KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Graduate teachers on grades DG41 to DG48 can, from next month, take an active part in politics, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan announced.

Teachers, at one time, played an important role as community leaders in the country's political scenario, he said yesterday.

"The time has come for them to be allowed to be active again in politics," he said adding that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin had consented to an amendment to Regulation 21 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations.

Action is being taken to gazette the amendment, he added.

Under the amendment, education officers other than principals or headmasters and officers holding any administrative post in any government agency may, with prior written approval from the secretary-general of the Education Ministry, take an active part in politics.

He said strict conditions would be imposed to ensure that the primary duties and focus of those in the group, which was to educate children, were not affected by their involvement in politics.

In an immediate reaction, Parent Action Group for Education chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said she was disappointed with the development.

"Teachers have been complaining about heavy workloads. Now they want to add politics to their current responsibilities?

"We are already advocating that education should be separated from politics. This move will definitely upset a lot of parents," she said.

National Collaborative Parent-Teacher Asso?ciation of Malaysia president Assoc Prof Datuk Mohd Ali Hasan, however, was in full support of the amendment.

"It is their right to get into politics. It is a waste of human and intellectual resources if they are not allowed to get involved in politics," he said.

National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng agreed with him, saying teachers who became politicians would be in a better position to fight for the profession.