PSM: Education minister 'exploiting' children

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today slammed Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein for plans to use schoolchildren to protest against the on-going crisis in Gaza.
In a statement issued today, the party’s secretary-general, S Arutchelvan, said the organisers of the protest could also be accused of ‘exploiting’ the children, just like Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (Jerit) had been previously.
Yesterday, English-daily New Straits Times reported that the education minister is planning a nation-wide protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza, involving about five million children and 360,765 teachers from more than 10,000 schools.
Hishamuddin said the protest would prepare them for "global issues like peace, environment and the economic crisis".
Arutchelvan, however, was not amused with the statement, arguing that the minister should get parental consent before involving children in such "dangerous" activities.
"Do the children have consent from their parents as it seems that the minister has made the decision without even consulting the parents."

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