Kit Siang: Exam question on police violence, perhaps?

DAP has asked if the education minister and his deputies would tolerate trial SPM questions such as those on police violence during peaceful rallies or corruption.

“Can there be a SPM trial exam question: Is it appropriate for police to use tear gas, water cannon or physical violence against peaceful demonstrators?” quipped DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim in a statement today reacting to the SPM trial exam question on Bersih, mused whether Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin or his deputies would approve SPM questions such as:

• Is it appropriate for the police to use tear-gas or chemically-laced water cannon or physical violence against peaceful demonstrators ... who want free, fair and clean elections?;

• Is it appropriate for any government to misuse public funds for political party purposes especially in the run-up to a general election?;

• Is it appropriate for voters in a general election to support candidates from  a political coalition which is responsible for Malaysia having the lowest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranking of No. 60 as well as lowest CPI score of 4.3 in 2012?; and,

• Is it appropriate for any minister or MP to go against national unity efforts ... declaring that he or she is Malay first and Malaysian second?

“Of course not. There can be no shadow of doubt that if such questions had appeared in any school SPM trial examination paper, there would be an orchestrated howl of protest and condemnation in the mainstream mass media ... followed by a witch-hunt,” said Lim.

Noting that the politicisation of education has reached “a new low”, Lim asked if Muhyiddin his deputies would react with the same nonchalance as they have on the present cases.

Yesterday it was reported thatSMK Aminuddin Baki in Johor Bahru had in their trial exam paper asked the question: "Is it appropriate for a citizen to participate in an illegal assembly?" with the correct answer being “not appropriate”.

“Would Muhyiddin, Puad and Wee take the position that there is nothing wrong with the setting of questions like the four above for students, just as they now strike the posture that its ‘not a problem’ for such a Bersih question to be posed in the SPM school trial examination?” asked Lim.

The Ipoh Timor MP also cited another case highlighted in the media today, where in a STPM general paper in another school in Johor Bahru that “is a clear insinuation that those who supported the opposition could have their citizenship revoked”.

“Would Muhyiddin, Puad and Wee agree and approve if STPM general paper school trial examination poses the question whether a person who supported corrupt political leaders have failed their citizenship responsibilities?” he asked.

This week reports of politically-loaded questions in school examination papers surfaced, coincidentally all involving schools from the Umno stronghold state of Johor.

Earlier, a spokesperson of the national examination board toldMalaysiakini that trial examination questions are set by schools or by the state education departments.

Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong has denied that the questions came from his ministry or the examination board.