Are opposition MPs banned from school activities, asks PN man

Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) said he was recently prevented from officiating a PTA meeting at a school in his area.

KUALA LUMPUR: A Perikatan Nasional MP wants the education ministry to clarify whether opposition parliamentarians are barred from participating in school activities.

Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) said he was recently prevented from officiating a parent-teacher association (PTA) meeting at a school in his area.

He said that if there were such bans in place, then they should apply to government representatives as well.

“There are teachers who are afraid to even accept cakes during Teacher’s Day (from opposition representatives),” he said at the Dewan Rakyat.

“(It’s) as if we are giving them drugs or hazardous substances.”

Idris, who is also the PAS vice-president, criticised a suggestion by a PKR member to establish a committee to monitor teachers who do not support the government.

“This is a political idea from the black-and-white TV era… the old newspaper era. It’s uncivilised,” he said.

At the PKR congress yesterday, Johor PKR delegate Haryati Abu Nasir said she was concerned about the trend of teachers not supporting the government.

She then called on the education ministry to create a monitoring committee to keep an eye on teachers and identify why they opposed the government.

Education minister Fadhlina Sidek is the Wanita PKR chief.