DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has urged all ministers to reveal whether their children and grandchildren were products of the national education system or otherwise.

The Gelang Patah MP said the country, although having ‘achieved’ the notoriety of spending most on education (in terms of ratio to gross domestic product), had the least confidence in the national education system, among the country’s government and political leadership.

“(And this includes) ministers and deputy ministers, whose children opt out of the national education system,” he said in a statement today.

Lim also commented on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ( right ) warning that the social-economic disparity will grow bigger with rich parents sending their children to study English in international schools and abroad.

He believes that the former prime minister was not revealing any secrets when he said that ministers send their children to private schools and international schools, whether at home or abroad.

“Surely Mahathir was not unaware that his own ministers were sending their children to private and international schools, demonstrating their lack of confidence in the national education policy and system?” said Lim.

On Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who had claimed that Malaysian youngsters receive better education than children in the United States, Britain and Germany, Lim said even Umno leaders and delegates do not believe the claim made by the education minister.

He also pointed out that education was one of the reasons for the crisis of confidence in the BN government.

“These are the real issues which the Umno General Assembly should focus on (why students perform poorly when compared to their counterparts in other countries), instead of resorting to the histrionics and hysterics of racist politics as calling for the closure of Chinese primary schools,” stressed Lim.

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