Syed Saddiq pans ‘business as usual’ ministers for laid-back attitude on education

KUALA LUMPUR – Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman today slammed Perikatan Nasional (PN) ministers for taking the “business as usual” approach when it comes to education, despite Covid-19's resurgence.

In a Facebook post today, the independent lawmaker called out Education Minister Mohd Radzi Jidin, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for their lackadaisical attitude towards the plight of students. 

“The education minister did not table any plans for students who are left behind at home. It is a repeat of the TV Pendidikan initiative that is limited and not modified accordingly.

“The communications and multimedia minister has remained silent on the weak internet access and laptops for students. Isn’t this the duty of the communications minister for online learning?

“The finance minister has not informed when the government will give the 150,000 laptops from the RM150 million allocation Budget 2021. How long must parents wait for this laptop?” questioned Syed Saddiq.

The pressure is piling on Tengku Zafrul after Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil had also taken the minister to task over his Budget 2021 promise on the laptops.

Syed Saddiq had recently raised RM383,000 through his #botakchallenge that saw him going bald in an effort to collect money to buy laptops for impoverished families in his Muar constituency.

His organisation, Muda, had also proposed that students use Raspberry Pi, a series of small single-board computers developed by UK-based Raspberry Pi Foundation in association with Broadcom.

However, Twitter users have panned the idea, saying it is impractical as troubleshoot and tech support will be difficult.

User @sprinklejimin said that Raspberry Pi does not come with a graphic processing unit or a monitor.

“The processor does all the tasks for it, which is not efficient at all. It is slow. And it still needs a monitor if you want to use it. We’re not even talking about entering commands for it. You have to learn that first. Setting it up is also difficult.

“Even if you want to give it for free, don’t make it troublesome for others.” – The Vibes, January 24, 2021