Historian Teo Kok Seong, who was a member of the National Education Advisory Council, said Barisan Nasional (BN) would label those views as fake news when they were published in the media.
Speaking to FMT, he welcomed the change of government, saying Pakatan Harapan had, in the short time it had been in power, shown that it could take criticism.
“We can now give constructive criticism that will help propel education in our country to new heights,” he said. “In those days, we would have been put in cold storage if we gave views the government didn’t agree with.”
He also urged the new government to “take up the challenge” of making national schools the schools of choice for non-Malays once again.
He said the education ministry should look into why non-Malay parents tended to avoid enrolling their children in national schools, adding that his research had shown they saw such schools as too Islam-oriented.
He also called for a change in the policy governing the hiring of teachers and school administrators, saying the government could ensure quality only if recruitment was based on merit instead of race.
He called for a government initiative to change the mindsets of Malaysians so that the different races would no longer harbour suspicions against one another.
“To bring about educational reforms for the good of the nation, we have to think as Malaysians so that we are not suspicious of one another,” he said. “Get the best people to lead, and our education system will prosper to benefit all.”