Malaysian authorities are investigating the case of a Sikh military trainee who said his long hair had been lopped off as he slept, triggering outrage among the minority community.
The alleged incident has again shaken faith in a controversial national service programme, launched in 2004, to foster national unity by recruiting all Malaysians, including those from ethnic minorities.
Basant Singh, 17, said his hair, which had reached below his waist, was cut as he slept at a training camp in northern Penang state.
"I was fast asleep on Sunday night. When I woke up the next day, I realised that my hair had been cut off."Basant's father, 46-year-old Sikh religious leader Surinderpal Singh, said his son had become withdrawn since the incident, in which his hair was cut by 50cm.
Harcaran Singh, president of the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council, a Sikh representative body, said the probe must seek to determine who was involved in the hair-cutting and what their motives were."It is not a trivial issue. It must be nipped in the bud...," he said.
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