Education ministry says no jurisdiction over privately published books

The education ministry only has jurisdiction over books published by the ministry itself, Education Minister Radzi Jidin said today, following the circulation of a screenshot of a page in a Form Five history reference book carrying a wrongful depiction of VT Sambanthan’s face.

"Firstly, I would like to explain that our checks revealed that the book in question was published by a private company and not by the ministry.

"Our jurisdiction at the ministry is meant for books published by the ministry. The main focus of the ministry is to do our best to ensure that the books contain data and facts that have been verified," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

The depiction of Sambanthan in the reference book was said to have raised the concern even of his daughter, Deva Kunjari Sambanthan. 
 
On the Kamus Dewan Perdana, Radzi said the newest edition of the dictionary contained over 120,000 root words and showcased the development of the Malay vocabulary over a period of more than a century.

"Insha Allah, we will see the dictionary becoming the main reference for all for the Malay language. 

"There have been certain improvements made, including introducing Jawi words that will benefit the future generations greatly," he said.