School children drawn into debate

School children drawn into debate

MALAYSIA: Nursery schools became Malaysia's latest ideological battlefield on Tuesday as the Islamic opposition reacted angrily to a reported government threat to close its kindergartens.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad gave the warning after accusing Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) of teaching pre-school children to hate the government, The Star newspaper reported.

But PAS denied the allegation, saying Mahathir was attempting to tighten his political control by cutting the biggest opposition party off from the people.

The latest threat was a continuation of measures to muzzle PAS, which has been painted by the government as a Taliban-in- waiting, said Mahfuz Omar, PAS youth chief and lawmaker. --AFP

Mahathir has suggested that PAS is linked to an alleged plot by Afghan-trained militants to overthrow the government by force. --AFP