Maszlee has vast experience in education - IDEAS
KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 (Bernama) -- Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) welcomes the appointment of Dr Maszlee Malik as Education Minister, describing him as a person with vast experience in the field of education, both as an educationist and author.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Ali Salman, in his congratulatory statement said Dr Maszlee was also famous for exhibiting principled stance by speaking on critical issues openly.
He said the Simpang Renggam Member of Parliament had provided fresh ideas for the Malaysian education system during his campaign by proposing teaching assistants in classrooms, reducing class sizes as well as paperwork for teachers.
"He has also shown commitment to education issues affecting the community through his work on the Board of Governors of the IDEAS Autism Centre and other non-governmental organisations such as Teach for the Needs (TFTN) and Downsyndrome Educational Centre (ORKIDS)," he said.
Ali Salman, who is also the chief executive officer of Islam and Liberty Network, a global platform of researchers and academics, said that Maszlee had actively contributed in debate on Islam and policy issues by presenting an inclusive, plural and liberal interpretation of Islam.
He said Maszlee had also shown commitment to IDEAS in the past when he convened its short course on Political Economy in 2014.
IDEAS had previously published papers on the topics of school choice, school autonomy and school dropouts, as well as four papers on autonomy in higher education.
"We look forward to engaging with the new Minister of Education on these issues, and hopefully influence the policy debate surrounding education in Malaysia," he said.
-- BERNAMA
