(Petaling Jaya, Sunday): UMNO Vice President and Defence
Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said yesterday that the Senai UMNO
division’s move in passing a vote of no confidence against Education Minister,
Tan Sri Musa Mohamad was “inappropriate” and that it should have been
referred to the UMNO Supreme Council or the Johore State UMNO liaison committee
to be discussed and resolved amicably.
I do not think there is an UMNO
tradition or convention barring its division from passing a vote of no
confidence against any UMNO Minister, but I would agree that it would be more
appropriate that the no confidence motion against Musa as Education Minister
should be fully debated in Parliament when it meets tomorrow.
The question is whether there is any
UMNO or Barisan Nasional MP who would dare to move such a motion – as any
motion by an Opposition MP would not be given time for debate.
Alternatively, a government MP can move
a motion to ask Parliament to express confidence in Musa Mohamad as Education
Minister as Parliament would be remiss in its duty if there is no full debate on
education in view of the avalanche of educational problems which have inundated
the country.
Malaysia is facing an educational
crisis, and this is not just an UMNO or Malay problem, but a problem faced by
all Malaysians and the entire nation is confronted by the challenges of globalisation, liberalization
and information and communications technology to determine our national
competitiveness in the international global economy.
It is unfortunate that some UMNO and
UMNO Youth leaders are stoking the communal fires by turning the problem of the
comparatively lower percentage of Malay students in private institutions of
higher learning (IPTS) into a Malay problem, when it must be seen as a national
problem - of concern not only to
the Malays but to all Malaysians regardless of race.
Similarly,
problems like the 44,000 unemployed
and unemployable graduates, most of whom are Malays and other bumiputras,
because they took up courses not suitable for the job market and had a poor
command of English and the poor academic
performance of bumiputra students, as illustrated by the 1999 data where
only 96 Malays obtained First Class degrees in University of Malaya
compared to 259 non-bumiputra students while
in Universiti Teknology Malaysia, only seven Malays received First Class
degrees compared to 95 non-bumiputra students must be regarded as Malaysian
problems and not merely as Malay problems and must be addressed urgently by
Parliament.
There are legitimate grounds for
unhappiness with the performance of Musa Mohamad as the Education Minister, as
he has created quite an educational mess in his 30 months as Education Minister,
whether over the annual public university student intake, the introduction of a
merit-based university admission system without merit, the mishandling of
Damansara Chinese primary school and Vision School controversies, the crisis
faced by Tamil primary schools, the chop-and-change in education policies (like
the sudden introduction of the teaching of Science and Mathematics in Std. One
next year followed by a equally sudden extension to all levels without any
preparation whatsoever) and the total lack of consultation in the preparation of
the 10-year Education Development Blueprint.
Whether Parliament wants to express
confidence or no-confidence in Musa as Education Minister, it is time that
education takes the centre stage of Parliamentary attention because of its
crucial importance to the well-being of Malaysians and the prosperity of the
nation.
(16/6/2002)