— Dr W. Vinita Perera
The Malaysian Insider
Dec 18, 2011
DEC 18 — I wish to bring to your attention the deep concern being conveyed, regarding the approach taken in the recent appointment of the new principal at SM Convent Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur. Before this is turned into yet another debacle of ethnicity and creed by any quarter, I look forward to your timely and wise intervention to resolve the matter objectively.
The points of contestation are as follows:
The FT Education Department is in gross breach of the terms stated in the revised Royal Commission on Teaching Services Report which reads: “The assignment and deployment of teachers for these schools, especially the head teacher, should be done only after consultation between the personnel management authority and the boards of these schools”.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reaffirmed and pledged that the government would honour this, to consult mission school authorities over the choice of school heads and teachers, at a meeting with the Heads of Churches in Kota Kinabalu in 1998.
In this case — all parties involved — The Board of Governors, Parents Teachers Association and the Old Girls Association were all in the dark about this appointment. The recommendation submitted was completely disregarded.
I am sure you are aware SM Convent Bukit Nanas is a mission school. The mission schools in Malaysia are owned by the mission authorities but operations are now managed entirely by the federal government. This, however, does not preclude a break in the terms of the pre-agreed contract and it is not merely unlawful, but extremely insensitive, offensive and disrespectful to all parties involved that the appointment was made at the autocratic discretion of the FT Education Department, with no consultation of the members in this decision-making process.
This move is perceived as a threat and a means of undermining the community which promulgate the ethos of excellence in education behind these schools.
There is no contestation regarding the academic qualifications and experience of the nominee in question whatsoever, and I am sure many of us symphatise with the nominee for being caught in the crossfire.
Having Puan Sharifah Bt. Ibrahim as one of my beloved principals during my time in Convent Bukit Nanas, I can attest that there is no ethnic or creed motivation behind this uproar. There is only the outcry of disbelief at the less than adequate handling, short-sightedness and inefficiency of the FT Education Department in seeking the input of key stakeholders, symptomatic of cutting corners.
This lack of foresight has the ability to incite racial-religious tension and burgeon into something much bigger. The person involved should be held absolutely accountable and taken to task.
I look forward to your objective intervention toward a diplomatic recourse. A healthy dose of accountability by the FT Education Department with a formal apology, should reinstate our confidence in your ministry.
Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty,
Dr. W. Vinita Perera DVM, MRCVS,
An old girl Convent Bukit Nanas,
Colorado, USA