A little young for politics. This sums up the general sentiment of several people on the recent election for the head prefect at Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Tun Dr Ismail 1. On Monday, Khairul Azil Khairul Razi, 12, won the post with 365 votes in a election which saw the presence of state Election Commission officers and policemen.

Kahirul Azil was among the five candidates who ran for the post and they had campaigned for a week. Election Commission deputy chairman Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said as a parent, he felt that while there was no harm in introducing the democratic system and its mechanism to pupils, it should be done at a higher level. “I hope the school understands the implications,” he said yesterday.

Datuk Wan Ahmad Wan Omar fears elections in primary schools can lead to grouping among pupils. “Personally I wouldn’t encourage exposing political activities to those below 12, as I am not sure if it would have negative effects.”As a parent, I wouldn’t allow my kid to get involved in political activities,” he said. “What will happen to the school’s environment? This could lead to grouping among pupils and create polarisation when unity should be the main focus. There is plenty of time to teach them about the system.”

Wan Ahmad said the police presence might also give the wrong impression to the pupils who might equate an election with tense situations. He said in advanced democracies such as Australia, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, police are not present during the polls. “The pupils would carry this perception until they are adults.

He felt that schools could use simpler means to educate the pupils on democracy, like talks by EC officers. Wan Ahmad said the EC had carried out many voter education programmes, although its target groups were those in colleges or universities and Form Six students as these are mature individuals who understand the meaning of an election. Wan Ahmad said while as a parent he did not agree to the election, he was not chiding the school for conducting one, the first primary school to do so.

“It was the school’s decision and I reckon they got the approval from the parent-teacher association,” he said. “It is entirely up to schools, but teachers need to understand the pros and cons,” he said, adding that he had received many calls from parents who shared his sentiments.

Bank officer and a mother of four, Luisa Lowe, said teaching young children the democratic process should not be done in this manner. “They are just too young and I doubt they would understand the whole thing. I think it’s crazy, and it might put stress on the pupils.”I would definitely oppose it if my children’s school wants to do the same,” she said.

Kuala Terengganu member of Parliament Abdul Wahid Endut said it was improper to hold the election in a primary school. He said it would be all right if it was held in a secondary school.

“It’s odd that a school organises an election while university students are barred from being active in politics.”

2010/01/13

By Sean Augustin

KUALA LUMPUR:

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/12saecelect/Article/index_html