KUCHING: Sarawakians need not be too emotional over sensitive issues especially one that touches on religion.
Commenting on the recent issue involving the conversion of a non Muslim student in Miri, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman said he was however glad that the issue had been finally settled.
“I would also like to remind people not to jump into conclusion if they were unsure about what actually happened,” adding that the case was a good lesson to all and urged everyone to calm down. Daud said the student herself was interested to learn about Islam, but it was wrong not to inform her parents.
The case was finally settled with the intervention of the Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah who had a meeting with the student (Sabrina) her family, church and the school teacher.
Daud, also Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development, said this after he officiated at the opening of SMK Agama Matang 23rd Parent-Teacher Association’s annual general meeting and the presentation of awards to top students in the PT3 and SPM examinations last year.
On another matter, Daud urged canteen operators in the state, particularly those at religious schools to obtain the halal certification from State Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).
While it is not mandatory for them to obtain such certification, he said the halal certificates would at least convince customers that the food was hygienically prepared in as far as Islam was concerned and that it was a good example to other operators.
Daud added that there were less than 10 canteens in religious schools in the state which had halal certification. The number is far less compared to that in conventional schools where there were more non-Muslim students.
“The application is simple. They only need to pay RM200 for two years,” he said after presenting the halal certification to the school’s canteen operator.