ليم ڬوان اڠ هاروس لتق جاوتن سرتا مرتا
Maszlee had earlier confirmed that he would be resigning as the education minister amid speculation that more than one Cabinet Minister could be axed.
The fact that the first to go is a member of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) brings pressure to bear upon the DAP, whose minister, Lim Guan Eng, has been performing way below par.
In the event that Lim is now sacked, the DAP will not be able to point its finger at Mahathir for preying on the party over its open support for Dong Zong’s unconstitutional stance regarding the introduction of jawi lessons to primary school goers.
This is because the Dong Zong issue is closer to the Ministry of Education, whose minister, Maszlee, has already taken responsibility – more or less – for the ministry’s failure to contain the issue from boiling over.
PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today thanked Dr Maszlee Malik for his service as education minister after the latter tendered his resignation following the Prime Minister’s advice..
In a brief statement, reported by a daily, Dr Mahathir said he has yet to decide on a replacement for the post and will announce his decision soon.
“I thank him for the service he rendered during his tenure as a Cabinet minister.
“I will decide and announce his successor soon,” Dr Mahathir said.
Maszlee had earlier confirmed that he would be resigning as the education minister amid speculation that more than one Cabinet Minister could be axed.
The fact that the first to go is a member of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) brings pressure to bear upon the DAP, whose minister, Lim Guan Eng, has been performing way below par.
In the event that Lim is now sacked, the DAP will not be able to point its finger at Mahathir for preying on the party over its open support for Dong Zong’s unconstitutional stance regarding the introduction of jawi lessons to primary school goers.
This is because the Dong Zong issue is closer to the Ministry of Education, whose minister, Maszlee, has already taken responsibility – more or less – for the ministry’s failure to contain the issue from boiling over.
Not many are aware that the Government of Malaysia (GoM) reserves the constitutional right to introduce the Jawi script to school goers as a matter of policy.
The policy was decided at Cabinet level, and Lim Guan Eng is a member of that cabinet.
Yet, he openly criticised the police for barring Dong Zong’s anti-jawi congress without once explaining to the people that the decision to introduce jawi lessons to school goers was done collectively by the Federal Cabinet.
The congress was unconstitutional, and Lim knows it. Dong Zong was seeking to discuss an issue that is deemed sensitive to Malays as it impinged on the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language.
Article 152 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia provides that jawi can be used in the study of the national language.
The manner in which Dong Zong opposed this tenet and the lies it spread regarding “the Islamisation of education” in Malaysia caused an uproar and threatened to trigger unrest.
It is this unrest which the police sought to prevent as it was constitutionally required of them to maintain national security.
It is also incumbent on them to act upon those who question anything related to the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language in ways that could disrupt peace and harmony.
Instead of helping Maszlee educate the masses so that they understood this, Guan Eng acted as if he did not attend the Cabinet meeting that decided to introduce jawi lessons to school goers and sided with Dong Zong instead.
In effect, he contributed immensely to the ill feelings some Malays now harbour against the Chinese and practically turned the Chinese against Maszlee and the Ministry of Education
Now that Maszlee has voluntarily resigned, I think its best Guan Eng does what is necessary before shit hits the fan.
RJ RITHAUDEEN
