KUCHING: There are increasing calls for Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik to either step down or apologise to Sarawakians for his uncalled for “medan dakwah” statement recently.
The Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) had expressed alarm over Maszlee’s stand, prompting it to call on the federal government to stop using public servants or teachers to carry out any form of Islamisation in Sabah and Sarawak.
Movement for Change Sarawak (MoCS) followed that up by describing Maszlee as being “unfit to be a minister”.
PKR Women vice president Voon Shiak Ni had also chided Maszlee for making a statement that did not go down well with Sarawakians and advised him to retract it immediately.
Sarawak Patriot Association (SPA), on the other hand, said it was shocked to hear what Maszlee had said and wondered why he was using religious teachers to do something that was not in line with the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah was also reported by the Dayak Daily news portal as commenting that Maszlee should either apologise or relinquish his post for his major blunder that had caused much tension in Sarawak.
PRS deputy president Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum echoed similar sentiments and said Maszlee should either apologise or step down from his post.
“I concur with the calls by individuals and NGOs in Sarawak that if the minister is worth the position, he should either apologise or withdraw from the post,” Dayak Daily quoted Salang.
Meanwhile, Belaga assemblyman Datuk Liwan Lagang was also reported to have suggested that Maszlee must focus on improving education facilities, especially in the rural areas of Sarawak, where there are still many schools in dilapidated conditions.
He said Maszlee should see to it that dilapidated Sarawak schools were repaired so that it would have better ambience for both students and teachers.
Liwan said he was shocked by Maszlee’s recent statement because as a former educator himself, even though he was a staunch Christian, he would never want others to know about his personal belief because his core job description was to impart knowledge based on the national education policy.
“So, to Maszlee, I hope he retracts his statement and apologises to Sarawakians. Or better still, he should relinquish his post so that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government can find a more suitable person to lead the Education Ministry,” Dayak Daily quoted Liwan as saying.
