Education Minister’s tone surprised me, says Dr Wee

PETALING JAYA: The MCA president questions why the Education Minister seemed angry with him during question time in parliament on Monday (Nov 27).

In a Facebook post on Monday night, Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong shared how surprised he was at the way Fadhlina Sidek responded to his query about the shortage of teachers in Chinese primary schools (SJKC).

“Many people asked me, why is the Education Minister so angry with me?” he wrote in a post.

“Two weeks ago, the Minister just answered Raub MP’s (Chow Yu Hui) question by saying that the Education Ministry will not train Chinese language option teachers at SJKC from 2024 to 2029 because there is no need.

“Imagine the Ministry not training new teachers for SJKC during the six years. What will happen?” Dr Wee added.

He further explained that last week, the Deputy Education Minister told the Dewan Rakyat that there are 1,354 unfilled posts at SJKC.

“Therefore, the Minister and the Deputy Minister have conflicting information.

“I just want to confirm and clarify with the minister about the latest stance regarding the recruitment of teachers at SJKC for the next six years.

“Doesn’t this involve public interest?

“As a Member of Parliament, I am failing in my responsibility if I do not speak up in the House of Representatives because the impact may affect hundreds of thousands of students in the future,” said Dr Wee, adding that he hopes that every Minister will answer questions more professionally and accurately for the benefit of the people.