Press Statement
by DAPSY Assistant National Organizing Secretary, Raymond Chong
on Friday, October 18, 2002
in Petaling Jaya.

Malaysians Examinations Syndicate Director should resign to uphold the culture of professionalism and responsibility


The Malaysians Examinations Syndicate Director, Datuk Yaakop Idris attributed the mistakes occurred in the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) English Language Paper II to "misinterpretation".

It was reported that PMR candidates were asked to answer a literature questions based on two novels which many had not been taught. Schools in different states have been using different texts to teach the literature component and have followed a sample examination paper provided by the ministry that allowed a wider choice of novels.

The remarks made by Education Minister Tan Sri Musa Mohamad that errors occur in public examinations papers because members of the Malaysians Examinations Syndicate "are only human" is most unprofessional and not up to the mark of a Minister! He should have immediately directed the syndicate to conduct a through investigation on the errors instead of saying "there is nothing to be upset about".

The errors occurred in the PMR papers this year is not something new as it happened many times before and even some examination papers were leaked before the exam. The syndicate has failed to learn from the mistakes and continued to be ignorant about the weaknesses.

If companies can ensure total productivities by introducing concepts like "zero defects" or "six-sigma", I can't understand why the Ministry of Education could not ensure an error-free examination paper. The Ministry must realize that this is a public examination and if any errors occurred, it is something very serious.

The syndicate director Datuk Yaakop Idris should resign from his post to regain the credibility of the syndicate and to uphold the culture of professionalism and responsibility. It should serve as a good example to all civil servants that they are prepared to be responsible for any flaws and mistakes and create a professional civil service in Malaysia.

If no actions is taken against the syndicate or no one claim responsible for the mistakes, it will give a very bad picture to our younger generation that they don't have to be responsible for mistakes done.