“PMX, you’ve earned my respect” – Dr Akmal Praises Plan to Make BM & History Compulsory, But Warns of Unsolved Issues

Dr Akmal Saleh supports the proposal to make Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and History compulsory subjects in SPM for students from all academic streams, including those following the UEC.

Yesterday (20 January), Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim unveiled his 10-year plan in the National Education Plan 2026-2036 (RPM), in which he mentioned students in Malaysia are expected to sit for BM and History subjects during SPM. Akmal dubbed the move brave and good, and it was an action that many had been waiting for.

“PMX, you’ve earned my respect when you make BM and History subjects compulsory for the entire education system in this country, including UEC,” he expressed.

In his social media post last night, Akmal also took the opportunity to highlight what he believes should be debated and researched further.

Lack of manpower and facilities

In his announcement, PMX also revealed that, effective 2027, children can enter preschool at the age of 5, before progressing to Standard 1 in the following year. In response, the UMNO Youth Chief explained the challenges currently facing the Malaysian education system.

“The problem we have is not that our teachers don’t want to teach, but it’s the shortage of teachers to teach and a lack of facilities in every school.”

He also highlighted the issue of overcrowding in existing classes, with some classes accommodating 30 to 35 students, causing discomfort in the learning process.

“If this basic problem is not resolved and we increase the number of students, it will have an indirect impact on our children.”

Akmal added that the additional number of Standard 1 students needs to be accommodated throughout the six years of primary school studies, which requires careful planning. He then asked PMX and the Minister of Education (MOE) to review the announced proposals to ensure that the fundamental problems in the country’s education system can be addressed first.

“If we cannot solve this fundamental problem, I believe this will have a very bad effect on our children’s education system. Don’t add new problems,” he said in the video.

What do you think of Akmal’s take on this?

Also read: “A huge loss for Melaka” – Politician Comments on Dr Akmal’s Resignation as State Exco