'Tun Dr Mahathir for Education Minister' online petition gains momentum

PETALING JAYA: More than 46,000 Malaysians have signed an online petition calling for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to take on the post of Education Minister.
The petition titled "Tun Dr Mahathir for Education Minister" on change.org was initiated on Friday evening, shortly after Mahathir announced he would not take up the post following feedback that it would contravene one of Pakatan Harapan's (PH) election pledges.
Mahathir also stressed that he would not assume the Education portfolio unless there is a demand for him to do so.
Raveen Dev, who started the petition, stated that the signatures would send a clear message to the government that the rakyat believe Mahathir is the best candidate for the position.
"We the rakyat value education reforms and we are confident with Tun Dr Mahathir's ability to bring much needed change to the education system in this country," he said.
"If you, like us, believe Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should be the Education Minister and will bring much needed reforms to the education system in this country, please do take a moment to sign this petition and share it among your friends and family," he said in the petition pledge.
On Thursday, Mahathir announced that he would be taking on the education portfolio, saying that some methods of teaching in the country which were outdated, needed to be revamped.
In a new Cabinet line-up announced on Friday evening, Simpang Renggam MP Dr Maszlee Malik was named as the new Education Minister.
Mahathir had once served as the Education Minister under the Barisan Nasional government from 1974 to 1977.
Many signatories to the petition had commented positively on the initial idea of having Mahathir as the Education Minister once again.
Steven Tan commented that he believed Mahathir would be the best candidate to improve the country's education system.
Another signatory, Simon Gan, said that Mahathir had the right qualities in bringing the country's education to new heights.
"I believe that Tun M is the right person with the right vision, attitude, character and motivation to positively transform the globally lagging education landscape in Malaysia," he added.

The petition is available at this link:
https://www.change.org/p/pakatan-harapan-tun-dr-mahathir-for-education-minister?recruiter=65820583&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_show&utm_medium=whatsapp&utm_content=whatsapp_share_content_2:control