Headmasters' Abuse of Power

Mr Ong Koh Hou sent two boxes of evidence, gathered from, among others, school committees, parent- teachers associations and parents, were handed to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) back in May this year. It appears that to date, nothing at all has been done by the ACA to tackle the above issue. Either they view the issue of siphoning millions of ringgit in funds a trivial issue, or that they like the Minister of Education, view it as “not my problem” or that they are just plain inefficient.

Obviously, for someone who has put in so much effort, Mr Ong is a frustrated man. Today, he has launched another campaign to seek redress in the above issues raised since early this year. The following is his press release in full, which was advertised in Malaysiakini:

Setiap hari para pelajar Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) di seluruh Malaysia mengangkat beg sekolah yang sangat berat dan membuat kerja rumah yang banyak kerana mereka telah diwajibkan untuk membeli pelbagai jenis buku latihan termasuk untuk mata pelajaran bukan teras. Di samping itu mereka juga telah diwajibkan untuk menyertai kelas komputer berbayar yang diaturkan sebagai mata pelajaran tetap. Masalah ini timbul akibat segelintir Guru Besar (SJKC) yang secara terang-terangan telah melanggar peraturan Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia dalam menguruskan hal-hal yang dinyatakan di atas.

Sebagai ibubapa, kami telah tertipu oleh tingkah laku para Guru Besar SJKC yang telah menyalahgunakan hak mereka untuk menguat untung melalui kegiatan yang tidak sah. Memandangkan tahun persekolahan 2006 akan berakhir tidak lama lagi dan tahun persekolahan 2007 akan bermula, Persatuan Ibubapa SJKC Malaysia (PIBM) menyeru ibubapa yang terlibat di seluruh Malaysia untuk bermula mengambil perhatian dan tindakan agar kita semua dapat mengawal, mengambil berat tentang pendidikan anak-anak kita dan membantu dalam pelaksanaan “Sistem Pengawalan SJKC” secara giat di seluruh negara. Persatuan juga mencadangkan agar Ahli Lembaga Pengarah membentuk "Bahagian Pengurusan Koperasi" yang akan bertanggungjawab untuk berurusan dengan pihak pengedar berkenaan semua pembelian untuk pihak sekolah.

Usaha ini akan mampu menghalang para Guru Besar yang terlibat daripada terus menerima rasuah dan menyalahgunakan hak mereka. Ianya juga akan meringankan beban ibubapa serta pelajar dan seterusnya mampu mencapai taraf pendidikan yang berkualiti.

Sekiranya anda mengetahui sebarang kes tentang sekolah yang telah melanggar peraturan pihak Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, kami menggalakkan anda untuk membuat aduan ke Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia di seluruh negeri!

According to information which Mr Ong has received, the Ministry of Education has issued 7 circulars within a period of 10 years directing Headmasters not to use workbooks for all but the core subjects. It was also emphasized that these books are meant to be additional guidebooks only. In addition, according to the rules set by the Ministry, computer classes can only be held outside of formal school hours and are optional in nature.

He also stressed that parents have the right to insist on official receipts from schools for the purposes of claiming tax rebates and exemptions when purchasing textbooks, workbooks, guidebooks and other forms of reading materials.

Mr Ong has made ready for those of you who are parents of children studying in schools which have clearly breached the regulations set by the ministry. You can check out the main Persatuan Ibubapa SRJK(C) Malaysia Chinese website, or download the letters from the links below.

• Aduan Mengenai Buku Latihan Yang Membebankan
  (Complaint on Excessive Workbooks / 投诉作业簿太多 )
  
• Aduan Mengenai Kelas Komputer Yang Dikendalikan Dalam Waktu Belajar Rasmi
  (Complaint on Computer Classes Held During Official Schooling Hours / 投诉电脑班列入正课)
  
• Aduan Mengenai Buku Latihan Yang Membebankan Dan Kelas Komputer Yang Dikendalikan Dalam Waktu Belajar Rasmi
  (Complaint on Excessive Workbooks and Computer Classes Held During Official Schooling Hours / 投诉作业簿太多和电脑班列入正课)
• Aduan Mengenai Tiada Resit Rasmi Bagi Pembelian Buku
  (Complaint on Missing Receipts for Book Purchases / 投诉校方没有发出购书之正式收据)
  

Let's hope that ACA will soon take the necessary actions or at least provide the necessary updates on the reports which have been submitted by and through the thankless effort from Mr Ong Koh Hou.