Tun M: Students Can Wear Any Colour Shoes To School
"As far as I am concerned, you can wear any shoes."
By Liew Ashley — 18 Jan 2020, 12:12 PM
Prime Minister and acting Education Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured that the black-shoe policy will not be implemented
In a report by Free Malaysia Today (FMT), Dr Mahathir wittily said that students will be free to wear any colour shoes they want to school.
“You can wear brown shoes, black shoes, grey shoes, white shoes, or any shoes," the Prime Minster was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
"As far as I am concerned, you can wear any shoes," he told reporters at a press conference yesterday, 17 January.
This came after an uproar over a circular distributed by the Ministry of Education (MOE) earlier this week
On Wednesday, 15 January, Malay Mail reported that a circular by the MOE had been delivered to schools nationwide, instructing them to survey their students on the uptake of the black-shoe policy as part of the school uniform.
According to Sin Chew Daily, a letter by the MOE dated January 14 was circulating on social media, addressing the education directors of all state education departments to notify schools of the survey, which was to be completed by 22 January.
Speaking with Sin Chew Daily, principal of Chong Wen Hua Primary School confirmed the news, saying that the school was already conducting a survey on the number of students wearing black and white shoes.
A screenshot of the survey form was also published, which included questions such as the number of students enrolled in the school and the number of students wearing black or white shoes.
Previously, former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik had announced that the students will start wearing black shoes and socks to school
According to last year's report in The Star, the Education Ministry was to fully enforce the black-shoe policy in 2021, a policy that quickly became controversial.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir admitted that he was still in the midst of familiarising himself with his tasks as the acting Education Minister
Since he and the ministry's new director-general Habibah Abdul Rahman are new, they will discuss if any new policies should be implemented.
"I had a very long meeting yesterday. I am still digesting all the information. I am a little bit confused because so many facts were presented. I have to study all that," he said, as quoted by Free Malaysia Today.
