No Tamil In The Education Advisory Council.

 There seems to be a bit of a storm brewing in a tea cup, this time involving the Tamil community. 

The gomen has set up some National Education Advisory Council (NEAC).

Other than a chairman there are eight other NEAC members "to present profound ideas in steering the country's education".  You may laugh if you wish.

Of the EIGHT members, six are Malays, one Chinese and one Punjabi Sikh. There is no Tamil.

Some Tamil educationists, NGOs and Tamil language media have raised this matter. 

Here is a quick video in Tamil discussing the matter. 

I could not understand almost all of this video (they speak the 'bahasa tinggi' instead of the simpler everyday Tamil) but they are questioning why a Tamil could not be appointed to this Education Council when there are 523 Tamil schools in the country?

Another Tamil education NGO has pointed out that :

• there are 530 SJK Tamil nationwide
• about 9,000 Tamil school teachers 
• and 90,000 children studying in Tamil schools 
• Tamil representatives were at all Education Boards (since 2010?) 
• Why can't Education Ministry appoint a Tamil educationist?

My Comments :

Not only are there 530 Tamil schools, 9,000 Tamil school teachers and 90,000 Tamil school students in Malaysia but there are also 4.0 million or so Malaysian Indians, mostly Tamils, in the country. (I dont believe that '2.0 million Malaysian Indian population' figure that has been unchanging for the past 25 years.)

And here is a little bit more trivia about Malaysian Tamils. Folks say that 45% of the membership of the PKR party is made up of Indians almost all of whom are Tamils. 

With so many millions of Tamils in the country, with 530 Tamil schools being around from before Merdeka in 1957 and with so many Tamils who are professionals and experts they could not find even one Tamil to sit on the Education Advisory Council?

Folks say the Minister of Education is a syariah lawyer who handled divorce and child custody cases. 

Finally here is a video by Siti Kassim also about the new Education Minister : (you have to click on the link).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CngKZ5mjHmV/?igshid=NDdhMjNiZDg=

 The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.