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Just recently, it was revealed that the Ministry of Education had decided against omitting the columns for race (“kaum“) and religion (“agama“) from public examination registration forms.

Justifying this decision, Education Minister Maszlee Malik clarified that data on this demographic information was required for analysis, according to the Malaysian Insight. For example, the race of students taking the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) was useful for reviewing the tests.

However, it appears not all ministers approve of this move. Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Hannah Yeoh took to Twitter to express her stance on the Education Ministry’s decision, stating that race and religion are irrelevant factors in exam performance.

I beg to differ. The race and religion columns DO NOT in anyway determine the intelligence or stupidity of a person. https://t.co/7bSsDRFNfd — Hannah Yeoh (@hannahyeoh) October 29, 2018

Meanwhile, just yesterday (29th October), the Education Minister was explaining how the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was placing importance on having a holistic engagement on the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Parliament. However, tensions soon rose when Maszlee took a jab at Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs for focusing their attention on school shoes and socks.

According to The Star, he did praise Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin for highlighting other plans the Ministry had in mind. He continued,

“Unfortunately, his Barisan counterparts only focus on the issue of shoes. This is the quality of Barisan MPs. They are only interested in such issues.”

Following this statement, BN MPs began shouting, with one of them calling Maszlee “Menteri Kasut” (Shoe Minister).

What are your thoughts on the Ministry of Education’s decision to keep these two columns in our exam registration forms? Let us know in the comments below!

Also read: Maszlee: Chinese Pupils Can Improve BM By Watching P. Ramlee Movies