YOURSAY | ‘Maszlee has so far failed to justify why he made khat compulsory in the first place.’

Maszlee: Teachers to decide how to teach khat, lessons cut to 3 pages

Vijay47: Education Ministry Maszlee Malik, any way you slice this poisonous cake and attempt to re-package it, you come out the cunning one.

First, the very idea of introducing khat with its Islamic elements to non-Muslims, children or otherwise, is abhorrent to us. It is not the length, frequency, or number of the classes that is the issue – whether three pages or 300, whether six times or 600 times, the very concept is totally not acceptable to us.

Secondly, we would gladly welcome subjects that would broaden our or our children’s outlook but not any that is founded on Muslim features. Yes, you can make perplexed noises about the beauty of calligraphy but the government simply cannot be trusted.

Knowing the government, whether Umno, PAS, or Bersatu-guided, going by its track record, you simply cannot be trusted when it comes to religious issues. For sure, you will start “innocently” enough, but gradually the camel will venture deeper into the tent until the frog is fully boiled.

Amazingly, you now say that the matter will be left to the whims and fancies of the teachers. Tell me, Maszlee, have you taken complete leave of your senses?

You suggest that education is no more federal but has now fallen under the authority of teachers. You imply that an issue as delicate and sensitive as the gradual exposure of children to a religion alien to their own beliefs is for the teachers to arrange and implement.

Four little questions here, how many teachers will decline to teach khat and thereby miss a golden opportunity for indoctrination? More terrifyingly, in the entire teaching profession, what is the number of Muslim and non-Muslim teachers respectively?

Thirdly, what is the purpose of having any lesson on any topic that is to be covered in three pages in an entire year? What benefit could possibly be drawn by such an insignificant number of pages?

I will answer on your behalf – for the camel to gain a toe-hold in your tent called ‘medan dakwah’. Remember your mission, espoused in Sabah?

No two ways about it, the khat idea must be completely dropped.

Ulanbatorian: Are Bahasa Malaysia teachers ‘experts’ in khat as well, besides in BM itself? If it is left to these BM teachers how to teach khat, then how can ensure consistency in meeting the objective of teaching khat?

I thought that the Education Ministry has some idea on how to teach the subject most effectively rather than leave it to the teachers to devise their own methods.

Pedagogy is too complex to be left to the teachers. One hundred teachers will come up with one hundred ways of teaching. That’s bad. No wonder our education is in deep sh*t!

Ian2003: Do you realise that Maszlee thinks that we are all stupid? What do you think the teacher decision will be?

I give you a clue – let’s say that your boss gives you an assignment and says that it is optional, and thinking that it is optional, you didn't do it but another staff happily did it; what do you think will become of you?

Headhunter: So it’s teachers to decide. I’m not sure if this is a wise move knowing there are many zealots hiding in our schools and they could go to the extreme.

Just swallow your pride and do away with it totally. Introduce it to the madrasas and religious schools if it makes you happy, dear education minister. Don't slam it down others throat if they don't want it. After all, no one will miss it anyway.

Odysseus: This is called passing the buck to the teachers. Maszlee can still do his ‘medan dakwah’ work underground with khat as the front to propagate his religious belief.

If anyone who feels this is a workable solution, it's definitely not for the rural areas where the majority of teachers are Muslim and parents are illiterate.

The Education Ministry must clearly spell out that no religious terms are included in khat lessons. Any teacher caught doing it will be expelled. Knowing Maszlee and Dr M, this won't happen in our lifetime.

Anonymous_1548751747110.29271548751096329: Yes, it is optional for teachers to choose whether “to teach, or not to teach”. It also depends on the creativity of teachers on how to teach and its duration.

It can also mean creativity of the Education Ministry to reduce the font size from six pages to three pages. It is also prerogative of Education Ministry to transfer the three pages from primary 4; and make it to nine pages in primary 5; or evenly distribute it to seven to eight pages at primary 5 and primary 6 respectively.

Please spell it clearly, you have already confused the rakyat with different interpretations. Please clarify so that the public don’t need to decipher a simple issue with their own perspective or habitual cognitive lens.

Quigonbond: The minister has so far failed to justify why he made khat compulsory in the first place.

If he wanted to make something compulsory, first thing should be critical thinking, followed by constitutionalism and rule of law, then creative thinking.

The way he explained - beautiful calligraphy - not all students are predisposed to be art talented. Why force the subject on them?

Is this part of Bersatu- (PKR deputy president) Azmin Ali agenda to show they can out-Islam PAS, and at the same time weaken the moderates, i.e. PKR, DAP, and thereby also their support for PKR president Anwar Ibrahim?

Things do not happen accidentally. Khat, Selangor trying to introduce unilateral conversion - they are part of a larger political agenda. Someone wrote that the deep state is Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. How true.

Cicak Boy: Maszlee, why don't you enlighten Malaysians on why this khat is good? In a multiracial and multireligious country, would that not be better than this stealthy approach?

Coexist: By GE15, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand are going to beat Maszlee’s education system.

These countries are teaching their kids the language of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: computer coding. Meanwhile, Maszlee is busy trying to teach our kids the 7th-century art: khat.

The results should be clear among the countries, you reap what you sow.

Yoursay: Why add ‘khat’ into syllabus if teachers can ignore it?

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