Compiled by C. ARUNO and BENJAMIN LEE and R. ARAVINTHAN
TWO Chinese vernacular schools in Ayer Hitam, Kedah, had zero enrolment this year; one of them only has one pupil studying there, reported the China Press.
SJK(C) Chee Nan in Jerlun has had no new enrolments for the second consecutive year, according to school board chairman Du Wen Xin.
The school remains open only because of one Malay pupil currently in Year Three.
Once the pupil graduates, it is uncertain if the school will remain open, he added.
As for SJK(C) Lam Min in Kerpan, this was the first time in its history that they have had no new students.
However, board chairman Zhou Hua Min said the school still has 32 students – 26 Chinese, five Malays, and one Indian.
Zhou attributed the low enrolment to the younger generation having moved to cities for work, leaving behind only farmers and the elderly.
Three other Chinese vernacular schools in Kedah – SJK(C) Junun in Pendang, SJK(C) Yih Choon in Alor Setar and SJK(C) Min Nam in Langkawi – reported no new enrolment of Chinese pupils.
All new pupils in the schools were of other races.
> Residents and tourists in a small town in Pattaya, Thailand, experienced uncontrollable laughter after a cannabis cultivation building caught fire, releasing fumes into the air, reported China Press.
The fire occurred on Jan 13 in a four-storey building in Jomtien, a popular tourist destination known for its beach.
Firefighters extinguished the second-floor fire in 30 minutes.
Building caretaker Kanchana Fungsanthia, 40, told reporters that the owners have permission to grow cannabis and that the fire may have been caused by a short-circuited electrical panel.
However, what caught the Internet’s attention was the side effects the fire had on people in the area.
Residents and tourists reportedly broke out into fits of laughter, presumably from the effects of the cannabis fumes.
Several foreign tourists were filmed on video giggling uncontrollably and making thumbs-up gestures to the cameraman.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
