure but don’t forget to read from my good blogger buddy, the unmasked zorro.

then yesterday i discovered this issue was brought up at parliament by lim kit siang! whoa! the power of blogging!

ok, the picture you see here is none other than one of the oldest boys mission school, the st xavier’s school in penang. notice the huge cross across the facade of the building? i hope these 2 yang bodoh (YB) MPs when asked for crosses to be destroyed, don’t mean this too! cause then you’ll have to destroy the building!

and if people remember, there is a statue… i think of st jean baptist de la salle in front of the school. demolish the statues, the YB said?

btw, pat lu, who is from the pahlawan volunteers group, after reading on this issue from kenny’s blog, on behalf of pahlawan volunteers, had sent a letter of complaint to the public complaints bureau on 28 nov. you can read about it at the lowyat forum.

related post from kenny’s blog:
raised in parliament: demolish christian statues and destroy the crosses

UPDATED
just as i was about to wrap off this post, when i went to malaysiakini, i was surprise to read that the deputy education minister, noh omar, had responded that crucifixes in the mission schools can stay. i thought lim kit siang said he didn’t received a satisfactory answer? not only had noh omar spoke but the bodoh bodoh bodoh blabber mouth MP too.

here is the report from malaysiakini:

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Crucifixes can stay in mission schools
Yoges Palaniappan
Dec 3, 07 5: 54pm           

The Education Ministry has assured that crucifixes displayed in mission schools will not be taken down.

Winding up on points relating to the ministry in the Supply Bill 2008 debate, Deputy Education Minister  Noh Omar said there is no reason to take down crosses, as it is the tradition of mission schools to  display these.

He was replying Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) who asked if the  government has any intention of removing religious icons.

Lim (photo) was referring to a suggestion in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday by Syed Hood Syed Edros (BN-Parit Sulong) and Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) that such items be removed.

Their remarks are recorded in the Hansard – the record of parliamentary proceedings – a transcript of  which has been widely circulated via email and blog-posts.

Syed Hood said he believed that the school board in mission schools are partially administered by  churches abroad, for example in the Vatican City in Italy.

He said he was "ashamed and disappointed" that schools in an Islamic country like Malaysia are still  under the control of churches and that they display icons like crosses and statues.

Backing his views, Mohamad said some Malay parents had also expressed their concern to him that  mission schools do not close for the Hari Raya holidays.

He further urged the ministry to reveal the source of funding for such schools, as he believed that  churches are among the sponsors.

Lim later urged the ministry to correct the impression created by the two MPs and to rebuke them for their  remarks.

‘Report them’

At a press conference, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz urged those  offended by the remarks to lodge a police report against the parliamentarians involved.

"The statements were made when no major issue was being debated. Anyone offended by their  remarks can lodge a police report. They have a right to report them, " he said.

Saying that no action will be taken against the duo until a complaint is made, Nazri said: "The MPs are  not above the law. A seditious statement made in Parliament will be published and once published, the  public has the right to complain. "

He also assured that the Sedition Act applies to everyone and that the government will not condone any  seditious statement by parliamentarians.

"I am colour blind when it comes to this, " he added.

However, by convention, parliamentarians have immunity for remarks made in the House.