Umno man says slaughtering cows in schools is “practical” for Muslim students
A Barisan Nasional MP today injected his own brand of wisdom into the debate on whether cows should be slaughtered in schools, saying that the whole process is educational.
Shabudin Yahya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) said the act of slaughtering was not carried out in front of non-Muslim students and they were not involved or invited to attend such events.
"The slaughter of cows is not a regular affair. It is part of the subject and korban (ritual slaughter) is in the Islamic studies subject that is being taught in schools as part of the Islamic faith.
"It is also practical as it teaches the correct ways of slaughter and what should be done. As such, people should not be overly upset over it," said Umno's Shabudin (pic), interjecting M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) during the debate on Budget 2014 in the Parliament today.
Kulasegaran had recently complained that slaughering of cows on school premises during the recent Aidiladha celebration was offensive to Hindus, to whom the cow is sacred.
"Is the school an abattoir? Is it even licensed to conduct such activity?" he asked.
He said such insensitive acts would only discourage non-Muslim parents from sending their children to national schools.
Protests by concerned parents were dismissed by a Muslim non-governmental organisation, who said Muslims should not bow to pressure on the issue.
"Why should we bow to pressure from them (Hindus)? It is as if we do not have our own identity. This is our country and it is an Islamic country.
"We want to slaughter cows, who cares? What is the percentage of the Indian community in Malaysia? Only 1% or 2%," said Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma).
This prompted a response from interfaith panel, Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, who reminded the authorities to respect other religious sensitivities. - October 29, 2013.
