‘Toilet canteen’ shut down in Malaysia

DPA/Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian authorities yesterday shut down a makeshift canteen in a school shower room where non-Muslim students were made to eat as the predominantly Islamic nation observed Ramadan, an education official said.

 Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan said school officials agreed to reopen the school canteen that had been under renovation for the past two weeks.

 “The head master has good intentions but chose a poor location. He has apologised,” he said. “ I, too, apologize.”

 A concerned parent posted photographs on Facebook that showed students eating lunch in the shower room of an elementary school near Kuala Lumpur.

 Kamalanathan said the students were made to eat in the school’s shower room because the teachers feared the students might get hurt if they used the canteen while undergoing renovation.

 About 61% of Malaysia’s more than 29mn inhabitants people are Muslims. Others profess to different religions including Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.