Parents accuse SMK Convent Kajang of being r*cist. Here’s what the school did.

Rise and shine guys, it’s time to flex those brain cells with a question: Based on the given extract, choose the statement that most accurately describes the content. [10 marks]

1. Students are allowed to wear any of the clothes listed above.
2. Students are allowed to wear the clothes listed above but only according to their race/ethnicity.

If you struggled with that, the good news is that you’re not the only one 🤠 But first, let’s add some context.

On September 8th, students at SMK Convent Kajang were given a directive outlining the traditional attire they could wear for the school’s Merdeka/Malaysia Day celebration– and yes, the text above was part of it. Like those of you who went with option 1 earlier, neither the students nor their parents thought much of it.

That was until 2 days later, on September 10th, the school’s headmistress sent out this message:

To some, this may not seem like a big deal, but to many in SMK Convent Kajang, this new directive was both shocking, confusing and…

 

Parents argued that prohibiting cross-culture attires seemed racist

Aja (not her real name), whose daughter is enrolled at SMK Convent Kajang, told us complaints flooded the PIBG group chat almost immediately. Many parents opposed the decision because not only were students forced to look for new outfits, but the general message just seemed off, especially when Merdeka and Malaysia Day are meant to celebrate unity.

When asked to clarify her message, the headmistress said that the choice of clothes were simply a reflection of the school’s theme this year.

But this explanation didn’t sit right with parents, mainly because the school had never enforced a theme before. The students too were dissatisfied, and sat through lengthy discussions with the headmistress to plead their case. They went back and forth until eventually, the directive was scrapped and students could go back to wearing whatever they wanted. For some reason though, students who wanted to dress up in sarees had to write a special report.

Now at this point, it may sound like everyone got their happily ever after and the whole thing, at worst, stemmed from a poorly written directive. After all, there’s nothing malicious about having a specific theme for an event, even if that theme is a little✨✨✨ contradictory.

But as it turns out, this wasn’t the first time the school was caught up in allegations of discrimination. In fact, just several months ago…

 

The school reprimanded non-Muslim students for wearing religious necklaces and strings

According to Aja, one of the teachers asked a Christian student why she was wearing a cross chain. The student explained it was for religious reasons but the teacher didn’t seem to believe her.

Honestly, if you ask us, the irony here is a little too hard to ignore considering this is a Convent school. Surely the teacher would’ve noticed a cross somewhere right, like say the roof?? Regardless, the whole thing ended with the student being pretty shaken up.

Not long after that, Buddhist and Hindu students were reprimanded for their religious threads. During assembly one day, the students were pulled aside and told to write letters explaining why they were wearing them. Aja told us that students caught without a letter would receive demerits (minus points that could possibly result in disciplinary action).

And the headmistress’ response to all of this?

Yep, pretty much just swept everything under the rug. But it looks like the school is making an effort to act against all races so yay them for supporting equal opportunity! 🥳

Now of course with all these allegations stacked against them, we couldn’t just leave it at that. So we contacted the school for their side of the story, except…

 

SMK Convent Kajang totally ignored our requests for comments

Long story short, our calls and emails went unanswered. We did, however, manage to get in touch with one of the PIBG members who’s in close contact with the headmistress. Though after agreeing to talk to us, he kinda ghosted us afterwards.

At the end of the day, while the Merdeka/Malaysia Day mishap can be chalked up to a simple communication breakdown, the situation involving religious necklaces and strings calls for a clear explanation. And it’s regrettable that the school hasn’t offered one. But then again, their silence already speaks volumes.

Well, if they ever do get back to us, we’ll be sure to keep you guys updated.