THE stepping down of Maszlee Malik as education minister just as this year’s school session reopened has become a hot topic in the media.

Society has been overwhelmed by different voices on certain related issues, like the reason for him “returning” the position to the prime minister, his achievements and series of controversies concerning education policies, as well as the best candidate to replace him. 

The media was flooded with articles and opinion pieces bearing headlines like “Possible reasons why Maszlee Malik resigned”. Maszlee himself cited the media as among the reasons for his resignation. 

Whatever the reasons are behind his decisions, Maszlee turned out to be the biggest winner of the game. The significant achievements made in his 20 month-long tenure were highlighted overnight – the same achievements that had been overlooked before January 3, when much focus went instead to berating him over the implementation of black shoes in primary and secondary schools, leading to the unpalatable epithet of “black shoes minister”. But as the children return to schools, many parents have come to realise the advantages of this micro policy, with the effortful washing of white shoes for their kids eradicated from their weekly routines. Ironically, petitions urging Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to replace Maszlee as education minister for being “incapable” has now turned into petitions for him to be reinstated.

A parent shared his thoughts on BFM recently concerning the issue. His emotional words of gratitude towards Maszlee’s zero-reject policy, which allowed his daughter to join the formal education in an environment stirred up my feelings. A total of 10,948 special needs students have enrolled in schools since the ministry launched the policy in January last year. This policy ensures that formal education is accessible to all children in the country, including those with special needs and undocumented children.

A former lecturer, Maszlee was appointed education minister on May 21, 2018, after public outcry, as Dr Mahathir had initially named himself to the portfolio. Over the past year and a half, he has been involved in a series of controversies that probably led to his downfall. Some people shifted the focus to his background of being a religious educator, and his lack of experience in the political field and public administration has led to him becoming a scapegoat in the cabinet, as well as for other political changes in the country. Public focus turned to his “nonsensical” policies, such as black shoes and socks, introducing cashless payment in schools, setting up petrol stations on university grounds, and so on. Debates over these issues have led to more diverging perspectives and concern on what a real education minister should do. 

On speaking to some stakeholders on their expectations for the country’s education system, a number of them expressed their opinion that education should be separated from politics, and that the education minister should not even be a politician. 

Of course, society has a vast pool of unlimited expectations, but the fact is, education reform takes time. But we cannot deny that when politics and education mix, its usually the children and parents who suffer. Education cannot be experimental. Parents will be left frustrated trying to navigate priorities and make preparations for their children’s education. 

As a result, more parents are moving their children to private schools for a better and stable education structure, instead of the buoyant nature of the country national education system.

I remember when I was teaching primary school children, a pupil asked me, why do Chinese pupils need to learn Bahasa Malaysia while Malay children do not need to learn Mandarin? Obviously, children are confused, and we are failing to guide them on a clear path to national unity and teaching them the meaning behind the knowledge they learn in school. Consequently, they lose interest in learning.

The recent brouhaha over the teaching of Jawi in schools seems to be a prolonged and unresolved issue that touches on racial issues, and is perceived to be the likely catalyst in Maszlee’s departure. Steering away from controversial issues and encompassing a holistic education blueprint for the future of the nation, the new education minister should continue expanding on Maszlee’s painstaking efforts, while at the same time, incorporate national unity among our children. 

Learning a third language is a pivotal initiative, regardless of what the language may be, and could ignite the interest of our children to gain knowledge in a multiracial society.

There will never exist a policy that satisfies every individual when it comes to education. Whoever rises up to be the new education minister, the country needs you to listen to the people on what kind of education is needed. Without education, how are we going to talk about Industrial Revolution 4.0? – January 10, 2020.
 
* Iris Ng Pei Yi is research officer at the Merdeka Centre.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.