Education Minister Maszlee Malik, who announced this on Twitter this morning, said the examinations would be replaced with more objective assessments starting next year.

“Examinations for pupils in Level 1 (Primary Year 1, 2 and 3) will be scrapped and replaced with a more objective form of assessment starting 2019,” he tweeted.

However, he did not provide any details about the decision.

Since helming the ministry, Maszlee had made several proposals to revamp the education system such as reducing the volume of teachers’ administrative work, eliminating the need for pupils’ heavy school bags, enhancing the use of Bahasa Malaysia, and encouraging students to master more than three languages.

However, his recent announcement that students would have to wear black school shoes by 2021, instead of the usual white, generated much controversy. Some even accused him of misplacing his priorities.