KHAT should be an elective subject as students are overburdened with other subjects, said former minister Rafidah Aziz.

“Don’t make it as though we are making you learn khat. It’s a silly thing to do. There are other things that need to be learnt,” said the former international trade minister in Putrajaya today.

“Khat is not a necessity. If it’s an elective, I welcome it as it has nothing to do with language. 

“Don’t make it a part of the curriculum. This is not the time to pad up the curriculum as students are overburdened. Let it be an elective,” Rafidah told reporters on the sidelines of a forum organised by the Perdana Leadership Foundation.

She had delivered the keynote address at the forum “Factors impeding Malaysia’s economic progress and how to overcome them” that is part of the foundation’s Perdana Discourse Series.

Rafidah said khat is just calligraphy or art and is not a language.

“If it’s an elective, it’s fine as there are people who are into the fine arts. But don’t make it compulsory and burden people,” she added.

She told reporters that she had conveyed her views to Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik on this but declined to elaborate on the discussion.

Rafidah said issues like khat and black school shoes showed a lack of focus by policymakers.

Maszlee had announced the black shoes policy – students currently wear white ones – shortly after becoming minister last year.

“Let’s not talk about black shoes when we have black marks. Let’s not talk about swimming when there are students who don’t have transport to school and have to walk two hours,” said Rafidah.

“Don’t focus on the frivolities. Focus on the big issues.

“Why on earth do we want to do khat calligraphy when there’s not enough artistry among us all to make khat a source of income?”

The former Universiti Malaya economics lecturer said it makes more sense to focus on Mathematics, Science and English if Malaysia intends to become a regional economic powerhouse once more.

“Take English, for example. There is a lot of work to be done here. When I first joined the ministry, I had so many problems correcting people’s grammar that I had to bring in an English teacher to give free lessons to my staff.

“At the International Trade Ministry, we deal with the world, and I wanted all the correspondence done in English. If letters get translated into Japanese, German, etc, we would lose the context of what we are trying to say.”

She also poked fun at Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof’s “flying car” initiative.

“It’s okay if you want to make a flying car as a personal hobby. But don’t make it a national project when we don’t have money to give bicycles to students in Sabah and Sarawak.

“It’s not as simple as creating a car and flying it. There is a lot of regulatory framework. If it were that simple, the Germans, Japanese and Chinese would be doing it.

“Even drones need regulations, and this is nothing more than a drone. And where are they going to park this (flying) car? On top of the Perdana Leadership Foundation?” – August 7, 2019.