State education director Rakayah Madon said they had been informed of the case by the secretariat of the Chief Minister’s Office.
“I had no idea there was such a case. I don’t know what the Islamic department has to do with teachers,” she said.
“The Islamic Department has nothing to do with the intake of teachers. That is the job of the Institute of Teacher Education (IPGM),” she added.
State DAP leader Chong Chieng Jen had earlier called on Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg to confirm whether the religious department had been given the authority to vet and reject non-Muslim applicants for teaching posts.
“It simply does not make any sense for the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department to filter and approve applications from non-Muslims who want to be teachers.
“Why must the department be involved in her job application when she is not even a Muslim and she is not applying to teach Islamic studies but Mathematics?”
Wong Wang Yuen, 31, had applied to become a Mathematics teacher through the e-recruitment system.
Last month, her application was rejected by the religious department because it did not meet its “filtering criteria” (“tidak memenuhi kriteria tapisan”).
Wong graduated in 2013 with a master’s degree, specialising in mathematics education, from the Sultan Idris Education University.
She also holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (Unitar).
“Is it not government policy to select the best among the applicants during the recruitment process? You want the best-qualified person,” Chong told a press conference today.
Chong said this case had come to light at a time when the state was experiencing a shortage of 600 teachers, including 60 Mathematics teachers.
“It is unacceptable for such a case to happen when the government has built up so much public sentiment about seeking autonomy in education matters.”
He hoped Wong would be recruited as soon as possible as she was well qualified to teach Mathematics.
Chong urged other applicants who had encountered similar problems to contact him.
Wong, 31, told FMT that her first application was rejected in 2010, the same year the government announced it would no longer accept graduates from Unitar.
But since she wanted to teach, she decided to pursue a master’s degree at an accredited public university.
Since then, she has applied every year for a job teaching Mathematics with the government. She had never received a response until this year.
“I hope I don’t have to wait another year because I’m running out of time. I feel desperate already,” Wong told FMT today.
The government does not accept applicants above the age of 35 for teaching positions.