Breakfast in school by Minister for Parental Problems

There is a name for all that is wrong with the Minister of Education  and his priorities – Maszlee Madness.

It continues almost inevitably with the man from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) coming up with yet another gem. That too, despite the controversy over the introduction of Jawi/Khat  under the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum still being very much in the news.

All this points to Maszlee Malik seemingly having taken up a new portfolio as the Minister of Parental Problems.

First, he claimed credit for having “solved” parents’ problem in having to figure out how to keep white shoes and socks… well… white.

Instead of figuring out that there was no need for a solution to an issue that had been accepted for decades, he changed the school shoes policy to allow for students to wear black shoes and black socks. Problem solved. GENIUS!

Swimming lessons to avoid drowning

And then he wanted to solve the problem parents were supposedly having on whether they need to give their kids swimming lessons.

I’ve always thought that swimming lessons are optional for parents. My parents never sent me for lessons and so far for the past 38 years of my life, I’ve been able to avoid drowning by not attempting to swim.

I must respect Maszlee for trying to make swimming lessons available in schools. I mean in hotels. Oh wait. Schools in hotels. Err.. let us get back to you on that.

And then there’s Jawi/Khat. As a Malay, I don’t use Jawi in my life at all nowadays.

One might not have noticed, but there are Jawi writings on our ringgit notes but do they serve any purpose at all? No.

Perhaps the only need for it is to read JAKIM’s Halal logo but then again, everyone knows the logo. Hence, there’s no need to learn it in school.

Maszlee, however, thought it would be good for our children to learn it. Not just Jawi but Khat. Khat is more art than language but somehow he wants it in a language subject.

How can he even justify it? Only this Minister of Parental Problems would know. Nobody else seems to have a high enough IQ to figure it out.

Child malnutrition

And now we come to the latest addition to the Maszlee Madness list – breakfast in school. This will really solve the world hunger problem.

It will for sure solve the child malnutrition problem that Maszlee believes is afflicting ALL children in Malaysia. It might even help in increasing obesity in children.

Parents no longer get to decide what to feed their kids for breakfast, the school canteen will.

Parents no longer need to prepare breakfast – which according to some studies is the most important meal of the day – because schools will take over that responsibility.

Parents who feed breakfast to their children will now have to worry if their kids will eat a second breakfast at school. Will this lead to obesity problems in time to come. We can only wait and see.

Poor parents

This is really good for poor parents who cannot afford breakfast for their kids. But then again, we don’t have poor parents in Malaysia, do we now, with our poverty rate being ZERO percent.

Anyhow, I must applaud Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for appointing Maszlee as Minister of Parental Problems.

While he is doing a great job in that new portfolio, can we finally get a Minister of Education?

– Mujahidin Zulkiffli