Extracts from Malaysiakini:
Dr M or Anwar should take over education portfolio
OPINION | FRANCIS PAUL SIAH
Published: | Modified: 
COMMENT | The writing is clear on the wall. Education Minister Maszlee Malik must go. If he is not prepared to resign voluntarily, which an honourable man should do, then he must be sacked.
Is this another Maszlee-bashing article? Not to me. This piece is to tell Maszlee the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It’s time for the minister to stop playing deaf and dumb. He must wake up to the reality that he is the weakest link in the cabinet and a great liability to the Pakatan Harapan government.
A Maszlee acolyte like Universiti Sains Malaysia vice-chancellor Asma Ismail will probably think that those who critiqued her boss and master must be doing so for politically motivated aims. She is so wrong!
A VC sharing Maszlee’s priority for “race and religion” is yet another cause for concern. That some top guns in our local universities are guided by such motivations is alarming. Our next generation of Malaysians will become brainless “ducks” and “chickens” if such people continue to be decision-makers in our education system
I don’t care who gets to be appointed a minister as long as he or she is capable, far-sighted and excels in the job. Malaysians voted for a new team to run the country in GE14. We did not vote for half-baked ministers to be part of the administration.
I find little joy in criticising ministers and political leaders. I wish I do not have to waste time and energy picking on the failings of those holding public office. Surely, senior citizens like me have better things to do than to worry about dumb ministers who keep on goofing.
However, the truth must be told at times. Maszlee has been on my radar for months and for good reasons. Since the minister’s announcement that Sarawak will be his “medan dakwah”, I have been keeping a close eye on him.
Maszlee, you can turn your home state into your “medan dakwah” for all I care. Just don’t touch Sarawak. You do not understand Sarawak, or Sabah, at all. The majority of Sarawakians have no respect for you. That’s the honest truth. Chew on it!
A Malaysiakini reader had cheekily said that Maszlee should be a Grab driver. I’m not sure I’ll be comfortable in a vehicle driven by Maszlee. He has no sense of direction.
Seriously, Maszlee is beyond salvation. Dr Mahathir Mohamad has to act and act fast. Surely, the prime minister is not blind. Malaysians have had enough of Maszlee and his penchant for doing and saying the wrong things. One year of Maszlee is a year too long. We have wasted a year with him. We cannot afford to lose more time.
A prominent corporate leader told me recently how he had helped Maszlee during the elections. He lamented how Maszlee did not turn up for events he was invited to despite agreeing to be present. A sign of a character flaw, he concluded.
That's gross irresponsibility in my book. Why, did Maszlee think that accepting an invitation to grace an event is like promising your buddies to hang out at the mamak outlet to watch a football match? What were you thinking, Maszlee?
What is the solution? I think Mahathir himself should take over the education portfolio. Forget the Harapan ruling. If the prime minister is not keen because he has more than enough on his plate, the alternative is Anwar Ibrahim.
Both Mahathir and Anwar have been education ministers. While we might have misgivings during their tenures as education ministers, we must be prepared to take some risks with them now. I believe the risk is worth it. Both are elder statesmen now and I want to believe that whatever they do, they have the best interests of the country and the citizenry at heart.
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kaytee note: The reason why Maszlee became the Education Minister was because we did not want the PM to hold another ministry and objected strongly to Mahathir's initial ambition. OK, so Mahathir had to scrap the bottom of his Pribumi Party barrel for someone to be in that post he was denied.
And what blardy nonsense is this to now suggest Mahathir or the to-be PM Anwar becomes the new Education Minister?
And what blardy nonsense is this to now suggest Mahathir or the to-be PM Anwar becomes the new Education Minister?
I know that Education Minister's post has to be a Malay, so get a Malay educationist like, say, Dr Bari (but can be also someone else) to do the monumental job. If necessary, pluck Dr Aziz Bari from his ADUN post in Perak, and make him a senator, then appoint him as the new Education Minister. And eff that Pribumi Party's allocation for Education.
P/S There are several non-Malays who are well qualified but alas, the post is sensitive and has to be a Malay - sorry, nons. Incidentally, Mahathir must NOT be tempted to appoint that Cambridge (USA) graduate, wakakaka.
When will the nons wake up that they will never have equal rights?
ReplyDeleteThe message is every where...like Ketuanan Melayu ( Malay Masters) or Bumiputra (sons or prince of the earth).
Based on the above, one gets to understand why the implementation of policies are as they are, favoring the Malays. Put another way, it unfortunately translates into slavery for others.
Minorities can never hold political sway in any meaningful way. Better for DAP, MCA, etc to fold up. At least there is no false hope.
Do minorities hold political sway in Australia ? New Zealand ? USA ? UK ? Germany ? France ? Canada ?
DeleteThe special position of the Malays is enshrined in the Constitution, a recognition that the Malays are still disadvantaged, and that this was originally their land.
What slavery are you talking about ?
The Non-Malays are 1st Class Citizens enjoying all the fruits of their 1st Class status.
Moron,
Delete"Do minorities hold political sway"?
Wakakakaka…
How about the Jewish community of the USofA?
In fact, that tentacles extend through & through in ALL the countries u named!
The special position enshrined in the FedConst has nothing to do with the original inhabitants of the bolihland. It ONLY has to do with the economical status!
The unfortunate fact was the Orang Asal, the true original inhabitants of the land, were conveniently excluded by the pommies & those dominant race negotiators of the land!
A little over a year ago if I had said we would have a Chinese Finance Minister, an Indian AG and a Christian CJ how many of you will say that is impossible?
ReplyDeleteThe reply would have been - you must be smoking something far stronger than cigarettes.
DeleteAnother politician to replace another politician as Minister of Education?
ReplyDeleteWhat do you expect the result will be?
When the post goes to a politician, uppermost in his/her mind is what is the Politically Correct thing to do instead of what is the Right Thing to Do for the public and country's education system to be world class, if not at least some class to be employable and not remain jobless or unemployable and unless the aim is also to make everyone have a career as a politician.
The best alternative would still be getting a proven world class academician/educator who is not a politician and who has the conviction to even quit if need be (when confronted by political considerations) to do the right things to reform the Education System. That will at least gives the public the confidence to know that whatever actions taken from a proven world class academician/educator will be backed up with facts and figures and convincing argumentative solutions instead of just blowing hot air.
In a democracy, the voters elect the party which commands the majority in the Parliament.
DeleteGovernment policy is determined at the top by elected politicians, though there is an exception via Senate appointments, but they are still political appointees.
That includes Education policy.
The implementation and execution is the job of the civil service.
There is no way out of it. It goes to the core principle of democratic government.
Even if you appoint a professional expert to the Minister's post, he is still fundamentally either a politician or political appointee.
That is why elections are held, and why voting wisely is very important.
The PM of Ireland is Leo Varadkar, of Indian heritage (ie pendatang) and gay.
ReplyDeleteManmohan Singh was PM if India from 2004-2014, even though India is predominantly Hindu and Muslim and he was a minority Sikh.
President Obama was the 44th US President, and black.
There are only 6 million or so Jews in US (pop 300 million) but they “hold sway” in US politics...ha ha
Édouard Balladur was Prime Minister of France in the 90s; he was born in Turkey of Armenian descent, and his family emigrated to France (ie he was pendatang) when he was little.
Hieu Van Le AC is the 35th and current Governor (the Queen’s rep) of South Australia since 1 September 2014. He was born in Vietnam and was a pendatang tampa izin.
Anyone who has watched and listened to videos of Leo Varadkar and Edward Balladur would know both are completely assimilated Irish / Frenchmen.
DeleteObama is almost a similar case. Though his politics was a bit left-wing compared to most other recent US Presidents, he is culturally completely American.
Their racial origin is almost irrelevant in their cases.
Similar to Mahathir's case, though he has lately turned traitor to the Malay race.
Not so the Chinese in Malaysia, who insist are grasping political power and insisting on a separate society, separate schools, and discriminating against Malays in many ways.
For minority symbolic constitutional heads who have been appointed both in Australia and Canada, they do not wield any real power, and not difficult to accept.
The point of argument is:
Delete"The special position of the Malays is enshrined in the Constitution, a recognition that the Malays are still disadvantaged, and that this was originally their land"
So is the right to have vernacular schools that teach in mother tongue and that Chinese and Indians have citizenship that is equal and no different than for Malays. That's in the constitution too.
By the way the Governor General in Australia can sack a Prime Minister or Premier of a State....and this has happened before so to say they do not wield any real power is wrong.
DeleteMfer, how convenience to fart!
Delete"Anyone who has watched and listened to videos of Leo Varadkar and Edward Balladur would know both are completely assimilated Irish / Frenchmen.
Obama is almost a similar case. Though his politics was a bit left-wing compared to most other recent US Presidents, he is culturally completely American.
Their racial origin is almost irrelevant in their cases."
Those countries u mentioned r built on monoethnic principle since their foundation yr, many hundreds of yr ago.
M'sia ISN'T found on such monoethnicity.
Go & turn yr copy of the FedConst inside out lah!
To the person who wrote:
ReplyDelete"The Non-Malays are 1st Class Citizens enjoying all the fruits of their 1st Class status"
I want to ask a question:
Can the 1st Class Citizen become DPM or PM or is there another Class above 1st Class or are there other requirements to qualify for these two positions that are not in the Constitution other than "whoever commands the confidence of the majority in the Dewan Rakyat"?
There is this unwritten ketuanan rule - DPM or PM must be the elite from the T20 of the melayu class as defined by the race definition mentioned in the FedConst!
Delete