PETALING JAYA: An officer with the Education Ministry has been transferred after he reportedly barred two Tamil songs from being performed at a Tamil language carnival.
"The issue of banning 'Tamil Valthu' and 'Kadavul Valthu’ has been investigated and appropriate action taken by the ministry where the responsible officer has been transferred to another department,” an aide to Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Dec 6).
ALSO READ: Education Minister apologises for barring of Tamil songs at Penang event
Fadhlina’s special officer Thiyagaraj Sankaranarayanan said the Madani government would not protect anyone in such a situation and the minister had taken decisive action.
"Please focus on the national education process and give enough space for further investigation if there is new evidence," he said.
He also said allegations that the ministry was not taking action against other officers who could be involved in this matter were untrue.
ALSO READ: Probe incident at Tamil language carnival, Penang urges Education Dept
"We should be aware that any statement related to the issue will affect the investigation process by the ministry," he added.
Last month, there was public outcry when the two songs were banned from the carnival in Penang, which was organised by the ministry.
That same carnival also saw banners featuring Tamil literary and philosophical figure Thiruvalluvar being disallowed.
Later, Fadhlina publicly apologised to the Tamil community, saying that the ministry took full responsibility for the officer’s action and that it should not have happened.
She also said the ministry had taken strict action against the officer found to be negligent in handling the community's sensitivities and gave an assurance that such incidents would not recur.
