SOCIAL MEDIA

Friday, January 3, 2020

The Resignation of Our Education Minister

Assalammualaikum.
*Disclaimer: This might sound like a Maszlee fangirl post, but I don't care*

I welcomed 2020 with a heavy heart.
My favourite minister, Dr. Maszlee Malik resigned from his post 😫😫


Dr. Maszlee is I believe, an educator first before he is a politician.
With his prestigious and excellent academic background, he is the most suitable person to hold the Education Minister post.

During the GE14 campaign, I was very thrilled that he competed and even more elated when he won the Simpang Renggam Parliament seat.
When he was appointed the Education Minister, I had nothing but compliments, praises, and hope for him and the future of our education.
But he then came under fire when he was seen and said to be too religious - some people feared he Islamifies the public schools.
However, when asked about his piousness, he replied: "What's wrong with being pious?" - And I admire that straightforward answer of his.

His journey sure wasn't easy. He is perhaps the most criticised minister in PH cabinet - simply because his ministry deals with sensitive issues; the Jawi, vernacular schools, Islamic teachings, History syllabus, etc.
These issues have always been there but perhaps they were not publicised in the past or the previous Ministers did not deal with them - avoiding criticism and denunciation.

Not coming from a political background (He won his first election and right away appointed as the Education Minister), he wasn't really good with gaining the public favours at first. Some experts say he scores an A in his work but C in his publicity.
Even his decision to change the school shoes from white to black gained him the nickname "Menteri Kasut Hitam" - isn't that rude?
So I started following him on Fb, I wanted to show my support to him publicly.
I shared many of his achievements and plans and inspirations through Facebook.
He is I think the first politician that I really follow.

Reading his work in Borneo - visiting the rural schools and making sure they get repaired for students (Sifar Sekolah Daif) and his efforts so that even state-less children (an issue never occurred to me before) can get formal education inspired me.
Reading his vision so that all OKU students can get access to education fascinated me - he tackles issues that not many people think of but is actually a big issue to those affected.
His tagline "Education for All" motivated me.
He started the Free Breakfast for All schoolers - a thoughtful move.
He even introduced the "Suka Sama Suka" teacher transfer program to make it easier for teachers to transfer back to their hometown / nearer to spouse / children / parents.

But suddenly, he resigned. Effective 3rd Jan 2020.
I am pretty sure there is some internal crisis going on.
And I sure hope it is not due to that bloody Jawi syllabus thing.
I hope it is not due to the racism Dong Zong is promoting.

And really, the news of his resignation demotivated me.
So much so that I lost hope in Malaysia.
Macam mana nak dapat "Malaysia Baru" if you drive good people away?
Menteri yang buat kerja bagus, did not come out with stupid comments (unlike some perpaduan minister, or makcik cakap berapi) - pun kena halau from Parlimen, apa lagi nasib rakyat marhaen macam kita ni?
He was on a roll, doing his work and suddenly he resigns. Mesti ada external / internal pressure.
Read: 'Atas nasihat Ayahanda Tun M, saya letak jawatan Menteri Pendidikan' - Maszlee

I have always regarded myself as someone patriotic.
But honestly, upon knowing about his resignation, I immediately feel like migrating from Malaysia.
It reminded me of the Anaesthesiology MO post in Brunei that was advertised to me a few days ago - minimum pay RM11k!
And I already fulfill their criteria.
I feel like taking MCAI and going to Ireland to work.
Or work in Canada, since my mother and sister are enjoying their holidays there and the things that are so cheap.
Perhaps this is what some nonBumis felt - not that they are ungrateful, but they felt hopeless.


Anyway, I signed this petition on Change.org to keep him as our Education Minister.
Not sure how effective this is, I doubt it is but at least it shows the number of people supporting him.


-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

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