THE opposition is only interested in matters relating to school shoes and socks, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

He said this when asked by Mahdzir Khalid (BN-Padang Terap) about the current status of the holistic study done on the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).  

He said the previous government did not put in any efforts to address matters involving the UEC, and took a stab at BN for questioning the ministries’ move to change the colour of school shoes and socks.

“For BN, it’s only shoes and socks. For those whose heads are only filled with shoes, we let them be,” he said during the minister’s question and answer time at the Dewan Rakyat today.

His remark caused a stir in the Dewan Rakyat where opposition MPs started shouting at him while those in government were seen laughing.

Maszlee was previously criticised by the opposition over his decision to change the current white school socks and shoes to black.

“To those who are watching, don’t be like them. We have brought up 100 matters but they only picked up one,” said Maszlee.

Maszlee said the acknowledgement of the UEC has to be done holistically and not in a rush.

He said there should be an engagement process involving all stakeholders, including those who are for or against the UEC, and also neutral parties.

“This has to be done. The previous government did not put efforts for an engagement and only politicised the issue.

“This means there was no serious effort from the previous government,” said the Simpang Renggam MP.

He then said the Pakatan Harapan government will begin substantive efforts to find a solution on the UEC matter.

He added the consultation proses will involve all parties and it would be a “bottom up” process, instead of the “top down” process that was practised by BN.

“Unfortunately BN MPs only care about shoes and socks. This is the level of BN MPs,” added Maszlee. – October 29, 2018.