from Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Three ethnic Indian teenagers plan to sue their Malaysian schoolteacher for defamation after she taunted them with racial insults in a case that has outraged the minority community, a lawyer said Thursday.

The ethnic Malay female history teacher has been transferred out of her school after she reportedly acknowledged making racial remarks such as calling Indians “black monkeys” and accusing them of involvement in thuggery and theft.

The case has bolstered complaints by Malaysia’s minorities that racism by the majority Malay population is entrenched and institutionalized.

Some 500 ethnic Indians protested outside the school in central Selangor state last week after the teenage students filed a police complaint against her. Police said she would not be charged because she had not committed a criminal offense.

Three of the students plan to sue the teacher later this month because “she made false allegations that go right to the roots of their origins,” said their lawyer, S.N. Pathmanabhan. They will decide what kind of compensation they want later.

The students will also write to the government to demand the teacher be fired, he said.

It is the latest incident causing racial friction in a country that takes pride in its multiethnic peace and stability. Malay Muslims comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million people. Ethnic Chinese constitute a quarter of the population, while Indians make up less than 10 percent.

Malaysia’s top ethnic Indian politician, Samy Vellu, president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, is also calling for sterner disciplinary action against the teacher.

“This sort of people will give the government … a bad name and may reduce the support of the Indian community,” Samy said in a statement Wednesday.

Minority Indians largely voted against the government in March general elections amid rising complaints that the Malay-dominated ruling coalition deprives them of economic and educational opportunities and promotes religious discrimination.

No disciplinary action has been taken against her. To add insult to injury, the transfer order apparently said that she was transferred due to concerns for her safety. When some parents demanded an explanation from the headmaster as to why the teacher had been let off without any punishment, he refused to talk to them. G Gunaraj, secretary of the Coalition of Indian NGO’s which organized last weeks’ protest, said that the Education Ministry should handle such racially charged issues with regards to the racial harmony in Malaysia.

If the Education Ministry lets off this despicable teacher without proper disciplinary action, it surely will send the wrong signals to future issues. So, if a teacher in the future would like a transfer to a better school, these are the things that they must do:

1. “test the level of patience” of students by abusing them with derogatory statements
2. accuse students from one community of being gangsters and thieves
3. write derogatory words on the blackboard
4. stomp on students’ backs while they are doing pushups

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong has promised an investigation and Malaysia Hindu Dharma Mamandram will be waiting for the results. These types of activities cannot go on in Malaysia.