MP for Pokok Sena and Pas Ulama Council chief, Ahmad Yahaya has criticised the Ministry of Education’s policy directive to ensure canteens remain open throughout the holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims observe fasting, abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset. He deems the directive to be excessive and that canteens should be closed during the fasting month as a form of respect to Muslims and suggested for non-Muslim students to bring packed meals and consume them in designated areas instead.
Guised under the name of respect and sensitivity to the majority culture and religion of the country, politicians and decision makers at various levels have often politicised this issue which ultimately trickles down to the expense of young students. Concerning cases over the years that disproportionately affect Non-Muslim students have included being forced to eat in toilets, being told to drink urine if they did not have water, not being allowed to consume food or water in the presence of Muslim students, and canteen closures in the month of Ramadan. Such instances not only trample upon civil liberties of non-muslim students but highlight inadequate guardrails and contradicts the very ethos of Ramadan that accentuates kindness, reflection, compassion, and understanding.
Muslim practices during Ramadan must not be a point of marginalisation of non-Muslims in the country. Further than Non-Muslims, canteen closures can also be detrimental to students who may be ill, disabled, or menstruating. This is why centralised policy decisions from the ministry play an instrumental role in protecting all students and ensuring inclusivity. Comments made by MP Ahmad Yahya feed into a culture of imposed assimilation thinly veiled as mutual respect and understanding which have very real, dire implications on diverse Malaysia, as exemplified by the cases mentioned above.
