The Heritage Trust of Malaysia or Badan Warisan Malaysia do much more than just promote conservation of historic architecture and culture.

Tucked in the corner of Jalan Stonor and Jalan Conlay in Kuala Lumpur lies the office of Heritage Trust of Malaysia or popularly known as Badan Warisan Malaysia.

This non-governmental organisation, suitably located in a colonial house, was set up in 1983 to promote the preservation of Malaysia’s built heritage.

Their motto, “Giving our past a future” aptly explains the work that the organisation is involved in across the country.

Within the grounds of Badan Warisan’s office itself is the Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman or House for Village Head Abu Seman, a traditional Malay house that was relocated from Kedah and restored in its present site.

The meticulously restored 120-year-old Rumah Kutai thanks to the efforts of Badan Warisan.

This house was built between the 1910s and 1930s and was left vacant in the 1980s. Badan Warisan had acquired the house in 1996 for restoration works.

A Heritage Garden is also situated near the Badan Warisan office, which showcases kitchen herbs and plants that are indigenous to the country or have been beneficial to Malaysia’s economy.

Another example of Badan Warisan’s work is located in Malacca’s Heeren Street, which is a late 18th century two-storey shophouse, No. 8, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. This project now functions as a Heritage and Interpretative Centre.

Before restoration: The Dutch era shophouse built in the 1700s located at No.8 Heeren Street (Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock), Malacca.

Members of Badan Warisan have been working on a variety of projects across the country, such as the Gedung Raja Abdullah or Raja Abdullah Warehouse in Klang, Terengganu’s Istana Tengku Long, the Rumah Bomoh and Rumah Kutai in Perak and Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Central Market. Even the Badan Warisan office is a work of restoration, as the organisation adapted the 1925 building to reflect their commitment to conservation.

The office also functions as a seminar, exhibition and meeting centre, as well as a resource centre for heritage enthusiasts or those keen on learning about the historical architecture of the country. Tours are also available for visitors.

Reproduced from the Badan Warisan official website, here are the organisation’s objectives:

• to CREATE AWARENESS and PUBLIC SUPPORT for conservation so as to ensure the survival of our built heritage
• to INFLUENCE POLICY so as to create a conservation-friendly environment
• to PROMOTE EDUCATION so as to develop an understanding of our built heritage as an expression of our history and identity
• to be a TECHNICAL RESOURCE as the national knowledge-base for conservation skills
• to BUILD a strong, involved and committed MEMBERSHIP
• to achieve and sustain FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

Map: Badan Warisan

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A Malaccan gem

Off limits to the public, the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve is used as an outdoor lab for UPM’s forestry students to carry out various research.

The Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Puchong is rich in biodiversity and serves as an outdoor research lab for undergraduates specialising in forest research.

allMalaysia.info recently met Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Forestry Faculty dean Datin Dr Faridah Hanum Ibrahim and several faculty members to find out more about the research facilities housed in the Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre (Sisfec) located within the forest.

Community activity: A UPM forestry staff member explaining about herbal plants to students during an educational visit to the Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve.

The forest became a topic of debate recently when some hikers were denied entry by security guards stationed at the entrance at Taman Wawasan 5/1.

They have now asked for permission to continue hiking in the forest.

The 1,176ha forest is under the jurisdiction of the Selangor Forestry Department and the Selangor government granted a 80-year lease to UPM in 1996 for education, research and extension in forestry.

Having been gazetted as a education and research forest, the forest is actually off-limits to the public and access is granted upon permission by the UPM Forestry Faculty.

The faculty offers three undergraduate programmes (Bachelor of Wood Science and Technology; Bachelor of Forestry Science; and Bachelor of Parks and Recreation Sciences) and graduate courses like Master of Tropical Forest Resource Management and Master of Wood Industries Technology.

UPM deputy dean Dr Mohd Zaki Hamzah said they had more than 600 students, including 239 post-graduate students.

“We have more than 50 courses running each semester and the forest serves as an outdoor research laboratory for our students,” said Dr Mohd Zaki.

The research centre is accessible through the eastern border in Taman Saujana Puchong and includes a main administration centre, a lecture hall, laboratories, dormitories, camp site, nursery, obstacle course circuit and a paintball field.

Dr Faridah. said the dormitories were completed in 2009 while the academic buildings were completed last year.

“We have been conducting research in the forest, sometimes with international researchers, long before these facilities were built,” she said.

The chalets can accommodate up to 60 students doing field work in the forest.

“The obstacle course and paintball field are meant for our recreational and leadership training.

“The paintball field is built on an open area is not meant for public use,” she said.

Wildlife ecology lecturer Dr Puan Chong Leong said some of his undergraduate students who were studying the birds and wildlife would set up camp in the forest, staying between one and two months while the post-graduates could be staying there for up to a year.

Spotted: This bright-coloured Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is one of the 200 species recorded in the forest reserve.

“There are more than 200 species of birds recorded in the forest and most are protected species.

“About 35 of them are threatened species. There are also more than 30 species of migratory birds every year,” said Dr Puan.

Dr Faridah said the university followed a Forest Management Plan that was approved by the state government and Forestry Department,

“We have had two plans so far. The first one was from 1996 to 2006 while the second will bring us through 2015.

“There are 8.1ha zoned for development and we have so far used about 2ha,” she said.

Forest and plantation section head Dr Paiman Bawon stressed that the plan was put in place to ensure that the management of the forest was carried out systematically.

Besides the development zone, the other three zones were controlled disturbance, no-disturbance, and a demonstration forest and outdoor recreation zone.

Part of the trail used by hikers goes through the no-disturbance zone.

Senior lecturer and researcher Dr Manohar Mariapan said the effects of having too many people in the forest was cumulative and could only be seen over time.

New facility: The lecture hall in the UPM Sultan Idris Shah Forestry Education Centre is used by students.

“The research that we are doing here is for the longevity of the forest. Having external disturbances would affect our study,” he said.

Associate Professor Dr Lai Food See said people sometimes had the misconception that if they went in for just a few hours, it would not affect the health of the forest.

“Over years, it can have a degenerative effect on the forest.

“Only certain areas are designated for our activities,” said Dr Lai.

Dr Manohar said garbage and food bits left behind attracted rodents and increased the risk of the diseases like leptospirosis because there was a river running through the forest.

“Leptospirosis is caused by rat urine and because the river flows past the housing area, it could affect residents,” he said.

Selangor Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) chairman Henry Goh said the public’s request to use the forest was a fair one but they must also ensure that their activities would not affect the research reserve.

“The Selangor Forestry Department and UPM have plans to develop part of the main forest into a community park,” he said.

From an environmental standpoint, Goh said some of the effects of having an unrestricted and uncontrolled number of people entering the forest were trail degradation, soil erosion and pollution.

“Although there are genuine nature lovers, there are bound to be a few who will cut trees, poach animals, and pollute sites and streams.

“There must be some mechanism put in place to ensure that this does not happen.” he said.

He suggested that the hikers formally register an association and be responsible for the actions of their members.

Living outdoors: Students can sometimes spend up to a year in the forest to do research on wildlife and would set up tents in the area.

“The access and activities of the hikers should be limited to the approved trails. The trail users can also help to repair and improve the trails.

“MNS is ready to provide advice and assistance on the proper approach towards conservation and protection of our environment for stakeholders and the public,” said Goh.

UPM professors and lecturers suggested that the trail could go around the forest instead of through it.

State Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said they hoped to settle the issue by the end of this month.

“We want to make it a recreational trail for people to enjoy without disturbing the forest.

“We have gone through the route taken by the hikers through the entrance at Taman Wawasan and we have had discussions with the Forestry Department.

“We want more people to be involved, including the orang asli,” she said.

Wong said the Ayer Hitam forest had been gazetted as a permanent reserve for education and research, including the 22ha site that was originally earmarked for a cemetery.

“We are hoping to work out a route around the fringes of the forest to minimise disturbances.

“The forest is a regional centre for research and we advise people to stick to the route once we have determined it,” she said. – By TAN KARR WEI, Photos courtesy of UPM

Map: Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve

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Sanctuaries sacrificed

Sanctuary in jeopardy

Save our forests

A one-stop community learning centre in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, reaches into the hearts and homes of the poor to inspire change and tranform lives.

We are walking through the various blocks of the Harvest Centre school for underprivileged children in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur, a centre staff and I. And whenever we meet the preschool children, we are greeted with a loud, cheerful “Good morning!”. The children are polite and well-behaved, and one even grabs the staff member’s hand and kisses it, much to her surprise.

Officially established in 2003 (although work began as far back as 1999), this teaching facility is separated into a few blocks in between offices, eateries and auto workshops. It provides classes from Montessori preschool to secondary level.

Harvest Centre is driven by a vision that goes beyond academics: to raise poor students out of the slums and shape them into agents of transformation.

On this particular morning, I am given a tour of the school. It is a big facility, with about 700 students and a staff of 60, including teachers and administrative personnel.

Whenever we walk into a secondary classroom, the students stand up immediately to greet us. It is a bright morning, and sunlight streams through the large windows and illuminates the spacious classrooms. There is a reason for this large space. Elisha Satvinder and his wife, Petrina, who founded Harvest Centre, tell me it has a therapeutic effect on the students. Many of them come from poor homes that often pack in four families in a single shelter.

Along the way, we meet two former students of the school. Jerome Tual Mun Khai, 17, and Theepika Nagalingam, 18, are assisting with the mathematics and science classes respectively.

Eager learners: The Harvest Centre for underprivileged children includes a playschool which offers Montessori education.

“When I first came to the school, I couldn’t speak English well,” Jerome tells me. “I’ve improved a lot.”

“The teachers were very friendly and they helped us so much,” says Theepika. “My communication skills have improved.”

Elisha jokes: “I wanted them to be haunted by how they used to trouble us in class!”

On a serious note, both Jerome and Theepika epitomise what Elisha and Petrina have been working towards for more than a decade. Their vision: to provide education for the poor and lift them out of poverty, and create a ripple effect which sees successful students who pay it forward.

After our rounds, it is almost lunchtime and the preschool children all sit quietly for their meal. A little boy curiously follows our photographer and peers into his camera, but quickly settles down for lunch when told to do so.

Elisha proudly stresses that even poor children get a chance to have a Montessori-based education which normally does not come cheap in private kindergartens.

Secondary school students at the centre working on decorations for their classroom after classes are over. The students are kept busy with projects and activities after school.

We enter the school cafe which is equipped with comfortable chairs and sofas, and a few dining tables. Rows of bookshelves line one side of the wall. A computer beckons from one corner, while an acoustic guitar nearby proves to be an irresistible draw among the students.

Rewarding experience

Children will be children, and there is no difference between the rich and the poor. So never discriminate, says former ambassador Datuk Lily Zachariah, who is on the board of governors of Dignity for Children Foundation. (In 2010, all Harvest Centre education projects came under Dignity for Children Foundation, of which Elisha is now chairman.)

Zachariah dedicates her free time to teaching English Literature to the secondary students, twice a week.

“I find it very rewarding,” says Zachariah. “I like teaching children, and it’s wonderful to see them improving and doing well. These are underprivileged children, those with not much hope in their lives. Some of them are children of refugees, so they are basically stateless. It makes a big difference when you can help to shape their lives.”

Harvest Centre has a cafe where the students hang out during lunch or after school. in the future, students will also get to learn cooking and baking at the cafe.

Most of the staff at the Harvest Centre are on a salary, but there are a few volunteers such as Zachariah. Another is Ann Agnew from Scotland, a trained teacher who helps to teach English to the preschoolers.

Agnew’s husband works for a multinational, and they have lived in Malaysia for five years now.

“I’ve been travelling around the world for 30 years, and I always do some teaching along the way,” she says. “I go to places where I feel they are bringing about change in society. Here, they’re making a very good attempt at it with scarse resources.”

Agnew started at the Harvest Centre four months ago, teaching one class a week.

“The children are very willing to learn,” says Agnew. “There’s a family atmosphere here. They promote discipline in a non-violent, non-aggressive way which I believe is rudimentary to good education and social change.”

Learning from the poor

It all started with a handful of people carrying out community service to the poor in Sentul at the end of the 1990s. At first, it was about repairing houses, donating groceries and school supplies, giving free medical check-ups and counselling, and finding jobs for the jobless.

Then Elisha and Petrina realised that with their limited resources, their work would not have a lasting effect.

Form Four students of Harvest Centre relaxing with their teacher after completing their exams for the day.

“We realised that a lot of the children around here couldn’t read or write, even those who were 14 or 15,” says Petrina. “We grew up in families where education is deemed to be the most important thing. So I couldn’t ignore the feeling I had about these children. It is very important for them to at least know how to read.”

They focused on providing a good education, which they believed would help the children and their families to break out of the poverty cycle.

The early years were tough. Elisha remembers how they had to sleep on the cold, hard floor of the school. At one time, they even had some children living with them.

Petrina discloses that they had been chased away by parents when they offered help. However, over time things got better, and today they have hundreds of students and bigger classrooms, thanks to generous donors such as the Berjaya Group which bought an entire block at Sentulraya Boulevard and donated it to the school.

“It’s still tough!” says Elisha with a laugh. “The dynamics of the challenges have changed.”

Shelves of books at the school cafe encourage the students to do some reading during their breaks.

Elisha and his wife will always treasure the pioneering days. “The children taught us a lesson we would not have learnt elsewhere. I never realised the bankruptcy of my heart. I would have never known how little I knew of God, compassion and people’s pain, if I had not encountered the poor,” explains Elisha, who is a pastor, and a father of two girls, aged 14 and 15. “The seminary educated my mind, but the poor educated my heart. It’s a valuable education no university can give you. My greatest teachers are the poor.”

Petrina recalls a recent conversation she had with a student. Her father was in and out of prison. Petrina asked her what she would like if her family had enough money. The girl looked at her, puzzled, and replied: “I just want to study.”

It is the same everywhere in the world. In interviews I did with the International Humanity Foundation last year, an organisation that also provides education for the poor, the volunteers told me all the poor children ever wanted was to go to school. They do not want toys, smartphones, iPads or fancy meals.

“They see that mum and dad didn’t go to school and had a hard time, so they don’t want to repeat that,” says Petrina. “They want a chance to study.”

“We miss the cry of the poor in the way we do things,” says Elisha. “We think it’s enough to give them food and books, but it doesn’t work that way. Education is holistic; intervention cannot be patchwork.”

Children look forward to school when learning becomes fun.

“Education for the poor is not charity. It is intervention, transformation and development. If we view it as charity, then we would only be giving leftovers, not quality education.

“We have the best students going into the best universities and then contributing to society,” says Elisha. “Can we have a paradigm shift? Can we also have the best coming to teach the poorest? That is what our world needs today. If the poor are given an opportunity (for good education), we will hear many more great stories of people who come out of poverty.”

Elisha cites, as an example, one of the school staff members who came from the squatter area. He failed his SPM exams but got into a government school to learn electrical wiring. He did well there.

Having tasted success, he was determined to get his siblings out of the rut. His sister finished her Form Six in a government school and is now in college. His other siblings are all in school as well.

Petrina recalls a boy who started preschool at the Harvest Centre and completed his primary studies. He is now 16 and working as a mechanic. His older brother is in prison because of drugs.

“I asked if he was getting enough money but he said, ‘I don’t care about the money. All I want is to learn.’ They may not be straight-A students, but the discipline we instilled in them, the life-long quest to learn, makes us proud. To me, that is success,” says Petrina.

The Harvest Centre charges nominal school fees, which go into the school’s operations, along with what it gets from fund-raising efforts.

Education opens up new worlds for young, inquisitive minds.

“Even if a parent can only afford to pay RM1, the school would still aceept it. We never turn anyone away, except when there is no space left,” says Elisha.

“If the parents contribute, then they will make sure their kids go to school every day,” says Zachariah. “If it comes out of their own pockets, then they will value it more.”

Zachariah adds: “We would like the Government to see us as co-workers working to eradicate poverty. If these kids didn’t have the opportunity for an education, they would end up being a social problem, and the country would have to spend more to deal with that. These kids are like any normal kids. They are just victims of circumstances.”

Elisha believes education must never segregate or marginalise, but must instead liberate and bring people together.

“We always tell the students, they are agents of transformation and it doesn’t stop with them,” he says. “They must think of the next generation and their community. When they’ve tasted this goodness, they will realise that they can also champion this and inspire others.

“That’s our heart’s desire – to raise students who can inspire their community. It goes beyond academics; it’s something that can transform and build society.” – By ALLAN KOAY, Photos by AZHAR MAHFOF

Map: Harvest Centre

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Empowering the poor

Selfless souls

The reputation gained by the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) for being one of the toughest pre-university examinations to ace, is not without merit. It is tough. Still, there are students who decide to take the dreaded STPM route; they tell us why.

STPM is tough and requires hours of gruelling revision, but teaches youth what hard work is all about.

There were only 10 people in Jasmine Abdullah’s sixth form class at SMK Taman SEA in Petaling Jaya, Selangor – everyone else had left to pursue their studies elsewhere.

There was a time when taking the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examinations was the only way to get into local universities, but these days there are so many options available with the mushrooming of private colleges.

Formerly known as the Higher School Certificate, STPM is one of the two major pre-university systems for admission to public universities (the other is a one-year matriculation programme, with limited allocations for non-bumiputeras).

While the STPM is internationally recognised by many universities (especially those within the Commonwealth of Nations as well as the United States and the Republic of Ireland) as a GCE A-Level equivalent, it isn’t exactly everyone’s first choice, even though – in comparison to college fees – taking the STPM costs almost nothing.

Few students brave this route because of STPM’s reputation as a tough examination to ace.

In 2010, out of the 50,576 candidates who sat for it, only eight scored straight As in all the five subjects they took.

Among students who sat for four papers, 297 achieved straight As.
Less than half of them, or 46.4%, obtained a full pass in all the papers they sat for.

It’s no wonder then that most students give STPM a pass, for it’s an especially tough obstacle course.

Furthermore, the option of taking the more “glamorous” route – going to college would seem a lot more appealing to a young adult who has already been through 11 years of “school life” – seems like a better choice.

While their peers are living on their college or university’s campus instead of under their parents’ roofs, choosing their lecture schedules themselves and wearing whatever they like to class, one wonders what would possess a sixth former to struggle through a year and a half’s worth of non-stop revision and slogging for elusive straight As (while donned in the unattractive blue-and-white uniform).

Then again, some people are made of sterner stuff and are not so easily daunted by hardships.

Or maybe they have no choice.

Affordable education

Jasmine Abdullah believes that Form Six will better prepare students for university.

While school leavers from affluent families have more options when it comes to life after secondary school, their less affluent peers opt for the STPM because it makes economic sense.

“I knew my family could not afford to send me to college,” says 19-year-old Andrian Tam, who sat for his STPM examination last year.

“Matriculation and pre-university programmes in private colleges cost tens of thousands of ringgit, and going to form six was a lot more affordable than that.

“The sixth form fees amount to RM270 for the entire one-and-a-half years, which is very affordable,” adds Andrian, whose father works for the Government, and mother is a homemaker.

“If you do well in the exam, it guarantees you a spot in a good public university.”

Like Andrian, 19-year-old Supiramannian Chellappan did Form Six to ease the financial burden on his parents, a retired estate manager and a housewife.

“It’s much cheaper than going to college and doing A-levels,” says Supiramannian.

Connie Chee, who will be sitting for her STPM examination at the end of this year, hopes to achieve good results which will help get her into a public university, where the fees are affordable should she fail to secure a study loan.

“I don’t wish to burden my parents as they are getting older and should not have to worry so much,” says Connie, 19, whose parents are retirees.

“My four older siblings went to Form Six, graduated from local universities and have stable careers.”

She also realises that her parents would also need to pay for her living expenses if she pursues her studies away from her hometown Johor Baru.

“Even with a scholarship, I’d still need a substantial amount of money to pay for boarding, food and other necessities.

“If I get good results in STPM, hopefully I can get a full scholarship or a student loan,” notes Connie.

Learning experience

The STPM is certainly not for the slacker. According to most, it involves a gruelling study regime and scoring As is extremely difficult.

On top of lessons, students meet for study group in the afternoons for several hours, and then they go home to revise what they’ve learnt.

“You just have to be persistent,” says Jasmine. “You have to study every day. It’s tough.”

For Tharunnia M.S. Ganesan, there is simply no room for slacking off in Form Six. “Even though there are only four subjects to take, each of those subjects is divided into several parts, and you have to remember every single thing you learned in one and a half years for the exam.

“You have to keep revising everything, or you’ll forget,” she says.

Although they remain within the school system, sixth formers quickly realise that taking STPM examinations require a different approach to learning. They are no longer spoon-fed, and have to learn to manage a much heavier workload. One of the reasons it is harder to score distinctions in STPM is that the syllabus requires students to be more analytical.

“Some of the things we learn in Form Six helps to prepare us for university courses,” says Jasmine, 20, who has just completed her STPM.

“We learn to do research and development, how to carry out surveys, process data and translate data into graphs and charts. This will come in handy in university, and sixth formers will be able to jump straight into the courses,” she adds.

Above all, because STPM is so tough, it teaches students what studying really means.

“They say that if you go to Form Six, the first year of university will be easier because you’re already used to studying hard,” says Andrian, who hopes to study psychology in university.

Andrian Tam, who sat for his STPM examinations recently, felt that in Form Six, teachers could pay more individual attention to students because of the smaller classrooms.

Another plus point is that sixth form classes are quite small which allows for more individual attention from teachers.

Andrian formed a close bond with all 12 of his classmates.

“We also regularly held study groups and managed to strike a good balance between extra curricular activities and studying because it was easier to coordinate with less students,” he says.

Finding their footing

Fresh out of secondary school, many still haven’t a clue what their ambition is, what university they want to enrol in or even whether they’re ready to leave home.

For these youths, remaining at home and in the familiar school setting for another one and a half more years gave them the time to make the decisions that will shape their careers.

“I wasn’t ready to leave home. I needed more time to decide what I wanted to do in university. I didn’t want to go to college to do a foundation course without knowing for sure what I wanted to do. I could also have wasted a lot of money,” says Tharunnia who did science subjects in her SPM examination, but realised that science was not for her.

She then opted for the arts stream in form six, a move which was sort of a second chanc to find her footing.

“I felt like my STPM art studies was a good base for what I would want to do in university,” she adds. “Most of my classmates opted for form six as we were undecided on what to do next.”

For Connie, she just wants to make the right decisions when it comes to her future.

“I know I want to be in a science field. However, I don’t want to make the wrong choice halfway through university because I rushed into it, and then go through the trouble of changing courses,” she says.

“Being in Form Six is giving me the chance to be more sure of what interests me, and what I want as a career,” she adds.

The Form Six years were also a time for some youths to grow and mature.
Some may worry that staying in school might hinder one’s mental and emotional growth into adulthood. After all, most sixth formers continue to live at home while their college-going peers have moved on to live out on their own (if they are studying outstation).

“Initially it was the thing to tease sixth formers, as we would still have to wear school uniforms, wake up early and stick to a strict schedule, but after a while you get used to the routine. In the end the time spent in Form Six gives you time to reach a higher level of maturity,” says Tharunnia.

“I feel like I’ve grown up a lot in Form Six. I guess you get used to working hard, working in groups and learning how to prioritise your work,” adds Connie. – By NASA MARIA ENTABAN

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Minding our language

Proficiency in English is vital in today’s world and Malaysia needs to arrest the decline urgently if it wants to remain competitive.

It used to be easy for Malaysian students in Britain to get a part-time job or internship there.

An Engineering lecturer at a local public university who only wants to be known as Mar recalls how it was back then.

“Mention you are Malaysian and you will get one foot in the door. I remember one manager saying, Ah, we like Malaysians. They can speak English well, have no problem understanding instructions, not like other foreign students.’

“In fact, we spoke better English then than most Europeans. But, of course, that was in the 1980s.”

It was a different story when she went back to the UK to do her postgraduate studies in the late 1990s, she says.

“My thesis supervisor kept moaning about how the new batch of Malaysian students could not write or speak English well. He kept asking me what happened.”

The declining standard of English among the young in Malaysia has been well documented. For many years, many concerned stakeholders from employers, educationists and linguists to parents have voiced their concern.

However, with English being an important language of knowledge and global competition now, the need to arrest this decline has never been more urgent.

Recently, even former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad returned to the English soapbox, urging young Malaysians to master the language if they did not want to be left behind.

Steady decline

Communicating in English is a major concern for a lot of young graduates and jobseekers these days.

According to former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Dr Fong Chan Onn, the decline in English among the young has been happening for more than two decades.

He relates his experience as an external examiner for Utar for Economics and Accountancy.

“In the 1980s, the standard of English in most of the answer scripts was still good but in the 1990s, there was a marked decline, so much so the examiners agreed to only assess the facts and leave the writing style and grammar alone. If they had marked the language as well, many of the students would have had low marks.”

While the declining standard of English in the country can mainly be attributed to policies that have not emphasised it in the education system, what is surprising is the lack of interest among the young to master the language, notes Dr Fong.

“Students need to realise that when they go out into the world, English is important and unless they brush up their skills, they will lock themselves from a big source of information and the latest developments in knowledge.”

Recently, the Higher Education Ministry’s plans to increase the number of credit hours in English on campus were met with opposition from some students.

At Universiti Malaya, a group of students even called vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ghauth Jasmon a traitor for pushing for English and sent him a memorandum demanding for an apology and his resignation.

During his tenure as minister, says Dr Fong, the main complaint from employers was the standard of English among graduates.

This is confirmed by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).

“The communication problem among school leavers, especially in English either in oral communication or writing is the biggest grouse among employers,” says MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan.

Various surveys on graduates’ employability have found that English is their main weakness: many cannot speak or write proper English (Higher Education Ministry Survey 2008; World Bank Report 2005 on Malaysia Firm Competitiveness, Investment Climate and Growth among others).

This, he believes, is one reason they have difficulty getting jobs in the private sector.

Highlighting the Salary Survey for Executives 2010, which showed good communication skills as the main attribute sought by employers (68%), Shamsuddin says employers preferred to hire staff who could communicate well in English as globalisation has changed the current nature of jobs.

Today’s workers have to deal with foreign companies and clients from all over the world, where the main language of communication is English.

“Today, we are not just talking about being proficient. Work demands have changed; you need to sell your company’s products.

“In the old days, if you didn’t want to talk so much, you could take courses like engineering. You just needed to do your work without talking to people. Now, even if you become an engineer, you will need to talk to clients and normally the common language is English,” he adds.

Shamsuddin describes students who oppose the use of English as being in denial.

“They refuse to see the importance of being proficient in the language. Instead of embracing it, they are saying it is not important.”

Malcolm Poole, director of multinational recruitment agency MRI Network Sdn Bhd, says a large firm or multinational is definitely more likely to hire an individual with better English communication and written skills.

“Employers look for talented people who can grow with the company, so business-level English becomes not just a preference, it makes it a must-have,” Poole explains.

With English being widely used by the business community both in Malaysia and internationally, it is important for Malaysian workers to master the language, notes Melissa Norman, managing director of Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd, one of the top headhunter agencies in the country.

She highlights the Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010, which also revealed communication skills as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.

The ability to converse adeptly in English has become a valued asset in today’s world, reinforcing the importance of mastering English, stresses Norman.

But, she laments, “In today’s labour market, waning communication skills are among some of the unspoken concerns among employers.”

The agency has found that an average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates could not communicate effectively in English during interviews, she says.

“We have encountered many graduates who cannot speak or write proper English. Many are not able to transfer their academic knowledge or articulate their thoughts during interviews due to poor command of English and this has cost them jobs in the corporate sector.”

Graduates here also commonly make gross grammatical errors in their resumes, and some even use text messaging slang in their job applications, Norman adds.

The price of ignorance

Dr Fong: "We are even losing out to our neighbours who seem to have improved their level of English in the last decade.

Someone who knows too well the language problems among the younger workforce is Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur.

“In manufacturing, proficiency in English may not be as important as for someone working in the legal or financial field but we still need people who can communicate well because sometimes we need to send people out to negotiate deals and get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” says Mustafa.

Unfortunately, many of the younger workers are not able to conduct a simple conversation in English, he laments.

“This leads to them having low confidence in using the language so they don’t get involved in the discussions during meetings because they are afraid to talk.”

It makes them appear as “not as intelligent as they might be”, adds Dr Fong.

“Local employers complain that when our graduates attend interviews, meetings or conferences, they cannot put across their ideas, so they are made to look less smart when actually, knowledge-wise, they are comparable to any graduate from the rest of the world.”

Lacking in communication skills is no longer acceptable in today’s world, Shamsuddin stresses.

“Basically, before the advent of the Internet and ICT, we (business community) communicated by letter. It took some time, so those who were not proficient in the language could ask someone who was more fluent to write their letters and notes.”

Now, correspondence is immediate, direct and fast. “So, you need to be proficient. If you cannot communicate in English, then possibly it will be some time before you can get a reply out and you will lose out in today’s world.”

It is also essential for young workers to keep up with the latest developments in knowledge especially in science and technology, and unless they know another foreign language Mandarin, German, or Japanese for example the young need to know English, adds Shamsuddin.

“English is the language of knowledge as well as of the Internet. There is translation but it will take some time and before they can reach the targeted audience, the knowledge would have changed.”

More importantly, he adds, when employers recruit someone, they expect the new employee to hit the ground running and contribute straight away.

“They cannot afford to hire someone who is not able to communicate well. It is costly.”

Across the board

Norman: "An average of six out of 10 Malaysian graduates cannot communicate effectively in English during interviews."

While the worry is over graduates and undergraduates, says FMM past president Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon, there is an even bigger group that needs to be addressed.

“We need to be reminded that the vast majority of school leavers who are not equipped with a satisfactory level of competency in English enter the labour market and are mainly absorbed into the services, manufacturing and public sector, including as teachers of our young in schools.”

Yong, who is also co-chair of Pemudah (Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business), reminds that effective communication is crucial not only in the corporate and business world but also in the government sector.

Long a moot point, particularly for those in the diplomatic circle, the opening of borders due to the advent of technology means that more and more public sector workers need to interact as global citizens.

We need civil servants who can articulate Malaysia’s stand on issues internationally, including conducting negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements, says Yong.

“Civil servants today do not only need to interact with overseas customers, visiting experts or delegations but must also attend overseas conferences, seminars as well as trade and technical fairs, all of which are in English.

“Their low proficiency in English has affected Malaysia’s ability to compete in global markets as well as a destination for investment,” argues Yong.

Mustafa agrees, saying: “We are losing out in the global arena. We definitely need more good communicators who can negotiate for better trade deals and investments. As it is, our global competitiveness is low.”

More worrying, says Dr Fong, is we are even losing out to our neighbours who seem to have improved their level of English in the last decade.

“Our representatives used to be first choice to head committees at international events. But I have noticed that at many international events I attended, representatives from Thailand, Indonesia and China are beating us as they speak better English.”

That special edge

Communicating in English is not the biggest concern for Universiti Teknologi Mara third year Law student Karl Rafiq Nadzarin when applying for a job or going for an interview.

“I am more worried about having the special edge over other interviewees,” says Karl.

Woon King Chai, a former student leader at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), also has no problem with English. His biggest concern when applying for a job is his level of readiness to work, he says.

Jobseekers sending their resume online at the BN Youth Job Fair 2011 at PWTC.

“I worry about whether I’m well equipped with the knowledge to take on work responsibilities. To me, passing the communication test’ (in job applications and during interviews) is just the first step in securing a job. More important is the ability to walk the talk’ and actually perform in one’s job.”

Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan disagrees.

“While it is important to have a well-rounded set of skills, English proficiency is perhaps one of the most important criteria if you want to venture into the global market. If you do not have a good enough command of English, I think you have almost zero chance of succeeding in the global market. Increasingly, even local companies are demanding English proficiency too,” he argues.

He has seen many job applicants who sent in beautifully written application letters and resumes but when they attended interviews, their communication skills proved wanting, he elaborates.

“I start thinking that maybe they paid someone to write the application for them!”

The problem is the general communication skills, he adds.

“For an organisation that operates in both English and Malay like IDEAS, we are in double difficulty because it is very rare to have graduates who are competent in both English and Malay.”

Thus, he is advising graduates to brush up on their “professional” communication skills.

“If you can only speak in Malay, then make sure you can write professional Malay too.”

According to Barisan Nasional Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, employers who participated in the recent BN Youth Job Fair 2011 have found that the standard of English among the young is getting better.

Throngs of hopeful job seekers had the opportunity to attend “on-the-spot” job interviews at the fair, which saw some 650 companies and organisations offering more than 40,000 vacancies.

While agreeing that the standard is acceptable, one exhibitor who declines to be named nevertheless feels that it could be improved.

“As you can see, there are more who are communicating in Bahasa Malaysia. Many answered in BM even when I talked to them in English,” he says.

Khairy opines that we need to go back to school to boost the standard of English in the country, and subsequently the competitiveness of young Malaysians.

“The problem needs to be tackled at source. The teaching of English in schools needs to be improved. At the same time, universities need to offer free English classes to their students,” says Khairy.

For Karl, having a dynamic setting on campus that encourages critical thinking and a university management that is open to discussing current issues intellectually will do wonders in improving students’ marketability.

This will naturally instill leadership qualities as well as expand students’ minds, making them more attractive to future employers, he says.

Karl believes that while English is one of the most basic things for employability, students also need to be creative, inventive and bold to succeed in the job market.

Fortunately, although this (conducive environment) is lacking in most universities, students can still achieve it outside university, he points out. “It just depends on how much you want it.”

Woon agrees, saying: “I’ve always believed that a student’s university life should not be judged solely by the degree obtained at the end of their studies, but rather by the various experiences or knowledge they pick up through co-curricular activities on and off campus.”

Ultimately, he adds, it is the student’s responsibility to prepare for the competition in the global market.

Top jobs only for those who know the language well

It does not matter if you are top of your class or have a string of degrees, that dream job will not be yours unless you can speak and write well in English.

Feedback from local and international employers shows that verbal and written communication skills in English remain the most sought-after attribute in prospective employees.

According to a recent Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) survey, it is the most important trait employers look for when recruiting graduates.

The MEF Salary Survey for Executives 2010 revealed that 68% of the companies surveyed named communication skills as the top quality required in job applicants, followed by working experience (67%), interpersonal skills (56.2%) and passion and commitment (55.7%).

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said globalisation had changed the nature of jobs, making communication skills, specifically in English, a valuable asset for today’s worker.

He added that this was an essential criterion even for professions traditionally seen as “backroom” staff such as engineers, technical personnel and scientists. “It is especially so for those working in multinationals and bigger firms,” he said.

“Today, our clients are worldwide. In factories, for instance, engineers are a different breed from the past,” said Shamsuddin.

“Now, they have to be involved in various aspects of business and interact with clients.”

Shamsuddin expressed concern that many local graduates today could not speak or write proper English, saying this was a reason why they faced difficulties getting jobs in the private sector.

Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Melissa Norman concurred, noting that six in 10 graduates who attended its interviews could not communicate effectively in English.

The company is one of the top headhunters in the country.

Norman said it was important to master English as it was widely used among the business community, both in Malaysia and internationally.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010 listed “communication skills” as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.

“We have encountered local graduates who are weak in spoken and written English and have limited vocabulary,” said Norman.

“These candidates can only manage to secure jobs in small-medium enterprises and small businesses.”

Various industry and business leaders also warned that the decline in English was affecting Malaysia’s global competitiveness.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers President Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur said the young ones who could not communicate in English were unable to negotiate the best deals in business transactions or investments.

“We need to send people out to market our products, negotiate deals or get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out,” he said.

Pemudah co-chair Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, it was important for civil servants to have a good command of English due to a growing borderless world.

“The standard of English also affects the quality of the public sector as civil servants have to interact with international citizens and the business world as well as articulate Malaysia’s stand on issues to the international community. These include negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements.”

Noting that the quality of English in the country had declined over the last two decades, former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn warned that the country would lose out to its neighbours that did not teach English in schools previously.

“Thailand, Indonesia and China are making efforts to improve their English through their education system,” he noted. – Stories by Hariati Azizan and Lee Yen Mun

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Libraries need to move with the times to stay relevant to society.

The next time you’re reading in a public place, and someone comes up to you and snaps your photo, do not be alarmed. It is probably National Library director-general Datuk Raslin Abu Bakar.

“Sometimes when I’m at a rest area along the highway, and I see people reading, I snap a photo of them,” said Raslin. “They would ask me why I took their photos, and I would tell them that I’m from the National Library and would like to show people that Malaysians do read.”

House of books: The Petaling Jaya Community Library is a non-profit public library whose objective is to encourage reading by providing services at a minimal fee or free of charge, especially for the low-income group.

But are Malaysians really into reading, especially now that the Internet is much more attractive, and recent statistics even showed that Malaysians are the most active on Facebook?

If we look at the numbers, indeed there is an annual increase in library membership.

“According to our statistics, there is an increase in borrowings from the library and increase in membership,” said Raslin. “Yet we don’t see people reading on trains or buses, compared to, say, Britain or Japan. But the environment in those countries is different. People can sit in the trains and read comfortably.

“In our country, the climate may not be conducive to reading in buses or trains. It’s hot and humid here. From our statistics, we know that people do come to the library to borrow books to read at home. Otherwise why would they come all the way to borrow books? But now we can see that Malaysians are starting to read everywhere.”

Shahriman Abd Rahman, a volunteer with Yayasan Salam Malaysia who works on various programmes in Pahang to get people to read and go to the library, remembers his trip to Cambodia in 2008 and the sight that astounded him.

“Everywhere we went, we saw people reading,” he said. “We were very surprised. And there were shops selling books on every street. That is the kind of culture we should bring here.”

For Shahriman, a library is not just a place for reading books, but also a venue for people to gather and acquire knowledge and ideas. Since 2006, he and Yayasan Salam have been running programmes that include such activities as storytelling contests and Chinese calligraphy. He said that after the first programme, the library in Temerloh recorded its highest number of visitors ever.

Meanwhile, Iskandar Syah Ismail has been helping to set up libraries for orphanages since 2007. Iskandar, who also doubles as a clown to entertain sick children in hospitals, realised that orphanages often receive old and worn-out books through donations, and some of the books were not even suitable for the orphans. He set out to change that, and through his blog, drbubbles.blogspot.com, he got friends and readers interested to help out. When he worked for Islamic Relief Malaysia, his small project became part of the organisation’s local project, and Iskandar was chosen to head it.

“In 2010 alone, 11 libraries were established in orphanages across Malaysia,” said Iskandar. “I have left the organisation since, but I am happy to have left a legacy to society through that simple but wonderful project.”

Iskandar said libraries have been his sanctuary since childhood.

“However, I think libraries must change its role from just a place where people come to read to a livelier one, actively engaging with the local community through interesting activities that can attract them to utilise the library,” he said. “It is timely for libraries to reach out to the people in order to stay relevant to society.”

Ainul Farhiah Abdul Wahab, head librarian of the Petaling Jaya Community Library in Selangor, feels there are those who browse for information on the Internet and those who still prefer comprehensive information from books.

“In the library, people, especially adults, still like to hold and feel a book, and flip its pages,” she said. “Children like to read attractive and colourful books that come with pop-up pictures and sound buttons. Parents still prefer to read books and sing along with their kids.”

The PJ Community Library is managed by the PJ City Council and receives a yearly allocation from the Council. The library has a total of 50,311 registered members since 2000. Last year there were 1,847 new members.

“Not everybody can afford to buy a laptop and read on the Internet,” said Ainul. “Some­times they have to pay for the downloading of materials and the charges can be quite expensive. Reading on the screen for long hours can be tiring, too. We are a non-profit public library, and our objective is to encourage reading by providing free services, or at minimal charges for the public, especially for the low-income group.”

‘We now combine printed books and eresources,’ says the National Library director-general Datuk Raslin Abu Bakar.

Meanwhile, something is brewing at the National Library. The books and materials there are being digitised as we speak. Up till September last year, a total of 763,866 pages have been digitised.

“We now combine printed books and e-resources which use information and communications technology,” said Raslin. “It’s not that people don’t read books anymore. They do. The history of printing started a long time ago while e-resources started only about four decades ago. People started reading off the Internet about 20 years ago, compared to books which have been around for several thousand years.”

He said last year’s statistics showed that more people used the e-resources than printed books. The library is currently looking for sponsors to add a second level to the existing Cyberzone on the ground floor of the main building.

But the big one is the Ubiquitous Library, or U-Library, which will be launched later this month. The pilot project involves seven libraries – those in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Sarawak; the Intan library in Bukit Kiara, the KL Library and the National Library.

All e-resources will be placed into one portal, while lending services will be extended to include books being sent to members’ homes via Pos Malaysia at a minimum charge.

Returning books would also be made easier with bookdrop kiosks in places such as KL Sentral and Putrajaya. Those registered as U-Library members will be able to borrow books from any of the seven libraries.

“Reading is never a waste of time,” said Raslin. “There is a saying that ‘orang kaya akan terus jadi kaya’ (the rich will continue to amass wealth). We can apply that to reading. When one starts reading, one will always possess a love for reading. If you don’t read, then you will never know the love of reading. That’s why we have to run campaigns and activities to create a reading culture in Malaysian society.” – By Allan Koay

Map: National Library of Malaysia & PJ Community Library

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A place of solace

A project to harness rainwater and grow vegetables provide hands-on learning for schoolkids.

Rivulets of sweat trickle down J. Karen Jayaraman’s cherubic face as he bends down in rapt attention, weeding the veggie bed with a hoe. Clad in his sweat-soaked school uniform, the 11-year-old is oblivious to the scorching sun. He’s having too much fun.

Nature’s bounty: Students of SJK (T) Cheras tending to the school vegetable garden which is watered using harvested rainwater.

Karen is one of 30 students roped in to take charge of SJK (Tamil) Cheras’ vegetable garden and the newly installed rainwater harvesting system. An initiative by Rotary Club of Cheras (RCC), the project harnesses rainwater for use in the school toilets and gardens. RCC also helped the students start their own veggie patch.

“We wanted a project that is sustainable instead of a one-off,” says RCC president Cheang Sia Rian. “Not only do the schoolchildren learn the importance of water conservation and alternative sources of water, they take on the responsibility of maintaining the system and growing their own vegetables.”

The nut and bolts

The rain catchment system is a fairly straightforward set-up. The school roof, with a total area of 186sqm, is lined with rain gutters. Collected rainwater is channelled via a pipe through a sediment filter before entering the main tank. From there, the water is pumped to the garden tap and another tank in the washroom. The main tank stores 30% of water supplied by Syabas, in case of drought or low rainfall.

RCC service projects chairman Loo Pow Tick sought the help of an engineer friend who specialises in rainwater harvesting to provide the technical know-how. RCC sourced for the materials directly from suppliers and the final bill came up to RM10,000.

“It would have cost us about RM60,000 if we pay a company specialising in the technology to install the system. We installed a low-maintenance system because we know the teachers and students are busy. They just need to clean the filters periodically. If there’s any breakdown or breakage, RCC will bear the cost to fix it,” says Loo, a turnkey contractor by profession.

The system, installed in December, started running in early January. The main tank can hold up to 1.89 cu m of water.

Roof gutters channel rainwater into this tank, explains P.T. Loo of Rotary Club of Cheras.

“Based on calculations, if the average rainfall is 0.79 inches (2cm) a day, the tank can collect about 1,200 gallons (4.54 cu m) of water a month,” says Loo.

The school uses an average of 190 cu m of water per month and the monthly bill is RM250. As it has not received its water bill for January and February, there is no telling how much has been saved.

At SJK (T) Cheras, some of the underprivileged students come to school without breakfast. Initially, RCC thought of introducing a feeding programme but the cost was prohibitive and the project unsustainable in the long run. It would cost an average of RM400 a day to feed the schoolchildren.

“Since we are installing the rainwater system, we thought why not use the water for gardening,” says Cheang. His friend, the owner of seed company Sin See Huat Seed Sdn Bhd provided vegetable seeds and guidance on setting up a veggie patch on a three- month crop rotation.

“Students will learn to get rid of the pests manually and we’ll give them garbage enzyme for fertiliser and later teach them how to make their own enzyme,” Cheang adds. Currently, the school lacks the space for a composting bin.

“The school can decide later what they want to do with the vegetables, whether to sell or to cook in the canteen for students,” says Cheang. “We look forward to being there for their first harvest. And if this pilot project goes well, we can apply the same model to other schools.”

Rainwater flowing from a tap.

Science teacher K. Povaneswaran is in charged of supervising the students on the project. The 30 Year Four and Five students are divided into five teams.

“We picked students who are hyperactive, tend to play truant and not too keen on their studies,” says Povaneswaran. Each team is tasked with specific duties – monitoring and recording water levels on the tank daily and managing the veggie plot.

“We try to integrate what they learn from the project into their Science and Living Skills subjects,” he says. The kids not only learn to measure and collate data but also why water is an important resource and how they can reuse rainwater.

Outdoor lessons

“Some of them become more aware of other issues. They asked me how can we prevent dengue from the water collection,” says Povaneswaran. “From the gardening, they learn where their food comes from, soil pH, competition among plants and yields. Apart from applying what they’ve studied in class, they’re learning social interaction, teamwork, leadership and a sense of responsibility.”

So far, the kids have planted chillies, tomatoes, lettuce, brinjal, lady’s fingers and kailan. To further motivate the students, Povaneswaran introduced a competition for the team that will reap the most bountiful harvest. It has been quite a steep learning curve for the kids who have never gardened or even handled a hoe before.

“When they were weeding for the first time, they pulled out some of the seedlings by accident,” Povaneswaran says, smiling.

To date, the school has no fixed schedule for the gardening. The students take time off, about 15 to 30 minutes, in between classes based on their teachers’ discretion. Interest is growing, with more students asking to be part of the teams.

As for Karen, he says he enjoys the “hard” labour. “The project also helps us understand our class subjects better,” he says. At home, he helps his dad tend to their banana and papaya trees.

“I’m really excited to see the vegetables grow,” quips his team mate, Nadisha W. Darmapala Micheal, 11.

If the kids have their way, perhaps in three months’ time, they’ll be savouring vegetable curry whipped up from their fresh harvest. – By Leong Siok Hui

For more information, go to rotaryclubcheras.org.

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Healthier homes

Various stake-holders and health experts give their take on the age-old problem of heavy school bags.

The sun was barely up, and neither was little Andy, who was seen nodding off to sleep as his mother pulled up alongside the school gate.

Hazardous: Heavy schoolbags can result in injuries to the pupils' neck, shoulder and back.

Still groggy, Andy was reluctant to leave the comfort of his car, but a few words from his mother, who had to open his door, achieved the effect no alarm clock could.

“Wake up, mommy has to rush for an important meeting,” she said, as her seven-year-old son sluggishly got out. “Carry your own bag today. I’m in a hurry.”

Andy was suddenly wide awake, and his muted protests concerning the heavy load were to no avail as his mother helped him put on his backpack before speeding off.

Muttering, Andy trudged away, slouching and struggling with his heavy backpack. Andy’s morning may have been spoilt, but in truth, he was one of the lucky ones as most children carry their own bags on a daily basis.

The issue of heavy school bags is a perennial problem, and many parents are less than impressed. A number have expressed their discontent by writing to StarEducation, and those quizzed outside the school gates were equally vocal.

“There are too many periods in a day,” said Leon Loke. “My daughter in Year Three carries more than 5kg everyday and she only weighs 19kg.

“This should not be the way, as carrying such a heavy load is bad for her health.”

In support of Loke’s outburst, experts and health boards say that a backpack should weigh between 10 and 15% of a child’s body weight.

So, hypothetically, a child who weighs 40kg should carry between 4 and 6kg of books in his or her backpack.

However, such is not the case in Malaysia, and parents became even more concerned when Backpack Syndrome – complications like poor posture and muscle aches as the result of carrying heavy backpacks – was explained to them.

Some even used themselves – or their spouses – as living examples.

Pointing at her husband Syahril Abdul Jalil, Aniza Anis Sallihudin said that he did not have the right posture and slouched as the result of carrying too much weight in his younger years.

“I don’t want my seven-year-old daughter Sofea to run the same risk,” she said.

“She may not be required to stand 30-40 minutes on a bus, but I’d rather be on the safe side.”

When truth and myth collide

Dr Chan advises parents to ensure that their child's backpack is no heavier than 15% of the child's body weight.

A few even expressed their belief that carrying heavy backpacks could lead to their children developing scoliosis – a disorder that causes an abnormal curve of the spine.

Literally meaning “crooked condition” in Greek, scoliosis results in a spine that looks like an ‘S’ curve, rather than a straight line, from an X-ray rear view.

However, a Bernama report in June quoted Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin saying that there was no association between the occurrence of scoliosis and heavy school bags.

It was also mentioned that 13,340 Year Six pupils in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Kuala Terengganu were screened for the medical condition in 2008 and 2009, but only six developed the disorder.

Further checks with International Medical University (IMU) chiropractic centre head Dr George Le Beau and sports medicine specialist Dr William Chan Liang Wah confirmed this.

“Scoliosis is pathological in nature as we are talking about an actual deformity of the spinal vertebrae,” said Dr Le Beau, who has over 38 years experience in the chiropractic field.

“Anomalies at birth, such as having one leg shorter than the other or a crooked vertebrae, lead to scoliosis, and not heavy school bags.”

Dr Chan, who has run the Sports Backcare clinic in Subang Jaya for over a decade, agreed and added that scoliosis could develop as a secondary symptom of other conditions – such as cerebral palsy – that cannot be linked to school bags.

Although scoliosis is out of the question, parents still have their fair share of worries as carrying heavy backpacks could result in health complications.

Dr Chan said that heavy loads, and incorrect lifting and carrying techniques, could result in muscular skeletal injuries to a student’s neck, shoulders and back.

“These injuries come in the form of muscle strains, tendonitis, tendon sprain, disc injuries, the rounding of the shoulders, and a distortion of the natural curve of one’s spine,” he said.

“Carrying heavy loads may also transfer stress to the knees and hip joints, and although findings have not been substantial, this could lead to adverse effects on growing bone growth plates.”

He added that parents should be on the lookout for warning signs like neck, shoulder and back aches, as well as headaches, stiffness and fatigue.

And parents have to ensure that their children adhere to the proper technique of lifting and carrying their bags.

However, this may not be enough as Dr Le Beau feels that many – especially male students – would still veer away from guidelines.

“Children will be children, and peer pressure dictates that they should look cool,” he said with a chuckle.

“Carrying a backpack with one shoulder is one way of doing so.

“Many don’t think about future consequences, and lifting a heavy load with one shoulder could lead to one side of the body becoming overdeveloped.

“Now, this will only become apparent over time, and it is hardly cool as it does not look good.”

Dr Le Beau added that not every health risk could be detected in the short run, and more serious cases could result in bones going out of alignment, long term sprains or even disc ruptures later in life.

Several IMU students have already sought his help to alleviate their severe back pains, and many of them have a long history of carrying heavy backpacks – sometimes in the incorrect fashion.

Enter the trolley

A tale of two bags: Although backpacks are popular, the trolley bags are becoming common as parents think they are better for their children's back and posture.

And if Dr Le Beau had his way, backpacks would be replaced by trolley bags.

Sharing a little bit of history, he said that the idea of trolley bags first came about when airline industry staff sustained numerous injuries as the result of lifting heavy loads.

“Trolley bags revolutionised the travel industry, and they could do so to the school scene,” he said, before adding that it would be tricky for young students to lift a trolley bag up a stairway.

Other parents seem to have gotten wind of this, and more students now pull such bags.

“My youngest child is in Year One, and I got him a trolley bag for health and comfort reasons,” said Sukhbit Kaur, a mother of three.

“His classes are on the ground floor, so using a trolley bag is ideal. He will switch to a backpack when he’s older, as older students have their classes on the second and third floor.”

Interestingly, not every parent shares the same sentiment, and some speak out in the name of fashion – and discipline.

“Trolley bags are just not cool and I prefer my children to wear backpacks,” said Karen Puah, a mother of two. “You will only see my daughter, Chloe, with fashionable surfer backpacks.

“Yes, bags may be heavy, but the children should not whinge and just get used to it. I try not to carry her bag for her.”

And the children have plenty to say about this too.

Hassan, a Year Two student at SK Taman Desa, said that he ditched his trolley bag after his friends ridiculed him for a semester. Still, it took quite a bit of persuasion before his parents relented.

“I asked for a backpack, but my parents said a trolley bag was better for my health,” he said. “So I secretly spoilt the wheels of my trolley bag until my parents bought me a backpack.”

Although opinions are divided, trolley bags look set to become a more permanent feature in schools. But if you think that this circumvents the problem, think again.

A visit to a Chinese primary school in USJ, Selangor, showed that trolley bags were not exactly the solution, but part of a greater problem.

And this is because students carry not one, but two bags. Shouldering their backpacks and wheeling their rollers, many a student was encumbered by their heavy loads.

Their tough juggling act was made harder by their small frames and naturally, the lower primary pupils had the worst of it.

When quizzed for other alternatives, many parents said that the implementation of a locker system might be the great leap forward.

The rationale was that students would only bring the necessary books home, leaving the rest in their lockers for easy access when required.

However, they acknowledged that issues like space and financial constraints had to be overcome before the system could be implemented nationwide.

Others, however, were less enthusiastic and a few spoke from experience.

National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng said that the locker system was actually implemented as a pilot test many years ago, but failed to achieve its desired effect.

“The locker system was implemented at various primary schools in Malaysia, but the results showed that it did little or no help,” she said.

“Parents complained that their children did not bring their books back to revise, leaving them in the lockers instead. This was common amongst the younger students, who, perhaps, were not mature enough to prioritise.”

Lok added that the trouble of maintaining the lockers led to the initiative’s end.

Interestingly, Dr Le Beau points out that the locker system is going out of fashion in the United States – the country that made it the staple feature for schools.

“Vandalism can get pretty bad, and more pressing issues like locker theft, as well as the storage of weapons and drugs in lockers have not gone down well,” he said.

Despite this, some parents still feel that lockers should be given another trial run, and Syahril believes that the abuse of lockers will not be a prevalent problem in Malaysia.

“We have Asian values embedded in us, and what happens in the West need not necessarily happen here,” he said.

“I believe it would work if we teach young children how to use the locker system properly.”

He added that there were problems everywhere and if policy makers kept getting put off by them, nothing would get done.

What next?

Go digital: Areeff believes that digitalisation could put the problem of heavy school bags to rest.

Opting to keep every option open, housewife Lin Hussain advocates practical and adaptable measures.

And she has planned ahead for her Year Two daughter Mia, who will soon make a transition from trolley bag to backpack, as her classes will be relocated to the first floor.

“If I feel Mia’s backpack is too heavy, I will get her book binders so she can carry some of the books,” she said.

“She may have to carry more things, but at least her back will be straight. I guess the problem of heavy school bags will continue as long as children are required to carry books.”

But could this change in the age of digitalisation? Syahril and SK Bukit Damansara parent-teacher association (PTA) president Areeff Khalid certainly think so.

However, they feel it may take a while to get there.

“Everyone is talking about digitalisation, but instead of going paperless – conserving the environment in the process – students are still using books and paper,” said Syahril.

“I believe Malaysia has the means to revamp our education system. We don’t always have to wait for the Westerners or the Japanese to take the lead.”

Equally enthusiastic, Areeff said that digitalisation was probably the only way the age-old problem of heavy school bags could be put to rest.

However, he added that parents had to play a big part in any nationwide effort to go digital in schools.

“PTAs could help schools raise funds through efforts like car boot sales,” he said. “With proper mobilisation, PTAs could even sponsor computers to the schools.

“I believe that good things require a lot of effort, and parents should be prepared to assist any such endeavour.

“Let’s hope no one complains of heavy laptops or e-readers in the future.”

All about backpacks

Despite being linked to numerous health risks – and the availability of trolley bags – backpacks should remain as the prime pick for years to come.

With that, chiropractor Dr George Le Beau and sports medicine specialist Dr William Chan Liang Wah opine that parents and children should be aware of the ideal type of backpacks, the correct way of packing one and the proper way of carrying one.

The right design

One with proper ergonomic design to prevent repetitive strain injuries.

Most branded backpacks fit the bill with multiple compartments, adjustable shoulder straps, and plenty of foam and padding, but it must be noted that such bags are almost always more expensive.

One that fits a child’s body size. Many young students are carrying bags that are “too big” for them. Bigger does not necessarily mean better.

Choose a backpack with a moulded frame and an adjustable hip strap so that the weight of the filled backpack will rest on a child’s pelvis, instead of his or her shoulders and spine.

How to pack

The weight of a filled backpack should not be more than 15% of a child’s body weight.

Pack the heaviest or bigger books closer to the child’s back. The child’s centre of gravity is negatively affected if this is not done, and this could result in back strains and poor posture.

Make sure that the bag is compact, and that items do not go out of place during movement, as this will affect the child’s centre of gravity.

Clear out any unneeded items. Many students employ a “just in case” policy by bringing everything in case they forget something.

Ensure that the weight is evenly distributed as young students should not shoulder too much weight on one side of the body.

The way to lift and carry

Use both shoulder straps and ensure that the backpack falls no lower than two or three inches above a child’s waist.

When fitted correctly, the backpack should hug the child’s back and not hang off the shoulders.

One should lift a backpack with a straight back, using the thigh muscles. Both hands should be used to lift the backpack.

Warning signs

A child leaning over indicates that a bag is either too heavy, wrongly packed, incorrectly fitted or a combination of the above factors.

The child complains of aches. Children will listen to their bodies. – By Richard Lim

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