Compiled by FAZLEENA AZIZ AND C.ARUNO
A PRIMARY school in Johor Baru sparked a debate online after it was found that one of the China tour packages it sold to pupils costs RM4,888, reported Oriental Daily.
The holiday tour, which was meant for pupils graduating from Year Six, had an eight-day itinerary travelling across Henan, China. The cost was to cover flight tickets, travel insurance, transportation, accommodation, meals, entrance tickets and tour guides.
The tour was supposedly held to help pupils better understand Henan’s history and allow them to experience the culture.
When interviewed, one of the members of the school board explained that the school was not required to obtain approval from the board on organising school tours. As the case is currently a hotly-debated issue online, the board member said they will monitor the issue and request an explanation from the school.
It was earlier reported that there are three other schools in Johor which are currently organising expensive tours for its graduating pupils to Kunming, Chongqing and Chengdu respectively, all of which are in China.
Many parents complained that such exorbitant tours will only further highlight the differences in wealth status between pupils who could afford to go and those who could not. Instead, these parents urged the schools to consider holding local tours where pupils could learn more about Malaysia’s rich history.
Supporters of the tours, however, claimed the schools did not force pupils to take part and that there was no harm in organising them.
> Hong Kong singer Andy Hui received a warm welcome when he returned to perform in Malaysia recently after eight years, reported Sin Chew Daily.The 56-year-old, who made a successful comeback to music following a scandalous affair, held his 2024 Human Live concert at Genting, Pahang on Saturday.
Despite his blemished past, fans in Malaysia were excited to see him and give him a warm welcome. The audience even sang along when he performed You Are The Only One Who Is Irreplaceable, a tune made famous by his wife, Sammi Cheng.
When fans lit and waved their mobile phones to the rhythm of the song, Hui was overcome with emotion and seen tearing up.
“Thank you to all of you. I will forever remember this moment,” he said.
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.
