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I refer to Zainul Arifin’s commentary. ” Making national schools first choice”( NST, Sept9). Why are national schools out popular with non-Malays, especially the Chinese?

The fact is that the majority ( I believe more than 90 per cent) of Chinese send their children to Chinese schools.

Let’s go back a bit. When English-medium schools were abolished, the shift started from the national schools ( which were previously English-medium school) to Chinese schools.

Premier schools like Pykett Methodist School. which used to have six classes of each standard per year, now only has one class per standard.

Other premier schools in Penang like Wellesley Primary School and Hutchin Primary School, which are feeder schools to the famous Penang Free School, suffered the same fate.

This resulted in Chinese primary schools getting more than their normal enrolment, but the fact is that not all Chinese schools face the same situation. Some urban Chinese schools also face dwindling enrolment to be relocated outside the city.

Quality is the reason some Chinese schools are more popular than other Chinese schools. The same applies to national schools.

The ideal solution would have been just one education system but we know that, politically, it is not possible. With the teaching of Science and Maths in English, national schools would have gradually become more popular.

Sadly, the decision to abolish the policy takes us back to square one.

Zainul also asked if national schools were becoming too Malay or Islamic.

Most parents have that perception because the majority of students in the-se schools are Malays.

Lee Cheng Poh

Penang

( News Straits Times)

Malaysians do not want low- paying jobs with long hours and no days off, but we are not happy to pay more than RM500 for an Indonesian maid, who is forced to work beyond what is fair and humane.

Many employers see nothing wrong in forcing maids to work from 5 am to 11 pm daily, and even get them to do cleaning for the relatives, as Gursharan Singh of Kuala Lumpur points out.

I know of  an employer asking the maid to cook for mistress’s family and take care of eight dogs as well.

On a visit to the National Stroke Rehabilitation Organisation, we  were told that many Indonesian workers, who are caregivers to stroke victims, often have to double up as maids, working long hours doing housework while looking after the disable people.

Malaysians have to stop thinking that quality of life and the right to live your life with some dignity is restricted to those who can pay for it.

They must learn to treat others as human beings with a right to respect and basic comforts, too. We must be grateful that we can pay others to do our dirty jobs, but we shouldn’t treat them like dirt.

Tan Yeng Siang

Petaling Jaya

( News Straits Times)

I am glad to read ” Same security features in RM 100 passport” ( NST , Sept 14)

I think the government for the issue of this RM 100 international passport. It is logical and thoughtful act on its part and will assist the ‘rakyat’ who do not travel much.

Bulbir Singh

Seremban

New Straits Times

We thank T.S. of Petaling Jaya for his letter regarding Employees Provident Fund ( EPF) contributions for employees over 55years of age ( ” Flaw that hits any worker older than 55″—NST, Sept

Prior to Feb 1, 2008, it was not mandatory for EPF contributions to be made on behalf of employees above the age of 55 if they had fully withdrawn their EPF savings.

However, effective that date, the EPF had made it mandatory for employers to pay EPF contributions on behalf of all employees who are above 55 and below 75.

With the introduction of this ruling, employees above the age of 55 will now receive a mandatory six per cent EPF contribution from their employers and they will contribute 5.5 per cent. Both parties can opt to contribute more than these statutory rates, or increase them to the pre-55 contribution rates.

We would also like to point out that the EPF cates for private-sector employees whose retirement age is still fixed at 55.

As the nation’s premier retirement fund, EPF ‘ primary concern has always been the adequacy of savings for our members when they retire.

All changes introduced are intended to provide a higher level of savings for our members.

Nik Affendi Jaafer
for Employees Provident Fund

–New Strait Times

A relative of mine was the victim of a car theft in Gasing Heights, Petaling Jaya, recently.
Among the valuables which she lost was her handbag containing money, MyKad, driving licence and a credit card.
Within an hour of her reporting the loss to the police and bank, the bank informed her that the thief had already used her credit card to buy petrol from a station in Bangsar.
When I mentioned this incident to a friend of mine, he told me that he has a credit card issued by a bank in Britain which has a safety feature, unlike our local credit cards.
Each time my friend presents his credit card for any transaction, at any place, a message appears on the machine requiring him to enter his personal identification number ( PIN).
My friend can even block people from viewing his PIN, including the personel at the establishment concerned.
I think our local banks should emulate this procedure for the protection of their card holdes.
After all, when such incidents happen, and even after reporting the matter to the bank, the liability of the customer is limited. So. our banks will also stand to gain if they choose to adopt this safety mode for their credit-card holders.

James Gonzales
New Strait Time KL

It’s a relief that the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah is over. However, it is sad to see the pupils who had hoped to get 5As losing their confidence because of the Bahasa Malaysai Pemahaman paper.

The language used was of a high standard which they had difficulty understanding.

If the BM teachers had to resort to dictionaries( Kamus Dewan) to confirm the anwsers, how does one expect 12-years -old to answer the questions?

The pupils who had been working hard for the past six years came out of the exam half feeling dejected.

We, as parents and teachers, hope the Education Ministry will in future set questions better more suited to Year Six standards. Let’s hope all works out well for the children who deserve their 5As.

T.K.

Seremban  (New Straits Times)

It’s that time of the year again in schools–year- end exams.
Year in and year out, the same problem arises out of scheduling exams
in the middle of a major festival.
Every year, Deepavali gets caught in the middle of exams and Hindu students
become the innocent ” victims” of  in-sensitive school heads.
Deepavali fails on Oct17 this year. School heads must be sensitive to students’
welfare and needs, specially in multiracial schools. This must be one of the essential
qualities of a school head.
As a teacher, I had raised this issue previously in the press. unfortunately,
nothing was done about it.
Another issue that I would like to highlight is the long break for schools
during Hari Raya and Chinese New Year.
Deepavali doesn’t seem to make the list as far as the Education Ministry is concerned.
Don’t the relevant authorities brother to think that Hindu students( as well as their parents),
teacher and their families also need to travel long distances to their hometown to
celebrate the festival with their loved ones onces a year?
Why is it due consideration is only given to one or two major festivals? What irks
me the most is that sespite the long breack, the Education director- general is urging
schools to take Sept 18as” Cuti peristiwa”. But sadly , he hasn’t issued any statements
regarding Deepavali.
I sincerely hope that the education minister and the director-general will give due
consideration to this matter.

–B.K. Ipoh ( News Straits times)

It’s ironic but true. The festive season is a time to be joyful but for some it becomes a time to be remorseful. Yes, because of road accidents.

The traffiic police, the Road Transport Department and the Road Safety Department are again on high alert.

There are campaigns to educate, pamphlets and brochures to inform, and fines and jail terms to deter. but the carnage goes on season after season, year after year.

We blame it on road conditions. We blame it on the elements. We blame it on the lack of enforcement. We blame everything else but ourselves.

Perhaps for once we should  blame ourselves, the ones behind the wheel.

We should blame our own recklessness(speeding, overtaking hazardously, tailgating, beating red lights and queue- jumping), our careless ( not using signals correctly, reversing unthinkingly, and making illegal U-turns), and our complacency ( indiscriminate parking, talking on the phone and texting while driving, allowing underage children to drive, not wearing safety helmets, not buckling up, and drinking and driving).

The authorities have their hands full and can only do so much. maybe the slogan for road safety campaigns ought to be ” Keep a hold on yourself and you keep a hold on your vehicle”.

Our safety is our hands, You and I can make our road safe.