TWO environmental groups have rubbished a councillor’s claim that children were “used” to protest against the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) last week.

Klima Action Malaysia (Kamy) and Klimate Action Utara Malaysia (Kaum) also described as “unsubstantiated” the allegation by Penang Island City Council member Vinodini Chandragason that they violated the Child Act 2001 by mobilising pupils under 12 years old at the gathering at a Ramadan bazaar in Bayan Baru.

The 11 SJK (T) Sg Ara pupils were protesting against climate change, said the groups, adding that the children were even lauded by Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik.

“We would like to clarify the allegation made by the Penang councillor under the Students Affairs Office. First, we commend the said councillor for expressing her concern about the children allegedly ‘used’ to convey our ‘dissatisfaction’ with PTMP,” they said in a statement today.

“However, we wish to highlight that the term ‘used’, as repeated by the councillor in her statement, is entirely out of place, unsubstantiated and poorly applied.”

Kamy and Kaum added that the pupils attended the gathering with their parents and principal’s consent, thus, the Child Act was not contravened.

“The children participated in the peaceful gathering under the supervision of their parents, and with the green light from their school.”

On Vinodini’s claim that the gathering’s aim was to protest against PTMP, they said: “We would like to clarify and reassert that our cause is purely environmental in nature. However, this does not diminish the fact that these environmental woes are very much linked to the state’s political aspirations.

“Hence, we saw this as an attempt by the state to mislead the public from the real issue at hand.”

However, said the statement, there is “no need to use young minds to propagate dissatisfaction with PTMP”.

“We emphasise that we do not ‘use’ children to push our cause… Our movement is to ensure that we, the older generation, leave behind a legacy not filled with destruction and pollution.”

The groups questioned why the councillor zeroed in on last week’s gathering, when there have been similar activities held nationwide to raise awareness on climate change.

“(The gathering was) similar to the climate strike organised recently by SMJK Choong Hua in Bidor, which saw the whole school… carrying placards to convey their concerns about climate change and how it affects their future. That event was reported by the Sin Chew news portal.”

They said there is a lack of coverage, integrity and independence regarding Penang’s assessment of PTMP, which deviates from the state’s vow to implement United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a basis for future projects.

The groups added that children should be encouraged to take a stand on current issues, citing as an example the global climate change awareness campaign by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg of Sweden.

“Hampering children from developing such consciousness… is not the aim of our education system. The system’s goal is to foster mature thinking and prepare future generations to become better, more qualified leaders.

“Therefore, picking on minor details – as the councillor has done – on a matter that is not the crux of the global movement is like yelling at a car with punctured tyres.” – June 1, 2019.