Corpun file 18880

Borneo Post, Kuching, 31 January 2007

Form taskforce to check violence in schools: Lam Thye

(extracts)

KUCHING: Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) suggests that a committee or taskforce be set up to address the issue of violence in schools throughout the country.

Its vice chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the committee or taskforce to be formed in every school should also be tasked to formulate preventive measures.

Lee said MCPF viewed the tragic death of SM Teknik Bintulu Form 4 student Matteus Merring as a very serious matter. It was important for society to impress upon students that violence was not a Malaysian culture, Lee told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Lee urged the people to avoid using violence as a solution to their problems because "violence only breeds violence".

"Violence should not be a way to solve disputes in a country like Malaysia, a country which foreigners perceive as a caring and peaceful nation," he said.

He said schools must re-enforce discipline among students, and use the rotan whenever necessary.

Lee however was also quick to point out that enforcing discipline and canning [sic] in schools were just two of the preventive measures. It is also timely that a "high powered" special task force made up of the police, education authority, parent-teacher associations and other concerned parties be formed to address this pertinent issue, he said.

[...]

Former SM Teknik Bintulu student Orville E. Drem said he was shocked to hear of the tragedy. The tragic incident was just an isolated case, and thus did not reflect the school's true reputation, he said.

Orville, who is a technical assistant with an Engineering consultant firm here, said the school emphasized on discipline. He observed that during his school days (1992 to 1993) students were well behaved despite the school having a few truancy cases.

Nevertheless SM Teknik Bintulu has produced good students, he said, adding that teachers and parents should communicate more often to impress upon students that they were being scrutinised from time to time.

Orville said students and teachers in his school days valued friendship, and he was still keeping in touch with some of the teachers.

He also welcomed the use of the rotan or canning [sic] as a preventive measure to prevent violence in schools, as well as a penalty for truancy.