THE Education Ministry is considering action against two public university students who organised a secondary school debate tournament and allowed motions which questioned the Quran.

Mohammad Aidil Ali and Iyad Zakiy Amal were co-adjudicators in the Piala Tun Razak 2019 pre-quarterfinals English category and had assigned motions that defended homosexuality, called for a re-interpretation of the Quran and the rejection of the Shariah law system.

They have apologised in a statement but news of the controversial debate topics was widely shared on social media today by angry Malay-Muslims.

The ministry said the school which hosted the debate, Sekolah Dato’ Abdul Razak (SDAR) in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, had explained its rules on debate competitions to the two adjudicators, whereby topics which touched on religious sensitivities, race, culture or national security issues, are not allowed.

“SDAR had informed the two co-adjudicators of their rules. Investigations have shown that Aidil and Iyad Zakiy, as members of the panel selecting the debate motions, did not discuss or seek the views of SDAR about the topics.

“As such, the ministry through the Higher Education Department is studying the possibility of taking action against the two of them who are also students at a public university.

“The ministry will not compromise with any party that breaks the rules deliberately or otherwise in organising programmes that can disrupt the peace between races and religions,” the ministry said in a statement this evening.

In their apology, Aidil and Iyad Zakiy explained that they allowed the topics to expose young debaters to such controversies as part of preparing for the real world.

In keeping with the tradition of debating as a sport, they said the topics would teach debaters to “think out of the box, to not limit one’s worldview and to think critically”.

“These motions are not created with any intention to indoctrinate or brainwash the young debaters, nor is it a form of liberal agenda by anyone.

“We will take this as a precautionary lesson and will ensure for competitions, such motions will be avoided,” they said. – October 15, 2019.