SUPP man pushes for Sarawakian to become Education Minister
KUCHING: A proposal has been made on having a Sarawak Barisan Nasional ( BN) MP to hold the post of Education Minister so that real transformation could be brought into the national education system.
SUPP Pelawan secretary Michael Tiang, in making this call, noted that since the formation of Malaysia, the nation had 18 education ministers, out of whom 16 were from Umno.
“It seems clear that the position of Education Minister is traditionally reserved for Umno people.
“It also appears that after 52 years of the formation of Malaysia, the ministry has not been making much advancement in solving a number of longstanding issues like the recognition of UEC ( Unified Examination Certificate), the need for local teachers in rural schools in Sabah and Sarawak, the missing parts of the history on the formation of Malaysia in the syllabus, and also the frequent changes in the school syllabus itself, which is always a cause of confusion and grievance among teachers, students and parents,” he said in a statement.
As such, Tiang would suggest to the prime minister to appoint a Sarawakian for the position Of Education Minister, based on four arguments.
Firstly, he pointed out, a Sarawakian would have a better understanding in fulfilling the needs of schools in the remote pockets of Sarawak and Sabah.
“Secondly, an education minister from Sarawak would be more capable of compiling a comprehensive history of the formation of Malaysia in the syllabus, so that our next generation would truly appreciate the efforts of our founding fathers.
“Thirdly, a Sarawakian would not have any political or racial baggage when it comes to transforming and establishing the education system; thus the minister would be able to set the priority in retaining young talents in this country – particularly in pushing for and expedite the recognition of UEC by the federal government, which is a very urgent agenda.
“And lastly, a Sarawakian would also be more capable in strengthening the command of the English language in school, which would in turn strengthen our young talents for the global market,” he said.