A DAP assemblyperson has expressed disappointment that the Education Ministry has purportedly issued a circular prohibiting Muslim students from participating in the Ponggal festival, which falls tomorrow.

Bagan Dalam lawmaker Satees Muniandy (above) said, "It is shocking that the Ministry of Education felt pressured by extremist groups who failed to understand the country's diverse but united communities."

"How can the ministry promote national schools as the first choice for its citizens when the top leadership of the ministry failed to understand how important it is to forge unity among the students ?" Satees asked in a statement...