This just in - Mustapha Muhamed or Tok Pah in this blog has been moved to the Agriculture Ministry and Khaled Nordin, former Works Minister, has been named as the new Minister for Higher Education. I don't know much about Khaled Nordin's record at the Works Ministry but he's generally avoided the headlines. But I can't help but be disappointed that Tok Pa has been moved. He's done so much while at the MOHE, most of which I've written approvingly of, that I would have liked him to see through. I'm not sure it's something that you can quickly pick up as a new Minister. I wish Tok Pa all the best in his new posting and welcome Khaled Nordin to his new post. You can be sure that we'll be keeping a close eye on him. I'll come up later with a list of educational priorities which the new government and opposition should focus on. I'm sure Tony will chime in later as well our readers.
P.S. Correction: One of our readers astutely pointed out that Khaled Nordin actually held the position of the Minister of Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development (MECD). The Works Minister was previously Sammy Vellu.
Khaled Nordin was with the MECD, not Works Ministry.
ReplyDeleteKhalid, is a a lawyer, still maintain firm in JB, may be proxy to Sharil samat and Tun Musa, very thick cronies. He had some history in Johor, asked people who know Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor and Yayasan Pelajaran Johor around late 90s, about timber case, case went to BPR, he escaped.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with Kian Meng that Tok Pa has done a lot for Higher Ed in Malaysia. Sure, he wasn't perfect - but who is!
ReplyDeleteIn his quiet way, he put into place a lot of systemic changes... but, like the Strategic Plan that Kian Meng commented on a few months ago, there is much to be implemented now.
It would be a shame if history repeats itself, where new Ministers of Education reinvent the wheel everytime they step into office.
In Tok Pa's case, I believe he started off with what the previous Minister (Shafie) had laid out and built upon that.
NST quoted the new Minister talking about the challenges of bringing up quality etc, so initial indications at least suggest he may be looking to build upon the still newly laid foundation.
Anyway, all the best to Khaled Nordin - for the sake of Malaysian Higher Education (which means all Malaysians!), let us hope he can deliver!
However bad a Minister of Higher Education, make sure whoever he appoints as Vice Chancellors and those who got promoted to Professors and Assoc Profs. published their resumes so that everyone knows why they deserve their promotion. This will in a way help safeguard quality. As it is now, we do not know why the person gets the promotion, especially when we know certain individuals certainly do not deserve their promotion and their are those who truly deserve their promotion, but do not get it.
ReplyDeleteKhalid, I hope you do something about the University University College Act. This act is hindering the growth of our students and making them into UMNO robots who are unable to think outside the box.
ReplyDeleteanon above, i hav a better idea. y not ask khalid remove da racial quota policies of ipta's admission & jpa scholarships, sounds great eh??? x)
ReplyDeleteSince the so-called Reform Cabinet is all about implementation, let's hope that the Higher Education Strategic Plan formulated by Tok Pa and his committees will be thoroughly implemented. And following on the transparency initiative whereby Ministers will declare publicly all their assets, Profs/APs should do likewise by disclosing their scholarly achievements for all to see, and perhaps snigger at in some cases.
ReplyDeleteHigher education in Malaysia is a sham and a shame for as long as racist policies are in place.
ReplyDeleteStudents are filtered racially at every level - pre-university, undergraduate, post-graduate and in every field and discipline.
There is no honor and no sense of mediocrity.
I am not convinced such policies will be reversed under an UMNO minister.
http://unwantedcitizen.blogspot.com/2008/03/slab-another-reason-to-slap-bn-in-face.html
Khaled Nordin has been an effective minister since he was elected to cabinet in 2004, and I'm confident he'll make some positive changes to the present state of our higher education industry, and it's policies. I have come to realise that changes can take some time to make, so hope such red tape when implementing such change will not shorten as we want to see changes being made now.
ReplyDeleteNew Minister of Higher Education made a statement today to the effect that ;
ReplyDelete"There is nothing wrong with our current system and policies with regards to higher education. Its just about the implementation and execution".
Given that it was reported on the MSM am going to take it as given.
Am deeply worried that he seems to think nothing is wrong. Please ask him to refer to numerous postings on the BLOG !
What does this mean - another 5 years of low standards slipping even lower ???