Compiled by DIVYA THERESA RAVI, C. ARUNO and R. ARVINTHAN
A CONTRACT teacher at a local school was dismayed to find out that her salary dropped by almost 20% after being absorbed as a permanent teaching staff member in 2023, Sin Chew Daily reported.
The teacher, who had three years of teaching experience under contract, said some 2,000 others absorbed into the system also faced the same plight.
Known only by her surname Zhang, she joined as a DG41 grade contract teacher in 2020 and her last drawn salary under contract in 2023 was RM2,963.
However, when she was made permanent, her salary fell to RM2,391.94.
“Our number of years of service before as contract teachers were not recognised,” she lamented.
Zhang applied for her latest salary to reflect that of her last drawn pay as a contract teacher but this was rejected.
She said teachers who served for eight years would usually get promoted but her first three years as a contract teacher was not considered, adding that it was unfair to start all over despite having prior experience.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the ministry would discuss the matter with the Human Resource Management Division.
> The daily also reported that a woman in Singapore lodged a police report after a fortune teller who claimed to be from Malaysia disappeared after taking S$30,000 (RM99,156) from her.
Chen, 29, an administrative worker, found the fortune teller online in February. She first paid S$120 (RM396) for her fortune to be read based on her lunar birth date.
The following month, the fortune teller claimed that his assistant bought a lottery ticket based on four hidden numbers in her birthdate which won a RM900,000 prize.
Chen was asked to allow the fortune teller to perform a ritual for her good fortune.
As part of the cost, Chen was asked to pay for the fortune teller’s travel to Chiangmai, Thailand, and for candles, effigies and a new bronze urn.
Chen was also told that her house was filled with negative energy and the fortune teller will purify the place for a fee.
In total, Chen transferred around S$30,000 to the man.
“I suspected something amiss but he promised that I will receive a large sum of money,” she was quoted as saying.
When the fortune teller stopped responding to her messages from April 15, Chen knew she had been scammed and lodged a police report.
The above article is 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 this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
