TwoSen

I READ with interest Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s comments on government efforts to improve our public transport system.

Being a heavy public transport user, I’m glad to know our gripes on the sad state of our bus, taxi and LRT services have come to the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Complaints and suggestions regarding the poor public transport services in Kuala Lumpur have constantly been put forward but unfortunately no action has been taken to resolve the issues.

The majority of our taxis are still being driven by extortionists, our buses still resemble the ones in South Asia and we’ve wasted as much time in a traffic jam while waiting for our turn to get into one of the over-crowded trains.

And the only reason 20% of Kuala Lumpur’s population take public transport is because they just can’t afford to buy themselves a car.

We’ve heard so many times about how the Government is going to improve our transport system. But we have been facing the same old problems for the last two decades. When can we see the long awaited results?

SEBASTIAN LIM,

Kuala Lumpur.

Source: The Star – January 19, 2008

I REFER to “Sexual harassment is not OK” (The Star, Jan 18).

I am so sorry for what the writer had to go through and would like to say that I understand the anger and trauma that she felt since I experienced the same thing last year.

The only difference was that it was at a work place. I also made a police report within 24 hours of the incident, but I am disappointed the attorney general dismissed the case for lack of evidence.

If there is a lack of evidence, why was there a disciplinary meeting held and the perpetrator suspended as a result of the disciplinary meeting?

I have since appointed my own lawyer to take this matter up with the attorney general in Putrajaya.

These perpetrators consider a woman a second class citizen and that they can do whatever they want to any woman who might be unlucky enough to be their victim.

I am thinking of suing the perpetrator and my former employer for defamation for the embarrassment caused by the incident, as all my former colleagues and members of the golf club knew what had happened to me.

Sexual harassment may be a small thing to the perpetrator and anyone who has not experienced it, but it is really traumatic for the victim.

Only the victim and others in the same situation will understand the anger and the trauma suffered by us.

ANOTHER VICTIM,

Subang Jaya.

Source: The Star – January 19, 2008

I’M WRITING about my own experience of sexual harassment in my university. Sexual harassment is not OK! I urge young women who have been sexually harassed in their place of study to speak up.

Last year, I was sexually harassed when a first-year student in my university unzipped my dress on stage in front of an audience of 850 during the university ball as a ‘joke’.

I was extremely embarrassed by it and thought it best not to take action, as I was afraid of being told that I had brought it upon myself in some way.

However, I was strongly encouraged by my aunt to make a police report, which I did. Unfortunately, there has not been any follow-up since.

The university was displeased with my action and cajoled me to withdraw my report as the perpetrator was described as ‘a high-spirited young man’ who had his ‘entire future ahead of him’.

As a young woman, do I also not have my entire future ahead of me? Was any thought given to how this incident might have disparaged my reputation or caused me emotional trauma?

I was basically told that my opinions do not matter and that what happened was OK because he ‘didn’t know any better’.

However, I managed to garner the support of the student council and we extracted a public apology from him.

Many of my fellow students expressed support, saying that sexual harassment in any way, shape or form should not be condoned.

The public apology was only the beginning; I am now pleased to announce that along with the campus solicitors, the university is setting up a discrimination and sexual harassment grievance procedure committee to handle such cases.

I urge other institutions of higher learning to follow its example and not to push aside the concerns of young women just because they are women. Sexual harassment is a violation of a person’s rights, and it is not a small matter.

MELODY SONG FAYE-LYNN,

Subang Jaya.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

I AM a fifth-year medical student. When I went through the “new” syllabus for pre-clinicals (theory) before entering my clinical years (practical) I found that it placed less emphasis on the anatomy than the ‘older’ one.

As a result, I feel that most medical students under the new syllabus have a weak background on the anatomy when entering clinicals.

We know our knowledge on the anatomy is quite weak even before we enter clinicals.

When we told this to our university management, my dean hinted that it was our responsibility to prepare ourselves for our clinical years.

If, out of 100 students, 10 are not prepared then I agree that it is the medical students’ mistake. However, when 99 are not prepared I think the system is at fault.

I am not gong to blame the lecturers since we have excellent anatomy lecturers. I personally feel the system doesn’t provide the resources or the time for the lecturers.

Personally, I don’t have any confidence when it comes to the anatomy. I usually revise my pre-clinical subjects before studying my clinical material and when revising other subjects, I know how to approach the topics.

When it comes to the anatomy, I don’t even know how to approach the subject.

Furthermore, we have very limited time to revise our pre-clinicals. I am encountering a lot of problems when it comes to my surgical blocks.

I am not the only one experiencing this. Most of my friends feel the same way.

The only time a medical student can build his or her background on the anatomy is during pre-clinicals. During our practical years, we simply have no time for it.

I hope the co-ordinators reading this will at least look into the matter, if not make some urgent changes.

GG,

Taiping, Perak.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

AFTER so much noise by parents over additional payments they have had to fork out for their children’s education, the focus now is on schools that separate their students according to gender.

While the decision by a school in Seremban to separate their students is totally uncalled for, the same thing cannot be said about your report in “Hillcrest does it, too” (Sunday Star, Jan 6).

In the classroom, students sit in pairs. The normal practice is girls will sit with girls and boys with boys.

This is normal even though there are no written rules. There is no point asking the girls to sit beside boys because some of them are not comfortable with each other and sometimes they will start fighting.

I can safely say that it is very, very seldom that a girl asks to sit beside a boy. But the seat separation does not mean they do not mingle with each other.

They study together, learn together and they have group work where they need to communicate and cooperate. Sitting in separate rows? For better classroom control, boys would sit in front and girls at the back. This is also to avoid embarrassment when certain unexpected things happen.

It’s the same with separating boys and girls in the canteen. Most schools even have separate lanes for them. Boys sometimes like to push, and to avoid embarrassing scenes, they are separated from girls.

Sitting on separate benches? Why not? Girls like to gossip and I’m sure they prefer to sit with their own circle to share the gossip of the day, which they can’t do in class.

It is quite sad actually when the education community is put under such close scrutiny. I am sure that every decision made by the school authority is for the benefit of the students.

As parents, it is about time that we change our mindset and think positively. Go to school, meet the teachers, attend PTA meetings to air your views and support your children’s school. There’s nothing to lose.

NORAINI MOHD NOR,

Kulai, Johor.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

THE 6th Royal Langkawi International Regatta (RLIR) which ended on Jan 11 witnessed the coming of age of Malaysian sailors, even in the RIC Racing class.

The participation of two young Malaysian sailors in the Quantum Racing crew who won the Prime Minister’s Trophy, speaks well for the future of sailing in Malaysia.

Siblings Ng Ai Li, 19, and Ng Heng Li, 18, are from the Malaysian national team (youth keelboat). Although still young, they have been skippering in various competitions before.

They are now under centralised training at Port Klang for the coming competition in New Zealand on Jan 20-28. Best wishes to the Malaysian team in the Bakaria Youth Match Competition there.

Dr K.C. NG,

Kuala Lumpur.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

I REFER to “What’s the basis for streaming students” (The Star, Jan 15). Schools usually put students who score As in Science and Mathematics in the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) in the Pure Science classes because they can follow Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Additional Mathematics lessons better than students who get Ds and Es in Maths and Science.

Students with Ds and Es usually have a difficult time trying to understand the complex concepts in Physics and Add Maths. It would be a waste of time for them to study these difficult subjects, struggling to pass tests and exams and finally failing in their SPM.

We (teachers) are not discriminating against students but have their best interests at heart. Students who study in the Arts Stream do not necessarily lose out. They study Economics, Accounts, History, Art, Literature and Commerce.

They can go on to Form Six and later into the Economics, Law and Accounting faculties.

The Administrative and Diplomatic Corps officers of the various ministries in the Government do not come from the Science stream. Lawyers, historians, accountants, architects and writers too, come from the Arts stream.

It is society that tends to look down on students in the Arts stream. Ponder for a while. How many of our present leaders are from the Science stream?

ASRUL,

Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

I REFER to “Killer overhang” (The Star, Jan 7). First, the lorry’s extension at the rear is authorised by JPJ, and the Pan Malaysian Lorry Drivers Association president says that to transport a 7m pipe through a narrow road, a small lorry with an extension, or a big trailer, is needed.

To be a good driver, one has to be alert for any eventuality, especially along the North-South Expressway.

The driver is the main culprit in any accident. Reckless driving costs innocent people their lives.

CHIN AH FAT,

Ipoh, Perak.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

THIS general election we will once again exercise our inalienable democratic right by going to the polls to choose a government of our choice.

Like all elections, we cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails. Adjusting our sails means making choices. Often these choices are not easy, but ultimately it’s easier than trying to change the direction of the wind.

We make choices every day! Sometimes we make them consciously with all the good intentions but too often we make them hurriedly without thinking. And, sometimes we make choices by making no conscious choice at all.

To make choices, there are some important things we need to consider. We need to know our priorities and ourselves.

Choices do not come without a price. We don’t have to wait to have a catastrophic event to pay attention to making choices.

We can only make choices when we realise that we have them and we can only do that when we are ready to deal with reality.

Sometimes our first choice is not even on the list. We may not even like most of the choices available.

So, we too often tend to think we have no choice at all.

The fact remains we always have choices!

So, come election day, we need to check the direction of the wind, decide where we want to go and then set our sails to get there, as opposed to cursing the wind for not making it easy.

IPOH, Perak.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008

I REFER to “Why the confusion over first day of the week” (The Star, Jan 17).

According to Christian tradition Sunday is the first day of the week, and this is also a norm in the United States. But in most societies and countries in Europe, Monday is considered the first day of the week.

The International Organisation for Standards (ISO) has stated in the international standard ISO 8601 that Monday is recognised as the first day of the week.

Technically, the recognition of Monday as the first day of the week is the international standard.

MAT KAMIL AWANG,

Kuala Lumpur.

Source: The Star – January 18, 2008