KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah state government should move to take back state rights in education as concerns rise over Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik's remarks on Islamic conversions in schools.



Community Empowerment Initiative (CEI) Sabah chairman Datuk Jerry Dusing said the state could not rely on federal policies that were against the spirit of the formation of Malaysia and which could lead to narrower mindsets in the local community.



"In our open society, we need to develop critical thinking in our children," he said.



"The use of English and native languages should be brought back in our schools and in our society," Dusing added.



He said there were a host of provisions in the Inter-Governmental Committee report, the Malaysia Agreement 1963 and the Federal Constitution that safeguarded the rights regarding education that were under the ambit of the state government.



"If we face an issue of a shortage of teachers for English, native languages, Mandarin, science and mathematics, then the focus should be on how to train more teachers to cater to these needs," he said.



The Sabah government, led by Parti Warisan Sabah, has set up an education ministry in the state that it hopes will chart education goals for the future by customising education policies and practices according to local values and contemporary needs.



"Sabahans have our own traditions, and we take pride in our culture of respect for each other's religious beliefs. This we should preserve and it should be reflected in clear non-discriminatory policies and practices.



"My hope is that our education ministry will strive to impart fair and just policies for the sake of the next generation,” he said, in response to Maszlee’s remark in Parliament following a question relating to the shortage of religious teachers in Sabah and Sarawak.



“We are shocked at his statement in Parliament where he appealed to ustaz and ustazah (religious teachers) from Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah who are teaching in Sabah and Sarawak to remain and make these two states their battleground for 'dakwah', which could mean Islamic evangelism.



“This statement shows how insensitive he is to the religious equilibrium here,” Dusing said.



For the non-Muslim community in Sabah, he said, it was worrying as there were incidents of religious teachers from peninsular Malaysia converting minors in schools through both persuasion and coercion without without their parents' knowledge.



“We appreciate teachers from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak are dedicating their lives to educate our children here. We acknowledge their contributions and thank them.



"In fact, we have accepted and embraced many of them as part of our Sabahan family,” Dusing said.



He added religious school teachers were supposed to provide Islamic education only to Muslim students in schools and they were not suppose to evangelise and convert other minors.