The Education Ministry must be strongly rebuked for allowing a Perlis SPM trial History paper to feature questions regarding GE15 results and specific political parties. Education must remain strictly apolitical, neutral, and completely free from political meddling, influence, or pressure.
An immediate, thorough investigation must be launched. The ministry needs to:
• Identify Accountability: Determine who prepared these questions and identify which approval panel passed them.
• Explain the Lapse: Disclose how and why such content could ever be sanctioned.
• Take Action: Outline necessary remedial measures and transparently publish the full findings to restore public trust.
Examinations must evaluate students based solely on the prescribed syllabus. Partisan politics is not part of the SPM History curriculum; bringing political party performances into exam halls crosses an unacceptable line.
This practice sets a dangerous precedent. Awarding marks for commenting on political results risks subjecting students to the personal inclinations of examiners. Requiring "correct" answers on political performance could lead to the subtle mental conditioning of young minds to favour a specific party. Conversely, students holding differing political perspectives risk being penalised and unfairly marked down.
A student's political inclination is a confidential matter of personal preference. In a democracy, voting is secret, and most SPM students are under 18. Young learners should neither be appraised positively nor judged negatively for holding views that align with or oppose the prepared answers of the examining board.
Politicians and educational authorities are urged to keep partisan politics out of schools. Exam halls should cultivate objective, critical thinking within established academic frameworks, not serve as arenas for political appraisal. The Education Ministry needs to ensure future examination papers across all states remain entirely neutral and strictly grounded in the approved syllabus.
Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon
MCA education consultative committee chairman
MCA deputy president
