‘Teachers must be loyal to BN’

Is Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's 'reminder' to teachers to vote for Barisan Nasional related to an education project worth millions which was awarded to a Sarawakian Malay?

KUCHING: Teachers in rural areas have been reminded that their loyalty lies with their “employer”, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Brushing aside courtesy, Sri Aman Aman MP Masir Jugat bluntly warned teachers to stay away from election campaigns.

He was responding to rumours that the opposition had infiltrated the minds of rural teachers.

“We hear rumours that some teachers in rural areas are actively campaigning against the BN government.

“This should not happen… they should not to go against the government. Teachers should concentrate on educating students,” he said.

Masir, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) supreme council member, was accompanying Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkasi, who had been doing his round with schools in Sarawak’s rural region.

BN leaders and officials, under the guise of “officialdom” have been zipping around Sarawak semi-rural and rurals areas “reminding” civil servants of their loyalty to the party.

Puad claimed the visit was to “ensure students in the rural areas will receive quality education”.

Ministry-linked business

Barely three days ago, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin also reminded teachers to support BN in the state election.

Without mincing his words, he told them pointedly: “Just mark ‘X’ next to BN (on the ballot paper).”

Muhyiddin’s open “directive” is rumoured to be linked to an education ministry-linked project associated with a logging conglomerate Samling and a Sarawakian Malay called Noraini.

Noraini, who claims to have links with the Negri Sembilan royal household, and her husband British national Christopher Bell were allegedly awarded millions of ringgit worth of contracts to train primary school teachers to be fluent in English. The project is called TELL – Teaching English Language and Literacy.

There are some 167 primary schools in Sarawak

The couple’s Brighton Education Group (BEG) allegedly went into a joint venture with Samling owner tycoon Yaw Teck Seng to establish an international school at Desa ParkCity in Kuala Lumpur.

BEG also allegedly has lucrative “business” ties with the Negri Sembilan government, Khazanah Nasional and Putrajaya Holdings.

According to a source, Bell has been heard to openly say that “one has to know the way things are done in Malaysia”, insinuating impropriety perhaps when compared to how “things are done” in his home country Britain.

“To all intent and purposes, BEG runs its operations here on a shoestring budget… so where is all the money going to?

“Public money to the tune of millions of ringgit is spent on educational projects that show little accountability.

“If all was transparent and above board, BN ought to be highlighting these worthwhile ‘endeavours’. but little is revealed,” the source said.

Targeting civil servants

Meanwhile, in the final days of campaigning in rural Sarawak, BN, which is seeking to retain its two-thirds majority, is targeting the civil servants.

Cabinet ministers and accompanying ministry officials are wooing, coercing and “advising” government officials not to betray the ruling regime irrespective of their personal disgust against Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

While Taib is confident of retaining his influence over voters in the longhouses in this vast state with its thinly scattered population, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not leaving anything to chance.

On the ground, a not-so-secret e-mail has been whizzing through cyberspace urging all to boot out BN.

The e-mail advises readers to register a new e-mail, cut and paste the message and send out the call to vote in a new administration.

“For far too long we have been intimidated by Taib, his ministers, and his appointed heads of departments.

“We have been fearful that our votes can be traced and discovered and we will be transferred to the Penan kampungs in Ulu Belaga and Ulu Baram, Ulu Lawas (Sarawak PKR chief) Baru Bian’s kampung, Ulu Balleh (PRS leader) James Jimut’s longhouse, and Ulu Pakan (Sarawak Progressive Democratic People president) William Mawan’s longhouse.

“But, even if our votes can be traced, if everyone of us votes for change, how can Taib and his Chief Minister’s Office transfer all of us? There won’t be enough office space in all of our rural offices,” notes the e-mail.