Academic: Judge Maszlee on reform agendas, not religion

Several people have come to the defense of Bersatu's Maszlee Malik, after yesterday's announcement of his appointment as education minister caused a stir among netizens, some of whom have labelled him an “Islamist” and claimed that he supports controversial preacher Zakir Naik.

Fellow academic Faisal Hazis urged the public to judge Maszlee on his policy goals, rather than his religious or ethnic background.

"We condemn people who question Lim Guan Eng's ethnicity when he was appointed minister of finance but we allow people to question Maszlee's religiosity.

"Let's judge him based on his reform agendas, not his ethnic or religious background. We should applaud Harapan's attempt at pushing young new faces to take an important role in the cabinet. This should be supported and not condemned," Faisal told Malaysiakini today.

Faisal, who is an associate professor of politics at the National University of Malaysia, also mentioned that the appointment of Maszlee showed Harapan's trust in him to carry out reform agendas according to the manifesto.

"It is not a one-man show, he is entrusted to carry the new government's vision of education policy," he said.

"Many people defended Hannah Yeoh over her religiosity and asked why we allow people to criticise Maszlee over his. That's their private life and their personal belief.

"Maszlee has the academic credentials to lead the Education Ministry, that's the most important thing," Faisal added.

Maszlee won the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat in GE14 and defeated incumbent Liang Teck Meng who is also the secretary-general of Gerakan. He won the seat with 3,475 majority votes.

Prior joining Bersatu in March, Maszlee was a lecturer at the International Islamic University Malaysia. He joined Bersatu on March 12, weeks after fellow academic Wan Saiful Wan Jan entered the party.

MP: Help Maszlee face 'immense task'

Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming (photo) echoed Faisal’s support for Maszlee in a Facebook post today.

He highlighted Maszlee's expertise in various issues and his interactions with DAP MPs on matters related to governance and administration.

"Dr Maszlee has vast experiences doing NGO charity works in Lebanon and Jordan (since 2004), which has given him crucial insight into the politics and social dynamics of the Middle East.

"Dr Maszlee is frequently featured in the media speaking on issues related to political Islam, Middle Eastern politics and even the Arab Spring.

"He has spoken at a few DAP internal dialogues. He has discussed many issues surrounding good governance and good administration with many DAP MPs including myself, Liew Chin Tong, Zairil, Steven Sim and Lim Kit Siang," he wrote.

Ong also pointed out that Maszlee's role as the new education minister of the Harapan government would be a difficult one.

"The task facing Dr Maszlee is immense. Let's help him by giving him suggestions on how we can improve our education system rather than judging him based on a superficial reading of who he is and what he represents."

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad named the initial 13 ministers of his cabinet, including Maszlee, on May 19 after obtaining the consent of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The ministers will be sworn in on Monday morning at the Istana Negara. - Mkini