BANGI: Teachers who are negligent, undisciplined and perform poorly should be denied the privilege of time-based promotion, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said while the government supports the principle of time-based promotion, this benefit should not be extended to teachers who have poor discipline or attendance records.
“I want to cancel their (time-based promotion) if their discipline is weak or if they are absent many times in a year.
“Though I believe 90% of (teachers) have no problem,” he said at the golden jubilee celebration of the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) here yesterday.
Also present were Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek, Public Service Department director-general Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, and NUTP president Aminuddin Awang.
During his tenure as education minister, Anwar recalled that teachers often faced blame for drug use among children or poor study performance, but they accepted this responsibility.
He said a teacher’s job is to educate, which inculcates an element of humanity in their pupils, therefore, each student must have respect for their teachers, reported Bernama.
“I am grateful to Sekolah Cherok Tok Kun, Bukit Mertajam Boys School, Malay College Kuala Kangsar, and Universiti Malaya.
“I have never forgotten the contributions of my teachers. Without them, other than my parents, it would not have been possible for me to gain a foothold in my career if not instilled with that spirit,” he said.
With that, Anwar emphasised the need to protect the welfare of teachers while advocating for reforms.
“Malaysia has the ability and capacity to raise the dignity of the nation, to be a good model economically, politically, socially and educationally, because the basic strength is there.
“If you want to improve, you can’t do it with a sluggish culture like now; you have to be firm,” he said.
Anwar also addressed language policies, urging his detractors not to dispute his commitment to matters involving the Malay language as the country’s official language and national education policy.
However, he said there is no obstacle and space should be given to the development of Chinese, Tamil, Arabic and other languages.
Anwar also stressed the importance of English proficiency in driving Malaysia’s economy, digital transformation and the development of artificial intelligence.
“My instructions to the Education Ministry are not to delay, as there is a need for an immediate framework for English proficiency so that the country can compete,” he said.
Regarding the Public Service Remuneration System, Anwar said the scheme is one of the best ever announced by the government and hopes it will improve civil servants’ services and stop bad practices.
He said that although the plan received criticisms, it did not interfere with the government’s commitment to implementing it, considering that civil servants had not had a salary revision in 12 years.
Anwar also announced upcoming discussions on NUTP proposals involving assistant teachers in primary schools grade DG48 being allowed to hold positions as senior assistants and operations in primary schools, including head teachers who have been promoted to grade DG52 on a time-based basis being allowed to hold that position until grade DG54 .
