{
  "id": 15825613,
  "title": "Kanak-kanak terkesan akibat politik kemasyarakatan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/kanak-kanak-terkesan-akibat-politik-kemasyarakatan-15825613",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-20T23:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/10/21/kanak-kanak-terkesan-akibat-politik-kemasyarakatan"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A former deputy minister and independent researcher have linked a rise in intolerance towards religion among schoolchildren to the emergence of a trend in grassroots politics. Sharifah Munirah Alatas and Ti Lian Ker, who served as deputy minister for unity from 2020 to 2021, agreed it was no surprise when a Member of Parliament sparked concern over the issue. Munirah said the refusal of Muslim students to sit next to non-Muslim classmates could signal a new level of intolerance in society. She blamed the spread of ethnocentrism, nativism, traditionalism, and culturalism within Malay-Islam political leadership over the past 50 years. Munirah expressed her regret over the growing ethnocentrism, nativism, and traditionalism in the community. \"When a Member of Parliament raises issues of intolerance and religious and ethnic polarization in the classroom, I blame political discourse that mixes ethnicity and religion, which we see every day for decades,\" she told FMT. Munirah said such attitudes could be defeated effectively with political commitment. \"However, we all know that the political side wants to maintain a closed mentality in society. It ensures political resilience.\" Last Thursday, Pahang Borneo UP MP Willie Mongin sparked concern over intolerance among children when he referenced a case of a primary school student refusing to sit next to a classmate of a different religion. In the Dewan Rakyat, Mongin cited cases where children refused to sit next to each other due to differences in religious symbols or food preferences. Ti Lian Ker, who previously served as deputy minister for unity from 2020 to 2021, said she was not surprised by the incident. She said it was inevitable if children strongly wanted to sit apart from classmates of a different religion. Ti, like Munirah, blamed grassroots politics for contributing to the divisions. \"Political identity, as well as military cyber radicalization funded by political parties, plays a role in sowing intolerance among the populace, which then spreads that understanding to children.\" The situation is further exacerbated by the military's often unaccountable narrative that provocatively attributes incidents to ethnic and religious groups, without regard for the law, Ti said. \"This group will view every incident through an ethnic lens and incite division between the two groups.\"",
  "summary": "Etnosentrisme makin meresap dengan ibu bapa dipengaruhi dakyah membesarkan anak-anak dengan minda sempit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Kanak-kanak terkesan akibat politik kemasyarakatan",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/kanak-kanak-terkesan-akibat-politik-kemasyarakatan",
        "published": "2026-10-20T23:30:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}