speech by yb dr. maszlee bin malik minister of …

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SPEECH BY YB DR. MASZLEE BIN MALIK

MINISTER OF EDUCATION MALAYSIA

ON THE OCCASION TO OFFICIATE THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE

SPECIAL EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL

CONFERENCE (SEIC) 2019

ON THE 27TH OF SEPTEMBER 2019,

AT THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, PUTRAJAYA

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Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Good morning.

Salutation

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

1. I wish to extend my deepest gratitude to all the esteemed

delegates and guests for attending the Special Educational

International Conference 2019.

2. It humbles me to be here today at this event, it is indeed a

meaningful occasion. It has to come to my attention the

Special Education International Conference (SEIC) 2019 is a

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public private partnership programme organised by the

Ministry of Education together with the Parents Teachers

Association of Bukit Rahman Putra Secondary School and the

Dyslexia Malaysia Parent Support Group. This conference is

also supported by Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP),

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) as well as the

industrial corporate Petro Teguh (M) Sdn. Bhd.

3. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our

partners that have contributed in making this conference

possible. Thank you to SASBADI Holdings Berhad, Yayasan

UEM Berhad, Boost, Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam

Malaysia (YAPEIM), Doof, and the Southeast Asian Ministers

of Education Organization Regional Centre for Special

Education (SEAMEO SEN) for your contributions.

4. It takes great effort to bring all professionals around the

globe together to share experiences, knowledge and

evidence based practices in the special education field in

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Malaysia. Having this platform can open up more

opportunities to reflect and improve the different

approaches in special education.

Her Excellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

5. Allow me to share the story of one of our students, Eddy

from SMK Beluran. Eddy has this condition called cerebral

palsy, which is a permanent movement disorder caused by

damage to the parts of the brain that controls movement.

This did not stop Eddy from training and competing to

become a world class athlete.

6. He eventually won the gold medal at the ASEAN Paralympics

in 2017, and the gold medal at the Asian Para Games in

2018. He also was the recipient of the Anugerah Pendidikan

Khas Putera in the same year. When we asked him what was

next, he said, and I quote: “To realise my dreams, I will train

hard to feature in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics”.

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7. This is why the theme of SEIC 2019, Special Education:

Access and Quality, is so timely and urgent. We have a

generation of children like Eddy in our countries that are just

as capable as everyone else. All they need is access to

quality education and opportunities and they can achieve

unbelievable things.

8. In the past, special education here was all about providing

education for the blind and deaf. Families resisted

registering their special needs children to formal schooling,

thinking that our system was incapable of supporting their

education and needs.

9. We have come a long way since then. Special needs

education now caters to a spectrum of needs, both physical

and mental. So far, our Ministry estimates that 1%, or

300,000 of Malaysians have special education needs, and

even that number might be an underestimation. With this

large cohort of indivuduals, we have a duty to ensure that

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we are able to cater to as many students as possible, no

matter what their needs are. This duty aligns with the United

Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Four, of

providing inclusive and equitable quality education.

10. Malaysia has broad, ambitious plans for this. I said this

before, and I say it again: I will ensure that access to quality

education to special needs students is implemented radically

and throughly nationwide.

11. Through the implementation of our Zero Reject Policy, we

have recorded increasing enrolment for special needs

education. This year alone, approximately 12,000 special

needs students have registered in our schools. Under this

policy, our schools may no longer turn away special needs

students from formal schooling, and will have to develop

innovative methods and partnerships to help our students

find their best selves.

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12. Furthermore, based on the 11th Malaysian Plan Mid-Term

Review, the Ministry of Education targets to improve access

to quality education by encouraging enrolment of more

students with special needs in early to tertiary level

education.

13. At the same time, we are in the process of ensuring that the

special education becomes an important component in the

12th Malaysia Plan now under preparation. This is to ensure

that educational institutions nationwide are special needs

friendly as well as to ensure that special needs parents are

no longer stressed and feel inhibited.

14. All of this is to ensure that we prepare an ecosystem that all

our students, regardless of their abilities, can fully realise

their potential. I believe that all children have the capability

to succeed, despite any disadvantages, as long as they have

some hope and help along the way. As Stevie Wonder aptly

puts it : “Just because a person lacks the use of their eyes

doesn’t mean they lack vision.”

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Her Excellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

15. Our stance towards special education is aligned with our

education policies and capacity-building efforts with the

current Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR) agenda. All students

from preschool to tertiary education should be equipped

with The Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR) skills which are

communication, creativity, collaboration and critical

thinking.

16. With soon to be released IR Curriculum 4.0, educators must

prepare students with knowledge and skills for the new

economy as well as future technologies. We must be vigilant

as the current and new economy is knowledge-intensive and

demands highly skilled talent pool.

17. Our special education needs talent will play a large role in

this. They have unique skills and experiences that they can

bring to the table to help Malaysia be a leader in this new

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economy. From coding to user experience design, there are

many opportunities for our special education needs students

to specialise in to thrive in.

18. That is why the Ministry of Education has made tremendous

efforts to pursue this vision by developing the Roadmap for

Students with Special Education Needs since October 2018.

Through this plan, six important pillars are identified to

enhance our special education system. These pillars are:

Pillar 1: Empowerment of Human Capital;

Pillar 2: Strengthening Support System;

Pillar 3: Enhancement of Teaching & Learning, Co-

curricular and Talent Expansion;

Pillar 4: Reinforce Accessibility and Mobility,

Pillar 5: Enforcing Good Governance and finally;

Pillar 6: Improving Data Management.

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19. As a developing country, we must also move towards

nurturing and instilling better morale and compassion within

ourselves and our children. Working towards increasing

awareness and acceptance of different and exceptional

needs of individuals is crucial for us to progress as a society.

Different does not mean less.

20. Distinguished guests, learning itself is an ongoing process

throughout our lives. Continuous professional development

is key in ensuring that educators’ skills are up to date,

adapting to the constant changes in the education field, as

well as enriching their knowledge. The knowledge learnt can

then be applied in the classroom to improve students’

achievements.

21. In addition, with the findings of research, evidence-based

teaching practices are seen as vital in providing effective

education as it has been demonstrated to benefit both

educators and students. The use of scientifically proven

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teaching methods that cater to the needs of each student

will save more time and resources.

22. The Government would also greatly benefit from the

support of the higher education institutions in contributing

and providing high-impact evidence-based researches to

develop better education policies.

23. Hence, innovative collaboration towards providing better

services for persons with disabilities must be forged

between the public sector, research and development,

business and industries as well as non-profit organizations.

Through these partnerships and cooperation, high quality

education can be achieved…a crucial spark for economic

growth and social transformation for the country.

24. Therefore, I would like to express my utmost appreciation

towards the organizing committees, honorable speakers,

participants and guests for their support and contribution.

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25. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, let me once

again thank everyone for joining us in this conference. I hope

everyone had shared and obtained invaluable insights and

knowledge from other professionals, all towards the vision

of Education for All. I hope that everyone walks away from

this today, at the barest minimum, with the belief that we

must do more. And as Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wheelchair-

bound American President, once said: “If civilization is to

survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships

- the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the

same world at peace”.

26. On that note, it gives me great pleasure to officiate the

closing of the Special Education International Conference

2019.

Thank you.

speech by yb dr. maszlee bin malik minister of …

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