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by Ng Kee Seng
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-
Corruption Commission (MACC) sup-
ports calls for the setting up of a Royal
Commission of Inquiry into the death
of political aide Teoh Beng Hock, 30.
The decision to do so was taken at
a two-hour meeting yesterday chaired
by Deputy Commissioner Datuk Abu
Kassim Mohamed with the MACC’s
advisory panel members.
Sources said other recommenda-
Eager for a share ...
Permodalan Nasional Bhd headquarters in Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala
Lumpur, yesterday morning as investors rushed to purchase
Amanah Saham Malaysia units. PNB is offering 1.6 billion units,
including those initially set aside for bumiputras, until July 27.
Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
» Bogus UK colleges linked to illegals pg6
pg17
MACC supports royal inquiry
tions by the panel include the MACC:
» going for transparency where
possible;
» giving swift response and answers
to the people’s allegations that MACC
is practising selective prosecution;
and
» holding weekly media briefings to
clarify issues arising, not only in the
case of Teoh’s death.
The source said Abu Kassim
responded positively to the advisory
panel’s recommendations aimed at
rebuilding public confidence in the
long lines formed at the
TELLING IT AS IT IS
» Standard 5 class ordered closed pg4
MACC (more reports page 3).
“The recommendations are
structured to enhance transparency,
thereby reducing suspicions that may
be harboured by the public. It will also
display MACC’s willingness to project
a more people-friendly commission,
enhancing relations with the public in
the fight against corruption,” said the
source.
The MACC’s image took a dive on
Thursday after Teoh’s body was found
sprawled on a level five balcony of
Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, where the
English from
pre-school
UTRAJAYA: Pre-schools
P
will be absorbed into the
national education system to
strengthen command of the
English language at an early stage,
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday.
He said trained English lan-
guage teachers would be posted
to kindergartens to help improve
its teaching and learning.
Muhyiddin, who is also
education minister, said the
government had agreed in prin-
ciple to implement the policy but
had not yet set a time frame.
He said the move would be
implemented to correspond with
a proposal to make English a
compulsory pass subject in the
Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM)
examination.
“If we can set aside a suit-
able period for the subject, and
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Award winning newspaper
for excellence in
investigative reporting
No. 4807 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)
Wednesday
July 22, 2009
www.sun2surf.com
Selangor MACC office is located on the
14th floor.
Teoh, the political secretary of Seri
Kembangan assemblyman and state
executive councillor Ean-Yong Hian
Wah, was taken in by MACC officers
as a witness on Wednesday and ques-
tioned for about 11 hours. His body
was found at 1.30pm the next day.
MACC director of investigations
Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul had said Teoh
was questioned as a witness in a probe
on alleged misuse of funds by state
executive councillors in Selangor.
let trained teachers handle the
class, in three years these pre-
schoolers will be able grasp basic
English,” he said at a gathering of
educators at the Putrajaya Inter-
national Convention Centre.
As such, Muhyiddin said, pre-
schoolers need not wait until they
are in primary school to be able
to do so.
“If the six-year period (in pri-
mary school) is not enough, they
have five more years to learn the
language (in secondary school).
So it is unlikely that they will fail
English language at SPM.”
He said the government was
aware of the concerns of certain
quarters over the proposal to
make English a compulsory
pass subject as many students,
especially in rural areas, voicing
the possibility of their inability to
achieve a pass mark.
News without
borders
Police investigations have to date
indicated that Teoh fell from a window
on the 14th floor office but are still
trying to determine the events or
causes leading to the fall.
The weekly cabinet meeting today
is expected to discuss the case and
decide whether to heed calls for a
Royal Commission of inquiry into the
tragedy.
» theSun says:
Only royal commission can
clear the air – page 11
Citing the example of last
year’s SPM examination results,
Muhyiddin said that only 26.9% of
rural students managed to register
a pass in the subject.
The government, however,
will not take the “levelling down”
approach in implementing the
proposal, he said.
“We should instead be brave
enough to adopt the ‘levelling up’
approach by striving to improve
student performance.
“In the context of the English
language, the suggestion to make
it a must pass subject is a levelling
up approach to improve students’
command of it so they become
competitive.”
Muhyiddin said the proposal
could be implemented soon, but
efforts to enhance English lan-
guage proficiency among students
should start now. – Bernama