KUCHING , Dec 28, 2012: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been branded as easily the worst performing Education Minister since the formation of Malaysia in 1963 by Sarawak PKR vice head See Chee How today.
“Should Datuk Seri Najib Razak step down as Prime Minister after the upcoming general election in the event that the Barisan Nasional wins with a slim majority, calls within Umno will be heard for him to step down and Muhyiddin, being the Deputy Prime Minister, will take over.
“With this kind guy taking over as Prime Minister, what kind of future for the country will be like? There will be lack of direction, flip-flops and inconsistent policies,” See said at a press conference.
He cited the Education Ministry, under Muhyiddin, as being inconsistent in the formulation and implementation of the education policies, regulations, guidelines and instructions.
“The inconsistency has affected thousands of schools in Sarawak which have opted to continue the teaching of Mathematics and Science subjects in English,” See, who is also the State Assemblyman, said.
“These schools are in a quandary and the students are in a lurch, “ he added.
“With a few more days to the opening of the new school year, it is discovered that schools in Sarawak have not received their English textbooks and workbooks, but only the Bahasa Malaysia versions were distributed to all students.
“This is despite the fact that these schools have filled in and submitted a designated form distributed by the Education Department asking them to decide and indicate whether their primary school students choose to continue to use English or Bahasa Malaysia or both,” he said.
He added that these schools have expressly opted for English Language for their students now, from Standard 4 to Standard 6.
See said it was Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, who had revealed last year that 5 % from the total classes in 7,495 primary schools and 9 % out of 2,192 secondary schools chose to fully use English for Mathematics and Science.
“He is fully aware of the needs and extent of schools requiring textbooks and workbooks in English for the batch of students still under PPSMI policy, yet these textbooks and workbooks are not being printed and distributed,” he said.
See said the schools and parents have expressed doubtful whether these textbooks and workbooks are going to be distributed.
“There are even doubts whether the Education Department has the syllabus and contents of the textbooks and workbooks prepared and whether the department is printing them,” he said.
He said the non-printing of these books will add substantial workload and pressure on the teachers as they have to translate the syllabus and contents, according to their own understanding and perception of the Bahasa Malaysia texts.
He said that a lot of time and efforts will be saved if the ministry have a proper planning in the formulation and implementation policies and plans.
“I call upon the Education Ministry to immediately post the syllabus and contents of the English textbooks and workbooks on the Internet or on the Education Ministry and Education Department’s websites to allow schools and teachers to download and print them, for their teaching of Mathematics and Science in English,” he said.
See also reminded the Education Ministry and Muhyiddin that English, apart from Bahasa Malaysia, is still the official language in Sarawak.
“The special rights to use English is cherished and dear to Sarawakians,” he added.
