From the mass media including social media most of the past week, it would appear that Malaysia has got one of the worst, most stupid and unthinking Education Ministers in the nation’s history, with all focus on the Education Minister’s announcement that all school children would be allowed to wear black shoes to school from next year.

It became an issue in the Sungai Kandis by-election in Selangor, with the Barisan Nasional deputy chairman Mohamad Hatta citing the decision as an example of how the Pakatan Harapan government still “does not know what it is doing”.

Mohamad Hatta, who is the Barisan Nasional Sungai Kandis by-election director, said in the by-election:

“I think Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik changes the national education policy through the feet, not through the head.

“I don’t know what he was thinking to start making changes to the education policy with shoe colours. Maybe he has no other work.”

Opposition Member of Parliament also made jokes about the “black shoes” furore in the current debate in Parliament, and the black jokes about the black shoes top the topic of public discussions, to the extent that there were cartoons joking about education reforms coming from the feet when they should come from the head.

Are all these black jokes about the black shoes fair to the Education Minister, Dr. Mazlee Malik, who is the 20th Education Minister in the country and undoubtedly one of the most exciting and promising appointments to the Cabinet and to the important post of Education Minister in the nation’s history?

I had not watched the Sinar Harian Live talk show “Program Bicara Minda Bersama Menteri Pendidikan” last Thursday, which was moderated by veteran journalist Tan Sri Johan Jaffar, from which all the black jokes about the black shoes originated.

To understand the “black shoes” furor, I watched the Sinar Harian live talk show available on the Internet and found it was a slightly over two-hour programme, and Mazlee spent 30 seconds talking about no more white shoes for school children from next year while more than two hours on education reforms, including ensuring lighter school bags for the students; improving the school curriculum so that the students of national schools are of international standard; giving the teaching profession back to the teachers, which means that they will no longer be burdened with tasks other than teaching; providing more space for art, music and literature in the classroom; improvements for special needs schools; restoring academic freedom in the universities, etc.

The “black shoes” furore, where Mazlee had spoken more than 99% of two hours on education reforms and less than 1% on black shoes but public discussion focused 99% on black shoes and 1% on education reforms should be a lesson to all on the pitfalls of modern communications

Two days later, the Education Ministry clarified that the move would only be implemented stages beginning next year, and that the ministry would consider all factors, including the burden faced by low-income parents.

But the damage had already been done, and the public image falsely created that Mazlee was only interested in trivial issues and cosmestic changes and incapable for addressing more serious issues of educational reform.

Political leaders, like the Barisan Nasional deputy chairman and Opposition MPs who made the “black shoe” furore into a hot-button issue without watching Mazlee’s two-hour talk-show or who deliberately ignored Mazlee’s overall proposals for educational reform are doing rational and intelligent public discourse a grave disservice.

(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on Thursday 26th July 2018)