Chairman of Hindu rights group Hindraf P. Waytha Moorthy asked why the report was only made after the group had raised concerns over the arrest of 10 Tamil schoolteachers over the leaks in English and Science papers. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 22, 2014.
Hindu rights group Hindraf today said the police report lodged over purported leaks in the Tamil and Maths papers for the UPSR examinations was just an attempt by the Education Ministry to justify its arrest of Tamil schoolteachers.
Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy asked why the report was only made almost 11 days after the examinations and only after the group had raised concerns over the arrest of 10 Tamil schoolteachers over the leaks in English and Science papers.
“If the alleged leak in Tamil schools was reported to police today (yesterday), why then did police arrest those 10 teachers from Tamil schools days before there was any complaint of a leak?” he asked in a statement.
“Why is the Examination Syndicate hurriedly making this report on a Sunday especially after Hindraf alleged a possible racial witch-hunt to pin the blame on Tamil schoolteachers when the alleged leak was at the Sekolah Kebangsaan (national school)?”
Waytha Moorthy also said there was no complaint of any leak in Tamil school exam papers prior to the arrests of the 10 teachers.
“Are the PDRM and Education Ministry both colluding to cover up further after the possibility of a racial witch-hunt was legitimately and logically raised by Hindraf?”
He said since the initial allegation of leaks was over exam papers from national schools, "top officers" in the Examination Syndicate should have been detained instead, as they were in charge of the safe rooms where the papers were stored.
"Looking at the current scenario and the latest police report hurriedly made on a Sunday by an officer from the examination syndicate, it appears and gives the impression that there is indeed a further cover-up being attempted by unseen hands at the top level in the Education Ministry," he added.
"Is there a deliberate attempt to divert the attention of the public as the pressure is building for the Education Minister to take ministerial responsibility by resigning?"
Two days ago, Waytha Moorthy asked if the Education Ministry and police were embarking on a racial witch-hunt to pin the blame elsewhere, in particular on Tamil schoolteachers.
"It has been widely reported by online and mainstream media that the UPSR examination papers in the Science and English subjects meant for national schools were leaked.
"It must also be noted that the content of the exam papers for national schools differs drastically from vernacular schools," he added.
However, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Tajudin Md Isa denied Hindraf's claims of racial stereotyping in their probe into the leaks, saying that police were "colour-blind" in carrying out the investigations.
"During the course of our investigations, police arrested a Malay teacher in Terengganu. Does this mean we are targeting Malay teachers?" Tajudin asked.
"Does the arrest of a Malay teacher mean that Malay rights groups should come out and say that police are carrying out a racial witch-hunt?"
Yesterday, Tajudin confirmed that Examinations Syndicate officers had lodged reports about the leak of the UPSR Tamil and Mathematics papers.
Some 500,000 students sat for the national primary six examinations. The English and Science examinations will now be held again with fresh test papers on September 30.
- TMI
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