Radzi, ministry slammed over ‘no show’ at PSC hearing

PETALING JAYA: Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik has slammed education minister Radzi Jidin and his ministry’s officials for not showing up for a hearing fixed by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on education yesterday.

Maszlee, the former education minister, said the hearing involved the scrapping of the Form Three Assessment (PT3) examination, announced by Radzi earlier this month.

The PSC wanted the ministry to explain the rationale for the decision and alternative assessments that have been put in place.

“We regret this no show as their action has belittled the powers (granted to) Parliament and the principle of separation of powers.

“This unprofessional attitude raises a lot of questions. Why are they afraid to appear before the PSC? What is it that they are trying to hide?” asked Maszlee, who is the PSC’s chairman.

In a Facebook post, Maszlee said the PSC would issue a press statement on the minister and top officials’ absence and approach Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Harun and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the issue.

On June 2, Radzi announced that the PT3 exam would be scrapped and that the ministry would implement summative assessments instead while improving school-based and classroom-based assessments.

He said teachers would regularly conduct assessments to evaluate students’ mastery and understanding of the respective subjects.

Last year, he also announced the abolition of the Ujian Peperiksaan Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) exam for Year Six pupils.

In April, Radzi and the ministry were also criticised by Maszlee for refusing to appear before the PSC to explain the issue of alleged recycling of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination questions. — Free Malaysia Today