Patrick Teoh hits the nail on the head

By Stephen Ng

I cannot help it but pick up a comment from a good friend of mine, Patrick Teoh, when I saw it being viralled around.

Like me, Teoh has been very quiet for some time, but for him to make an occasional remark about Malaysian Education Minister, Maszlee Malik, there is more to this than meets the eye.

Teoh's words were packed with sarcasm: "Oh sorry I must have missed it. But which 2nd language did we master already?" 

Knowing Teoh as a man who would not hold back his punches, I can fully understand his frustrations. I, too, was equally puzzled with Maszlee's latest statement about wanting Malaysians to master a third language.

My personal opinion is that Maszlee was merely trying to parrot former Minister of Trade and Industries, Rafidah Aziz who merely said during her school days, they could even learn French but today, French is no longer in our vocabulary. Rafidah was in fact hitting out at Maszlee and other former education ministers who loved to use the word 'martabatkan' the national language.

What Rafidah said in passing during a forum on the Dawn of the New Malaysia, Maszlee turned into another media buzz. Or, rather, most Malaysians are giving him some shelling for making another one of those incomprehensible remarks well-known among former Umno ministers such as Salleh Said Keruak and Ahmad Maszlan.

Now, everyone is talking about Maszlan's grand plan wanting to see Malaysians to master a third language. But, it appears just fluff all over because there are no grand plans.

One net citizen even asked, "Where are the teachers to teach the kids so that they can master a second language apart from Bahasa Malaysia in Sekolah Kebangsaan, and Mandarin in the Chinese schools? Don't talk about a third language!"

I can understand the frustrations when people see the minister speaking into a vacuum. Every time he talks, there is something people will ridicule. Sometimes, I sympathise with him, but often it is all his own doing, especially when he is also known to be very stubborn. Despite being advised a number of times, he continues to speak what I call "rubbish."

His lack of experience in handling the media, and the Ministry of Education, is surely showing up as we enter into the seventh month of his tenure.

We must not forget that Maszlee was only an academician when he was suddenly picked by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the minister of education. There are no other talents in Bersatu that Maszlee had to be picked. Except for a few people who vouched for him in the early days, not many people knew who he was. I, too, tried to give him a chance but found that he is ineffective as a minister.

You cannot expect too much from an Islamic scholar to revamp the country's education system, especially when he is hell bent to turn Sabah and Sarawak into his 'medan dakwah.' This prompted another net citizen to say that he does not hope to see Malaysia becoming Pakistan 2.0.

Senior lawyer and activist, Siti Kasim was very accurate in her predictions about Maszlee Malik back in May 2018 when she questioned the credibility of this gentleman from the Islamic International University Malaysia (IIUM). You have to read the article in the Star reproduced below to appreciate what she has to say.
Siti, being a Muslim, knows exactly what she is saying.

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Saturday, 19 May 2018

10:26 PM MYT

PETALING JAYA: Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim has raised objections on Dr Maszlee Malik’s appointment as Education Minister, questioning his stance as a “progressive Muslim”.

“His stand is not acceptance but tolerance. Maybe that is enough for some people but when people talk about tolerating a necessary evil and they are referring to marginalised communities and non-Muslims, the line should be drawn there,” she said on a Facebook post on Saturday (May 18).

When contacted, Siti Kasim said she has nothing against Dr Maszlee personally and that she has in fact met him many times in forums.

However, she is concerned that Dr Maszlee is holding the Education Ministry portfolio as she feels the current education system is heavily influenced by religion.

"I don't believe in indoctrination from any kind of religion. We should be educating children, not indoctrinating them. How do we know that he would not impose his religious leanings on the education system," she said.

"I would be very happy if I am proven wrong but I wonder why can't we appoint someone like Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah," she added, saying that he had the relevant experience. 

She said she would not have raised any objections had Dr Maszlee been appointed to any other ministry.

On her Facebook post, she also shared a link to an online petition for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to be reinstated as the Education Minister.

The petition was started by Raveen Dev at change.org on Friday (May 18) and is addressed to Pakatan Harapan.

It has received over 57,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Dr Maszlee’s appointment has sparked debates about his experience and views, especially regarding his alleged support of controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming has voiced his support for Dr Maszlee, saying that the latter’s CV is impressive and that he should not merely be seen as an ‘Islamic scholar’.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:Dr Mazlee Malik , Siti Kasim , Education Ministry , Objections , Petition