‘ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PERMATA FALSE’
They took advantage of clip of autistic student, says NGO
BRIGED Negaraku has slammed “certain parties” for making what it says are not only false, but seditious accusations against the Permata programme.
Its chairman, Khairul Nizam Mohd Sopery, said the accusations, which have led people to believe that the programme was a waste of the people’s money for the benefit of top government leaders, were baseless and merely a “cheap political game”.
Khairul Nizam said he was disgusted that some quarters had taken advantage of a video of an autistic Permata Pintar student to stir hatred for the programme.
He said, by now, Malaysians should be able to distinguish what was true and what was false.
“Malaysians should be able to differentiate autistic characteristics. Izz (Imil Shahrom) has highfunctioning autism and could solve mathematics and chemistry problems from the age 6.
“He was placed under the Permata Pintar programme to help him grasp the subject better and to guide him towards becoming an expert in the field,” Khairul Nizam said, adding that his team had met the boy.
He said the team had also wanted to find out about the syllabus and the learning process of Permata.
“We are confident that Permata is the most accurate and correct instrument used to produce more talents and experts in various fields.
“Moreover, this programme’s fundamentals are based on a type of learning that is not based on race, ethnicity, religion or age. In fact, Permata provides the opportunity for those who have autism to become important contributors.”
He said he hoped more parents would be willing to share their children’s Permata experience and success stories, to correct any misperceptions of the programme.