Compiled by BENJAMIN LEE, C.ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
AN orphaned otter became friends with local residents in Temerloh, Pahang, after it was rescued from a riverbank, reported Sin Chew Daily.
According to Mohd Fadli Ahmad, 37, he came across an otter pup while fishing by Sungai Pahang.
“I was casting my net when I noticed the otter by itself and suspected it had been separated from its mother. Seeing it all alone, I took it home to care for it temporarily.”
Mohd Fadli feeds the pup ikan patin and tilapia and allows it to roam freely between the river and a makeshift enclosure he built.
Nicknamed “Boboi”, the otter pup grew and became well-loved by local residents, often swimming and playing with them.
“Because it has been cared for since young, Boboi has a gentle temperament, doesn’t bite and is already accustomed to the presence of people.”
> Independent Chinese schools in Perak saw a sharp drop in student enrolment this year, with only four schools reportedly seeing an intake of more than 100 new students, reported China Press.
The daily contacted all nine schools in the state and was told that the current numbers were not final and the schools are still actively recruiting.
Of the nine schools, only Poi Lam High School (200 students), Yuk Choy High School (123 students), San Min Secondary School (119 students) and Hua Lian High schools (100 students) had 100 new students or more.
A principal who was interviewed said the fall in student intake was not unique to Perak as schools in Johor are reportedly facing similar challenges.
Of those being interviewed, they pointed out the migration of the Chinese to bigger cities and declining birth rates as being the reason for the sharp drop in intake.
Some added that many parents now chose to send their kids to national schools rather than independent Chinese schools due to financial constraints.
(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.)
