The tears should have been of joy, not grief

KUALA LUMPUR: Two teachers from SJK(C) Mun Choong had led their students to a national-level scrapbook competition victory – but sadly, they will not be able to attend the award ceremony in January.

Lai Lee Koon and Liu Pei Si, both 44, were among those who died in the Batang Kali landslide early last Friday.

“A recent email from Sin Chew Daily, the organiser, said the four pupils had won the scrapbook competition. Lai and Liu had guided the pupils.

“The email came on Dec 15, a day before the tragedy,” said former school head Tien Chee Ling, 58 who recently retired.

Tien said that the team put great effort into perfecting their scrapbooks and filled it with interesting content.

“Lai and Liu spent a lot of their time to guide the students. The students were encouraged by their support and even used much of their own time after school hours to put together their products.

“I feel happy but also heartbroken at the same time when I knew they won because the teachers would never get to share this success with the kids,” she said, adding that great teachers truly made great students.