KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 — Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said there are other ministers who should go rather than Maszlee Malik who resigned as education minister today.

The Rembau MP in wishing Maszlee well pointed out that the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia supreme council member held one of the toughest portfolios in the government.

Commenting on Maszlee’s Instagram post announcing his resignation, Khairy posted: "For what it’s worth. You had the toughest portfolio in government and it’s impossible to see drastic changes in less than two years.

"I can think of a dozen other ministers who deserves to do. I heard you were well-liked by the teachers and introduced many meaningful reforms.

"I wish you well, Dr Maszlee. Roda kehidupan selalu berputar (the wheels of life are always spinning). Chin Up.”

Just hours after Maszlee announced his resignation, an online petition was launched urging Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to reinstate Maszlee as education minister, with over 100,000 signatures in support of the call.

The petitioner by the name Tuah Kencana wrote that despite Maszlee’s contributions, his efforts were overshadowed by unfavourable reports, which he claimed were "sensationalised by parties with a vested interest”.

The petitioner also listed a string of initiatives accomplished by Maszlee in his less-than-two-year stint as education minister, accompanied by the #SupportMaszleee hashtag below the petition on change.org.

The petition initially targeted 75,000 signatures and hit the mark at around 8.30pm. It is now targeting 150,000 signatures and has already received over 100,000 signatures as at 9pm.

Earlier, during a special press conference in Putrajaya, Maszlee said he made the decision on the advice of the prime minister after meeting him.

He said he is "returning” the post to Dr Mahathir, referring to his appointment after the prime minister dropped the education portfolio to honour the Pakatan Harapan (PH) election manifesto.