The issue of UMNO's flag and anthem being featured at an event at Sekolah Kebangsaan Presint 14 in Putrajaya last Tuesday, was neither political nor unusual, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

In fact, he said it was one of the activities inserted in the Merdeka celebration planned by the school in a bid to explain the country's journey of independence to the students.

"The activity was organised in conjunction with the Merdeka celebration and they (the school) would like to point out to the students that UMNO was one of the responsible parties in the efforts to obtain independence for the country," he told reporters after attending the Ziarah Kasih programme here today.

Mahdzir said this in response to the viral incident in which students sang UMNO's anthem and waved the party's flag during an event organised by the school.

In another development, Mahdzir said the call to open a special school or transition class to cater for students with disciplinary problems was unnecessary as the punishment by expulsion from school was still relevant.

"We don't need to open a school to house these problematic students. The expulsion is still relevant to the students with disciplinary problems, though it should not be carried out without proper procedures.

"A warning will be given first and if the student is still committing the offence we will then call the parents of the student to discus the best solution and the expulsion will be implemented as the last resort," he said.

-- BERNAMA