SIBU, Oct 30 — Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee today blasted Irene Chang for calling Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah to work with Sarawak Education Department to issue a directive on Sarawak schools’ participation in the Palestine Solidarity Week.

Dr Annuar, who is Sarawak Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development, likened the former Bukit Assek assemblywoman’s call to asking the State Ministry for Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) to clean up the "mess started by someone else”.

He said MEITD has more important tasks at hand such as elevating the standard of education in Sarawak and working on the blueprint to provide free tertiary education for Sarawakian students studying in the five state-owned institutions of higher learning.

"To me, we don’t need (to issue the directive) because it is a known fact that the letter from the Ministry of Education (MOE) is not a directive, but a guideline for those who want to organise the support to Palestine’s cause and therefore, to avoid unnecessary programme, that appears to carry elements of extremism.

"Furthermore, Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen had said that he has confirmed with the Ministry of Education that the Palestine solidarity programme is not compulsory for schools and education institutions in the state.

"YB Chong had issued a statement recently that he had confirmed with the Deputy Minister of Education Lim Hui Ying that it is not compulsory for schools in Sarawak to organise the programme of Palestine Solidarity Week. Isn’t this suffice for schools in Sarawak to be properly informed and advised on the matter?

"I don’t understand why are we (MEITD) asked to issue such directive for school participation in Palestine Solidarity Week, when in the first place, we were not the one that started the whole episode. She (Lim) as deputy minister should have gone against it before the letter been issued.”

He was responding to Chang’s call for Sagah to work with Sarawak Education Department to immediately issue a directive to all schools in Sarawak to make it clear that there is no obligation for them to participate in the Solidarity Week in support of Palestine’s cause.

The Nangka assemblyman added: "They have to clean up their own mess. In any event, they have to revoke their own directive.”

Dr Annuar said DAP Sarawak should ask Lim to resign as the Deputy Education Minister if they are not happy.

"Why then, she (Lim) did not voice out or register their unhappiness before the letter was issued?

"I liken Irene’s (Chang) call to that of a ‘damage control’. Please don’t be doing ‘damage control’, after things had already occurred,” he added.

Towards this end, Dr Annuar pointed out that directing the blame to MEITD is most unfair, as the "mess” did not originate from the state’s ministry.

Earlier, Chang had stressed that Sarawak should take the lead to show the rest of Malaysia that the that the education system will not be allowed to be dragged in any way into geopolitical issues and international conflicts.

In response, Dr Annuar said: "The way I see (it), we need to focus on more pressing issues ahead such as elevating the standard of the country’s education, which is now lagging behind other countries.

"And we, in Sarawak, promote racial and religious harmony, which why we are known as the country’s melting pot.” — Borneo Post Online