I refer to the Malaysiakini report QUIT! NGOs tell MIC, MCA, Gerakan ministers .

This is another example of the lack of thought put into a matter before the Minister of Education comes out with a statement.

This time, the fact that by capping it at 10 subjects maximum for the SPM examination, it would be difficult for students to take a language of his choice (Malay and English being compulsory, with Moral/Agama and History being the other compulsory subjects).

A Pure Science student can barely have room for even his or her own mother tongue and its related literature.

In this modern era, knowing a few languages is now an added advantage and to master a language well, a student needs to do its literature. Thus, if a Tamil student wants to take the Tamil Language SPM examination, he should also do Tamil Literature.

Likewise, a Chinese student, should if he chooses to do the Chinese Language, will take up Chinese Literature. By right, all students should also do Malay Literature or have components of it included in the Bahasa Malaysia paper as in the English Language paper.

One should think that subjects like ‘History’ and ‘Moral Education’ should be optional subjects. The idea of History infusing loyalty into young Malaysians is a humdrum one. Do we have statistics to show that this subject has created more loyal Malaysians after so many years of it being compulsory?

Go and ask any Malaysian below 40 today and he or she will tell you that Malaysian History is most boring and a real farce. Every college student I met in my career in institutions of higher learning (private) has practically given the same answer.

‘Moral Education’ is another foggy idea of some ‘educationists’ of the past. These people dreamed up a syllabus to instil morals in our students but instead make them robots good at memorising moral values for examinations but do not act them out in real life!

They know and have been convinced in school that smoking is bad for health yet so many youngsters when they leave school immediately take up this bad habit. This goes to show that teaching morals as a subject is one thing, making them follow it in their lifestyle is another.

Thus, if the education minister wants to cap it at 10 subjects maximum, then take away ‘History’ and ‘Moral Education’. Everyone will be happy.