Say sorry for ‘brainwashing’ in SPM Moral paper, Examination Board told

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Nov — A coalition of six student groups demanded today for the Examination Board to apologise and explain the alleged inclusion of politically-driven questions in this year’s SPM Moral examination.

The groups accused the Education Department of politicising examinations and claimed that the “student-brainwashing attempt” was part of its bid to discourage the younger generation from becoming politically active.

“We call out to fellow citizens to view this issue critically. It is necessary to impose pressure on the authority in charge and find them responsible for such decisions.

“At the same time, we demand that the Examination Board provide an answer and apology to the students,” said the coalition spearheaded by University Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) in a statement.

The groups also claimed that instead of instilling critical judgment and independent thought among students, the questions in the 2015 Moral paper were doing the opposite.

“The questions also assumes all political activity to be anti-government and places a negative perspective on such activities,” the groups said.

“Student groups are concerned that the questions do not enforce a truly democratic ideology, and proposes the idea that students should not partake in political activities,” they added.

“The Examination Board is utilising the SPM questions to manipulate and influence the judgement of students as such to breed a generation of citizens that fear and oppose political activism.”

Yesterday, Malay Mail Online reported students complaining that the SPM Moral examination included political questions, including one depicting a teenager encountering a promotional poster for an anti-government rally in which participants would receive RM100, and inviting a friend to join in.

Malay Mail Online was unable to verify the contents of the SPM Moral paper as the examination is “closed”, which means students are not allowed to take home the question sheets.

Parents and education lobby groups complained over the possibility that SPM examinees were forced to answer politically-skewed questions, saying the classroom is not the place for politics.

Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan gave his assurance that he would issue a statement after checking on the allegation with ministry officials.