TwoSen

I REFER to “Students made to clean toilets” (The Star, Jan 29). As parents, we educate our children not only academically but also in every aspect of life. That includes self-discipline.

For parents who left school in the 70s, 80s and even 90s, corporal punishment is something that is embedded in our mind.

There may have been bitterness and hurt at that time, but the punishment has left a sweet memory that has helped them become better persons.

Why complain about our children having to clean the school toilets; be it under a programme or as a form of punishment? Are parents nowadays pampering their children to the extent of spoiling them?

In carrying out anything, there is a lesson to be learned. I remember how my school football team was assigned to clean the school toilet should we lose any game. We joyfully carried out the job even though our spirits were low due to the loss.

But today, we are cheerful when recalling it. At no point of time had our parents lodged a police report or harassed the school administrator because of that. So what’s the big deal?

The Education Department mustn’t dance to the tune of the few parents who stirred up the issue.

First, the parents concerned must find out whether or not these actions violate any written rules and regulation. There are some schools that have passed resolutions at their PIBG meetings calling for students involved in disciplinary issues to be made to clean the school toilets.

However, these resolutions can’t be carried out because the education department says otherwise.

Let us all have a positive mind when we send our children to school. Leave it to the teachers to educate them. The teachers dedicate their time and love to our children. Let them have a free hand in moulding our loved ones while they are with them.

Let’s not spare the rod and spoil the child.

KAMARUDZAMAN SANUSI,
President, PIBG,
SMK Bukit Kemuning, Shah Alam.

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

I AM deeply worried about the way our schools are run these days. On reading the recent news reports, I begin to doubt the institutions’ capability of inculcating students with good values and producing future leaders.

One school in Johor Baru made the students wash school toilets during lessons while another in Ipoh insulted students’ religious beliefs.

Students have even died in schools, like K. Yashovan from SM Seksyen 1 Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor, and Abdul Azim Abdul Haris from SK Sri Wang, Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Not to forget the gender segregation practices like in some schools in Seremban and Gombak.

If teachers who are supposed to be role models and teach the virtues of life make such mistakes, how can they teach the children to love their fellow classmates and respect each other’s beliefs and cultures?

How will students even respect their teachers? It is like the old Malay proverb seperti ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan betul (a crab teaching its young to walk straight”).

I do not intend to lay the blame on the schools and teachers, but I strongly feel that there is a lack of dedication, passion and efficiency; and this should not be the way. It is sad that because of some bad apples, we have to be sceptical of the whole bunch.

Although the Education Ministry has promised to look into the matters and investigate, it is still not enough to convince people that such problems would not recur.

Without timely and concrete intervention and change, the public will lose trust in the quality of education and management of our schools.

KAREN,
Batu Caves, Selangor,

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

I DO not know Lee Nian Ning personally despite coming from the same hometown as her. From the looks of it she had so much ahead of her (“Robbed of bright future” – The Star, Jan 28).

Looking at her pictures posted on the Facebook group (on the Internet) in her memory, I am most struck by how the pictures of her smiling in the groups of girls could easily have been pictures of my friends and me.

The bus company should be held liable over what happened. How many more accidents like this must we let happen before something is done?

I myself am a regular on the North-South Expressway. I am from Penang and study at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. With the holidays looming, I can’t wait to go back to be with my family but I now dread having to make the trip back home.

Indeed, you can say accidents happen, tragedy happens. But let’s not just let it happen when it definitely could have been avoided. How could a bus driver with 13 summonses to his name still be allowed on the road?

What happened to the crackdown after all those people died in that other bus accident just last year?

Where’s the implementation of all those new policies and rules?

Am I supposed to say a prayer and hope for the best each time I board a bus? It is inevitable that I will make one of these Penang-KL trips again. I do not feel so safe now knowing that I may be putting my life in the hands of a bus driver with a string of offences.

Please do something to make it safer for every one on the road.

RACHEL CHOONG MEI LING,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

I LAUD the call for more Chinese schools by the MCA. Currently, there is serious overloading with an average of 50 students per class.

This is taxing for both students and teachers. The teachers are unable to cope with the workload and the students are poorly guided. Parents then have to fork out money for tuition, and unscrupulous tuition teachers take advantage of the situation.

Some ‘teachers’ are charging up to RM1,000 per child just for Chinese language tuition and, mind you, I am only referring to these teachers teaching full-time or part-time in Chinese primary schools.

I have two kids and I was paying RM400 in tuition fees monthly for lessons twice a week, and I was told I was paying peanuts.

It appears to me it doesn’t matter if the teacher has no certificate (which applies to most of them), just a basic certificate or a postgraduate certificate, their charges are equally exorbitant.

There is also a dire need to weed out those ‘teachers’ who have no interest in education or in our children’s welfare but are there for a quick profit.

The demand for tuition teachers is so great, and parents have no choice as the current situation in Chinese primary schools is “educationally unfit”.

The Education Ministry must check on this situation urgently, because if school teachers are involved in so many tuition hours, how can they prepare their school work?

We may be generating a new breed of unscrupulous “profit makers” at our children’s expense, as well as robbing our children of their childhood.

As an educator myself, I find the situation warrants a critical re-evaluation. A committee must be set up to look at how we can improve the delivery of education to our children.

BAFFLED EDUCATOR,
Kuala Lumpur.

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

I WENT to a local hypermarket and picked up a jar of pasta sauce which cost RM4.25 according to the price tag. At the checkout counter, the cashier told me that the price was RM6.75 (a difference of RM2.50 or 59% more expensive).

I told the cashier that the displayed price on the shelf was RM4.25, which he subsequently verified. He then shrugged his shoulders and said that the counter machine displayed a price of RM6.75 and that I should pay RM6.75 if I wanted that jar.

I asked to see the manager but was told he was not around, and neither was his supervisor. Aghast, I left the hypermarket.

What cheesed me off was that this was not the first time this happened at this hypermarket. A colleague of mine also experienced the same thing – three items bearing different prices at the shelves and at the check-out counter.

NEARLY CHEATED,
Malacca.

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

TO ALL aspiring candidates in the coming general election, I wish you would not pretend to have the people’s problem at heart and at the same time issue “threats” that they will not see any development in their area should they give their votes to the “other side.”

It is shocking to read such statements from politicians, as in this day and age the majority of the people are more aware of their rights and the duties expected from an elected representative.

In any election, there will always be a winner and a loser. Just because the candidate from the ruling party loses doesn’t mean development for the area comes to a halt.

MPs and State Assemblymen are chosen by the people to “serve the people” and not the other way round.

Bringing development to the people irrespective of which way they voted is a responsibility of the Government not a reward.

MICHAEL NG,
Seremban.

Source: The Star – January 31, 2008

During my school days I went on a field trip to visit a local police station. That was way back in the mid-60s where British policemen and women only had their uniforms and badges to accompany them wherever they went. You see, in those days the policemen and women had no firearms to carry around as they seldom had to encounter situations where firearms are needed. At best they only had their trusted truncheons with them.

The relationship between the police and the ordinary citizens was extremely good. One of the ways to enhance the relationship was to organise field trips for school children to visit police stations and to get to know the police men and women who look after their districts, towns, burroughs, cities or counties. There are also activities where the ordinary citizens are involved where they will get close to the police force and understand their work. There was a lot of camaraderie and respect between the people and the police force that problems could be sorted out without too much of a fuss.

We should encourage the police to organise more activities with the locals.

Mohd Ghazali Osman
Ipoh

Source: The Sun – January 31, 2008

My weekends are always a joy when I meet up with my friends to use the trails at Bukit Kiara, whether it is riding on my mountain bike or building and maintaining the trails. Some of the trails that you see in Bukit Kiara now started off as trails for rubber tappers, but some had the vision of building trails so walkers, runners, and bikers could enjoy them. Most of the trails that still exist today are literally handcrafted by the trail builders i.e. the public using cangkuls and small tools, to ensure sustainability of the trails and to minimise the effect on the forest.

Unfortunately the past weeks have been a heart breaker for many who love and help maintain these trails. Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has sent a small army of heavy machineries to build what is known to be endurance horse trails. In protest against this, many have written to the media highlighting the trail users’ disapproval for this. DBKL has responded with a letter in which they mentioned the growing popularity of endurance horse riding and their findings that Bukit Kiara would be suitable for this sports would benefit the public who enjoy this sports.

Although DBKL said that some of the trails have existed since 15 years before, most of the trails that they have built now are 5-7m wide, where it could only fit one person in a single file before.

Those trails that they are building are not horse trails, but were planned out by trail builders. Most the horse trails from 15 years ago have degenerated because Bukit Kiara is not suitable for horse riding, both in terms of soil conditions and the terrain.

The number of trail users per day during the weekend is in the hundreds and they are taking them from us because endurance horse riding is getting popular? How many horse riders are there on the weekend?

Another point also is that DBKL should have mapped out other routes with proper planning so as not to rob the public of these beautiful trails and also to avoid contact between the horses and other trail users, i.e. avoiding horse droppings on the trails for walkers and bikers. Or a frightened horse causing injuries to other trail users or the riders themselves.

DBKL says allegations against them for destroying the forest, closing waterways and causing erosion are not true. According to them only a few trees have been chopped to give way to the building of the trails. Does DBKL think the public or trail users are blind?

Saddened Trail Users
Via e-mail

Source: The Sun – January 31, 2008

It is disgusting to know that the Selangor Water Authority (Luas) has issued a circular to factories and golf courses demanding that they apply for licences to collect rain water. In addition they also have to pay for the usage.

Is this a joke? In the first place who are they to seek rental for Mother Nature’s gift? This is daylight robbery. The government is encouraging rain collection in every building as a measure to save water and here Luas is taking that opportunity to increase their coffers with no effort.

What would happen if factories and golf courses refuse to apply for the licence and pay for the usage of rain water? Will Luas then direct all the rain into reservoirs or catchment areas or just let the rain flow into drains and flood the areas as long no one uses it for free.

Am I correct to say that while the government is appealing to the public to save water, Luas is taking advantage of that to make money?

Has Luas considered the spiral effect of this situation? What will happen if you start charging rental for something that does not belong to you? What will happen if Luas prevents people from storing rain water because they refuse to pay?

It looks like sooner or later, we need to pay rent even for the air that we breathe. Well at least whichever department intends to take up this as a business venture, they should guarantee that the air is non-polluted. But is it possible?

Nahanthiran. S
Rawang

Source: The Sun – January 31, 2008

Today our pensioners are on fixed pensions calculated on the basis of their service which ranges from 20 to 25 years. Although some of them have worked for even over 30 years, they are still paid their pension calculated on a maximum of 25 years of service.

However, in the Pension Ordinance, there was no mention of a limit on the number of years of service for the calculation of pensions. The pension and gratuity are to be calculated based on full service.

So in 1995, the government agreed to calculate the gratuity and pension without imposing a limit on the period of service and subsequently, an amount of RM943 million was allotted and approved for pension adjustments.

But the revised pension formula was withheld due to the economic downturn.

The affected pensioners have been patient enough over the reversal of the government’s decision. Please do not delay this adjustment any further. It would be not fair, as some may not be around! Can we expedite this matter?

Bulbir Singh,
Seremban

Source: The Sun – January 31, 2008