🇲🇾 MOE: Leadership in Crisis — When Silence, Ego, and Inaction Destroy Our Schools

By: Amarjeet Singh @ AJ

Every day, the headlines grow more painful — a student raped in a classroom, a teacher handcuffed, a child bullied to death. And through it all, the Ministry of Education (MOE) remains silent, as if oblivious to the crisis unfolding before its eyes.

Where is the leadership? Where is the urgency? Where is the plan?

💭 Where Are the Thinkers, the Doers, the Visionaries?

The MOE building is full of people — but empty of ideas. Hundreds of directors, advisors, and officers sit in comfort, yet when a crisis erupts, the silence is deafening. No plan. No action. No direction.

Where is the real think tank? Where are the PhD holders who were meant to drive intellectual excellence — or have they become “Permanent Head Damage”? Where is the Business Continuity Plan? The Crisis Management Framework that every serious organization should have?

Do we learn from experts — or just from talkers who love microphones but hate accountability?

⚠️ Leadership from the Chair, Not from the Heart

Too many leaders today only know how to sit in the chair — not stand for their principles. Real leadership is not about titles; it’s about courage and conscience.

Every time tragedy strikes, MOE forms a “special committee.” Yet nothing happens. Leadership isn’t about press conferences; it’s about acting before the public cries for justice.

We need situational leaders — those who can assess, respond, and adapt swiftly. Because in education, every hour of delay can cost a child their future.

🧭 True Leadership: Not Just Holding Office

A true leader is not measured by their position, but by their vision, wisdom, and action. The problem in MOE today is not manpower — it’s mindset and fear.

I’ll say it clearly — Fadhlina Sidek has failed to utilize the “human assets” within MOE. Thousands of teachers, officers, and experts are eager to help, but they’re ignored. Those who speak up are sidelined. Those who think differently are punished. Those who tell the truth are treated as enemies.

To be a great leader:

1. Have a brain — be knowledgeable, wise, and brave, not just a script reader in Parliament.
2. Know your people — understand their strengths, weaknesses, and potential.
3. Lead by example — show discipline, values, and integrity.
4. Communicate clearly — listen more than you speak.
5. Decide with wisdom, not ego — think long-term, not for applause.
6. Empower others — grow your team, don’t just control them.
7. Stay humble — success should make you gracious, not arrogant.
8. Handle criticism wisely — learn, improve, move forward.
9. Adapt to change — steady leadership shines in turbulence.
10. Serve, don’t rule — leadership is duty, not privilege.

But today, our education minister shows none of these. She reads from scripts without soul, without direction, and without conviction. The ministry that should nurture values and nation-builders now mirrors political arrogance and incompetence.

🚀 What We Can Do — Right Now

1. Establish a 24-hour MOE Crisis Response Unit — to address bullying, rape, suicide, and school safety issues.
2. Involve ex-police and army personnel — as discipline and safety advisors in schools.
3. Engage psychology and medical students — to monitor student mental health.
4. Reinstate Discipline Masters — with proper authority and training.
5. Reform corporal punishment — discipline with care, not cruelty.
6. Strengthen Civic, Culture & Character Classes — build empathy, respect, and responsibility.
7. Modern Life Skills Curriculum — financial literacy, digital ethics, emotional control, teamwork.
8. Establish a School Safety & Education Fund — to support teachers and upgrade facilities.
9. Recruit and train new-generation teachers — young educators who understand the digital age.
10. Launch a National Values & Safety Week — focusing on respect, discipline, and empathy.

💬 Parents — The Responsibility Is Ours Too

Stop pointing fingers only at teachers or ministers. Values and discipline begin at home. Children learn from what they see, not from what they’re told.

Monitor your child’s games, social media, and friendships. Teach boys to respect women. Teach girls to defend their dignity. If the home doesn’t teach values, don’t blame the school when society fails them.

🩸 The Bitter Truth

We have ministers who speak about “reforms” but can’t answer one simple question — why are schools unsafe? We have officers who write reports but never step foot on the ground. We have leaders who love photo ops, but not real leadership.

Meanwhile, students continue to suffer — raped, bullied, depressed, and even killed. The official response? “Still under investigation.” Enough is enough.

We need leaders who think with their hearts, act with their minds, and listen with humility.

🕊️ Final Word — There Is Still Hope

Education is not just a ministry — it is the soul of the nation. It reflects who we are, what we value, and what kind of future we are building.

If we keep defending failure and ignoring injustice, we are not raising a generation — we are raising victims.

But if we dare to change — to think, to act, to speak — Malaysia can still be saved. We can rebuild this nation — one school, one teacher, one child at a time.

— Amarjeet Singh @ AJ
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