Did the Education Minister Fail?

What happened at a secondary school in Johor Bahru should not have happened at all in the first place. This is especially in the context of Malaysia Madani. The impassioned pledges made by Prime Minister in all his campaign speeches in the last general election, declared that all children whether they be Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban, are his children.

To organise a special workshop for only Muslim SPM students is unbecoming. This is messing around with lives and minds of young Malaysians. To make it worse, the Ministry tried to apologise by coming up with a ridiculous explanation. It had to be for Muslim students first as it was during the Chinese New Year holidays. So why leave out the Indian students then? They were not celebrating the festival. Why can’t we admit our mistake and apologise? Problem is too many are brainwashed by the race and religion mantra.

Source: https://www.malaysianow.com

The session included core subjects like Science and Maths and was not just limited to Islamic studies. In any case, the SPM exams were to start soon, so there was no time for another session for the others. The parents also said their children have not been notified till now of any session for their children.

The Education Minister failed in her first major test. She cannot leave it to the education department to investigate. Education is a federal matter, more so if racism has been found to have crept into the system.

The power to summon the principal and the state education director immediately to explain was required by the Minister. She would have won the hearts of Malaysians if she had decided to go down personally to Johor. 

The anger was not only felt by non-Malays but others too, including the Johor Sultan, who wanted the issue resolved. So, what can the government do to ensure this does not happen again? Simple, actually. Take control and issue a blanket order barring any form of academic workshops based on race and religion, unless done specifically for the subjects of Islamic Studies, Chinese or Tamil. The government should show that there will be no mercy for people in authority who discriminate against people under their charge based on race or religion. Transfer, suspend or sack those who play on the race or religion card.

Many are saying this racist episode is unlikely to be the last, but the PM and his team must put these deviations to bed for a better Malaysia. So, did she fail? Yes, she doesn’t understand reformasi. And she is not alone.

Reference:

Education Minister fails in first major test, K. Parkaran, FMT, 28 Jan 2023