Malaysians celebrate primary school teacher Mohd Fadli Mohamed Salleh from Sekolah Kebangsaan (1) Gombak for being cleared of any wrongdoing by the Education Ministry, following the latter’s open criticism of the education system and math syllabus of primary school students. Normally, once such a show-cause letter is delivered by the Education Ministry, some sort of disciplinary action will be taken.
It is clear that Mohd Fadli was cleared of all three accusations brought against him by the Education Ministry because of the impending general elections and the overwhelming public support that forced the caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri to express concern. If only Ismail Sabri was similarly moved by the decline of the ringgit to a historic low of RM3.33 against the Singapore dollar and a new 24-year old low of RM4.72 against the US dollar. Up to now Ismail’s loud and deadly silence leaves many businesses and Malaysians lost and confused as to what are the government’s plans to shore up the ringgit.
Cikgu Fadli even hinted that he was saved by the general election when he asked all political parties to include concerns about the failure of the education system and the broken system that is run by the Education Ministry in their general election manifesto. Perhaps, general elections should be held every year so that brave citizens like Cikgu Adil who expose a broken education system will not be victimised but be protected by citizen outrage and the government’s fear of losing votes.
Cikgu Fadli Is Like The Boy Who Questioned Why The Naked Emperor Was Not Wearing Any Clothes.
Cikgu Fadli should be lauded and celebrated for bravely pointing out a broken system that is the Education Ministry just like the boy who questioned why the Emperor was naked and not wearing any clothes. Instead, he was threatened with punishment for telling the truth and doing the right thing.
Cikgu Fadli had questioned the concealed and unseen force that threatened him with punishment for pointing out a broken system in the Education Ministry. He had earlier conveyed to the Education Ministry internally asking for action in vain, forcing him to disclose this publicly.
A show cause letter should be sent to the Education Minister for not admitting that they have presided over a broken down system that has failed not only teachers but students. The problems mentioned by Cikgu Fadli extends to my parliamentary constituency in Bagan, where schools do not receive any funding for basic repairs of doors, toilets, compounds, buildings and air-conditioners. Unless immediate remedial action is taken now, the Education Minister meeting Cikgu Fail is only a sandiwara or sheer theatrics to delude the voters that the government cares.