Sunday March 10, 2013

‘SPM 10-subject limit stays’

GEORGE TOWN: The 10-subject limit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) students stays, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Government’s objective is for students to focus on the main subjects as well as to make it easier for teachers to guide them, he said, adding that previously, students had the liberty to take 15 to 20 subjects but this was disallowed two years ago.

“So far, we see that this (taking only 10 subjects) is okay,” Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said at a forum for 2,300 Islamic religious teachers from the northern region at Universiti Sains Malaysia here yesterday.

He was responding to a suggestion from the floor for the Government to allow SPM students, particularly those taking Islamic studies, to choose more than 10 subjects so that they could also take up science subjects for better education prospects.

Muhyiddin acknowledged the constraints faced by such students and indicated the matter would be considered.

“What we are worried about is that the students might feel burdened. But we will study the issue in detail,” he said.

Meanwhile, during Muhyiddin’s visit to Teluk Kumbar on the south-western side of the island, fisherman Cheah Loon Seong was flushed with joy after being told that he would have a new house to replace his dilapidated home in Kampung Bagan.

Muhyiddin made the commitment that Cheah and his family would get their new RM40,000 home within a few months, by signing a plaque for the house during his visit to the village yesterday.

Seawater washed into Cheah’s house during a recent high tide, damaging the wooden structure and the roof.

“I cannot wait to move into my new home. I am so thankful to our Deputy Prime Minister for helping me,” he said, beaming with joy.

Cheah, who earns RM500 a month, is temporarily seeking shelter at a relative’s house nearby, together with his wife and two daughters, aged 12 and eight.

Muhyiddin also presented an undisclosed amount in monetary aid to the family.

The Deputy Prime Minister also marked his visit to Teluk Kumbar by laying the foundation for a new RM5mil mosque on a five-acre plot of endowment land there.

Mosque committee chairman Datuk Prof Muhammad Idiris Salleh said that the villagers had requested for the mosque two years ago.

Earlier, Muhyiddin had breakfast and held a dialogue with community leaders and members of the Penang Airport Limousine Association at Kampung Nelayan.

He announced a RM500,000 allocation to repair a broken jetty in the village.

News

Sunday March 10, 2013

‘SPM 10-subject limit stays’