The government today announced the appointment of former chief justice Zaki Azmi to head an independent nine-member panel to review the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate's standard operating procedure for public examinations. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Zaki had accepted the appointment following the decision made yesterday.

 

He also said that the names of the eight members of the panel, officially known as the independent panel to study the management of public examinations handled by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate, would be announced tomorrow orthe day after. 

 

"We have provided the terms of reference to the panel," he told reporters at the home of Mat Razi Mat Ail, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Pengkalan Kubor state by-election, in Kampung Simpangan. 

 

The panel was appointed following a leak in the Science and English Language examination papers for this year's Primary School Achievement Test (UPSR) last week.
 
Following the leak, the government suspended the director of the syndicate, Na'imah Ishak, and the deputy director (operations), Wan Ilias Wan Salleh, until after the completion of the investigation. 

 

The police also arrested four men, among them a headmaster and two teachers, to help in the probe.

 

Muhyiddin said the panel would be given three months to improve the operations of the syndicate and the handling of public examinations. 

 

"The review involves verification of the examination papers, the security process and the SOP," he said.

He also said that the panel could look at the best practices in other countries.

 

- Bernama