KUCHING – The Education Ministry and the Sarawak Education Department should focus solely on their core business and not drag young children into the complexities of the war in the Middle East, said Right Reverend Datuk Danald Jute.
In a memo to mission school heads sighted by the Borneo Post, the bishop of Kuching and president of Anglican Mission Schools appealed to the respective principals, headmasters and headmistresses in Sarawak to exercise restraint on any matter involving the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
“We are rightly outraged by the atrocities committed by both sides. Yet, we are of the mind that the Education Ministry and Sarawak Education Department should not waste their time, energy and resources in organising such an event and to expect teachers and students to participate in it,” he said.
Danald, who is also Association of Churches Sarawak chairman, was referring to the Education Ministry’s directive for all government education institutions to observe a solidarity week from October 29 to November 3 in support of the Palestinian cause.
“The Education Ministry only needs to focus on its core business and not drag our young kids into this complex conflict and sully their young minds by way of drumming in upon them a one-sided narrative – or even worse, to put out an unsubstantiated storyline as though it were true fact,” said Danald, who confirmed issuing the memo when contacted by the Borneo Post.
In the memo, he cited a video prepared by the Sarawak Education Department in which the state education director “accusingly stated that the Al-Ahli Hospital was bombed by Israel” when the tragedy which killed hundreds of people “was in fact the result of a misfired missile from within Gaza itself.”
“We cannot allow this sort of video to be shown in our schools,” said Danald, who included a link of the said video uploaded by the state education department.
Danald said he believed the Palestinian people deserve better, both from their own leaders as well as the Israeli authority, and called for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and for an immediate ceasefire so that food, water and vital medical supplies can be safely delivered to the hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians in Gaza.
“We believe that children must be taught to respect one another irrespective of one’s religious and ethnic backgrounds. Children must be reminded that in all wars, there are no winners – only death and suffering.
“For that, we must stand in solidarity with all the innocent victims on all sides. Let us pray and work for peace,” he said. – October 26, 2023