IN Oct 2010, indigenous rights activist Nicholas Mujah was arrested and remanded for three days with seven others from his village for an alleged fire in a logging camp. The Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia) secretary-general has been fighting for the rights of Sarawak indigenous peoples to their native customary land since around 1980 and […]
school
Starting school at age five: Should we?
By Deborah Loh
PETALING JAYA, 2 July 2010: If the government wants children to start school at five instead of six, it must first review the existing curriculum for pre-school and Standard One, experts said. “There ought to be some reviewing of the curriculum so that there’s less emphasis on academic performance at such an early stage,” said […]
Nasihat tentang PMR
Oleh Shanon Shah
NAMPAKNYA cadangan untuk memansuhkan Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah dan Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) menimbulkan debat yang hangat. Lihatlah saja surat dari seorang pembaca kepada Kak Nora yang baru saya temui: Assalamualaikum Kak Nora, Saya tengah stress yang tidak terhingga, Kak Nora. Umur tak sampai 15 tahun pun sudah ada uban, nasib baiklah muka saya lebih […]
Celebrating children’s rights
Compiled by Ding Jo-Ann
ALTHOUGH Malaysia’s education indicators such as literacy rates and school enrolment ratios are comparable to industrialised countries, there are still pockets of children who do not have proper access to education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) says the children at greatest risk in Malaysia are non-Malaysian children born in Malaysia. These include refugee children […]
Not just Chinese culture vs unity
By Deborah LohAre vernacular schools standing in the way of national unity? (© Sigurd Decroos / sxc.hu) AGAIN, the issue of abolishing vernacular schools in favour of a single stream system has been raised. As before, the argument is that this will inculcate national unity. Single stream advocates say the only way the different races can learn […]
1 pupil dead, 2 missing after bridge collapses
KAMPAR, 27 Oct 2009: A pupil drowned and two others are missing after a newly-built suspension bridge collapsed into the Kampar River as pupils, participating in a 1Malaysia camp, were walking across the bridge near here last night. Nineteen other pupils, feared missing at first, have been accounted for and are safe, police said. The […]
Taxi and school bus fares to go up in Aug
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 July 2009:The fares for express and stage buses, mini buses, school buses, taxis and hired cars will go up nationwide on 1 Aug. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz announced today the fares for express and stage buses and taxis would increase by between two sen […]
“Schools should check students’ temperature”
PETALING JAYA, 23 June 2009: School staff should check the temperatures of students every day before class to help prevent the spread of Influenza A(H1N1), said Gerakan’s public health and social development central bureau head Datuk Dr Ng Keong Chye. Checking temperatures daily would allow school staff to identify sick children and send them to […]
Knotted up over scholarships
By Gan Pei Ling“One of the most common questions is why some who scored, say 14As, were given the scholarships but some who got 19As, were not. The view is that the ministry should streamline the number of subjects…Why should you take up to 20 subjects?” Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when he […]
Tackling the Chinese vote
By Deborah LohFui K Soong THERE is consensus among political analysts that one year on after the 2008 general election, Chinese Malaysians by and large remain “entrenched” in their support for the opposition. Despite problems within Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and conflicting stands on issues like hudud law among its parties, some analysts think that the trenches of […]
