KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — An international school’s play portrayed as anti-palm oil did not contain elements meant to undermine government efforts to support the commodity, Hannah Yeoh said today.
The women, family and community development deputy minister also said the clip that drew Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok’s ire was only an excerpt of the performance that was centred on the environment.
“The video in circulation is only a small cut of a 24-minute performance by Year 3 students (7-8 years old). The students performed this at their weekly assembly.
“The performance covered a wide range of issues concerning the environment from climate change, global warming, solar energy, protection of oceans, plastic use, recycling effort to preservation of orangutans and the forest.
“I have personally watched the full video and I am convinced that there was no agenda to undermine the government’s effort to promote palm oil,” Yeoh wrote.
Yeoh is the MP for Segambut and said the school in question was in her constituency.
Expressing regret over the controversy, she went on to laud Kok for proposing a dialogue with the school.
She agreed with her DAP colleague that discourse was the best avenue to resolve the matter.
Yeoh then urged the public to stop sharing the clip in order to protect the privacy of the children involved.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Kok criticised the school for organising the play and accused it of propagating falsehoods about the palm oil industry.
Yesterday, Education Director-General Datuk Amin Senin said the school will be investigated for spreading “propaganda” about palm oil.
Today, Kok defended herself against accusations of stifling academic freedom, saying she had acted on a parent’s complaint about the matter.
She also alleged that some international schools refused to respond to the local palm oil industry’s outreach efforts.
