RECENTLY Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek got emotional in parliament while defending Palestine Solidarity Week in schools nationwide.

She said it was meant to foster values of humanity and peace. 

The Education Ministry had announced that all educational institutions under its purview, including matriculation colleges and teacher training institutes, would hold Palestine Solidarity Week to educate children on human rights, harmony and universal values.
 
But the event received a lukewarm response in vernacular schools. Parents were concerned about it. Most schools in Sarawak did not do anything in conjunction with Palestine Solidarity Week.
 
So what was wrong with this brainchild of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim?
 
The event is held in conjunction with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas or Palestine, depending on your source of news.
 
Wars and conflicts have nothing to do with human rights, harmony and universal values.
 
Forget about schoolchildren, even many adults don’t understand the conflict.

State actors such as Israel act based on national interest which is part of foreign policy.
 
As mentioned by Carl von Clausewitz, a Prussian general and military theorist, war is a political instrument to continue a policy by other means.
 
Protests against war don’t solve the problem. Wars do.
 
That was how five nations obtained their veto power in the United Nations post-World War 2.
 
Instead of achieving the goals set by the Education Ministry, Palestine Solidarity Week has split Malaysians into two camps, with both viewing the other as hypocrites.
 
Kudos to the Madani government on this achievement. – November 5, 2023.

* Mohamad Mamoud reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.