KOTA KINABALU – Schools are created to impart knowledge and experience, and should not be a place for politics to be practised, said Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal in apparent criticism against a policy allowing teachers to get involved in politics.
The Semporna MP said education is aimed at inculcating knowledge and skills, and therefore, should not get sidetracked by matters like politics, religion and race, among other things.
“Education is very fundamental. We build schools so the young can be smart, but this (move) is not,” he said during his speech at the Warisan Night event last night.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently announced that school teachers and staff of the Community Development Division are now allowed to get involved in politics.
The practice was banned by Pakatan Harapan when it was briefly in power but has now been allowed again by the current government.
Shafie said he was concerned over the latest development, adding that this was the reason why he had reformed Sabah’s civil service and education sector during the Warisan-PH era.
“This was the reason why when I was the chief minister, I did some reforms, allocated RM5 million for the education of students in Sabah, another RM40 million spent sending civil servants to enrol in short-term courses in Cambridge and Oxford, so Sabahans would be able to keep up with today’s advancements,” he added. – The Vibes, January 23, 2022
