The Ministry of Education (MOE) had recently announced the appointment of Datin Seri Nor Zamani Abdol Hamid as the new Director-General of Education and it has been effective since 22 June.
Upon receiving this information, netizens were shocked and questioned her rapid rise to the position, given that there are other more senior personnel that are qualified for the position too.
According to Bernama, the MOE had confirmed the appointment of Nor Zamani, who is the wife of Health Minister Dato’ Sri Dr Adham Baba as the 18th Director-General of Education and only the third woman to hold the top position.
The 59 year-old new Education Director-General started her service with MOE in 1986 as the head of the A-Level Department at Tunku Kurshiah College, Negeri Sembilan. Throughout her 35 years of service, she held several other positions such as deputy director-general of Education (Policy and Curriculum Development Division), director of Curriculum Development and director of the Private Education Division.
She also holds a Bachelor’s degree (honours) in Sociology and Anthropology as well as a Master of Education from Universiti Malaya.
Nonetheless, her appointment as the Education Director-General were controversial as according to The Vibes, an MOE spokesperson initially denied the claims circulating online that Nor Zamani would be promoted to Director-General.
The spokesperson said that Nor Zamani is still the Deputy Director-General and she only assumed the Director-General role temporarily in April after the retirement of the previous Education Director-General, Datuk Habibah Abdul Rahim.
However, the MOE had announced Nor Zamani’s appointment the very next day after The Vibes released their article. MOE also clarified that her appointment is effective as of 22 June.
After the announcement, netizens took their curiosity to social media and question Nor Zamani’s controversial appointment. A netizen Sekolah Politik (@PolitikSekolah) even pointed out that Nor Zamani had been promoted up to 3 times since May 2020.
She was promoted as the Director of Curriculum Development on 6 May 2020 and then as Deputy Director-General of Education (Policy and Curriculum Development Division) six months later on 9 November 2020. The latest promotion is her appointment as Education Director-General.
The netizen also claimed that Nor Zamani was the most junior Deputy Director-General in MOE if compared to Dato Tuan Haji Adzman Bin Talib, who is the most senior Deputy Director-General and she is responsible for the School Operation Sector portfolio.
Despite the controversy, MOE has all the rights to appoint anybody whom they deem fit for the Director-General of Education position. MOE also stress that they are confident in Nor Zamani and she will carry out her responsibilities as a leader in education services and further enhance the performance of the ministry in achieving the educational aspirations of our nation.
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