‘EMPLOY MORE SABAHAN TEACHERS’

‘Employ more Sabahan teachers’

West Malaysian teachers who are sent to Sabah lack knowledge of the local culture and are prone to being homesick, claims opposition Sabah Progressive Peoples (SAPP).

KOTA KINABALU July 27, 2012: The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) wants the Education Ministry to engage more local teachers rather than continuing to deploy West Malaysians to teach in schools statewide.

SAPP vice-president Jaafar Ismail said Sabah teachers are well accustomed with local cultures, which would make it easier for them to teach the young generations here.

He claimed that West Malaysian teachers lacked knowledge of the local cultures and are prone to being homesick which in turn affects their concentration.

“In addition, the government has to fork out more funds to bring West Malaysian teachers into the state due to many extra allowances that they stand to receive,”

he said.

He pointed out that the government was required to pay transfer and monthly allowances as well as other perks to those West Malaysian teachers currently teaching in Sabah.

Jaafar said this has inevitably incurred huge expenses to the government citing the large number of West Malaysian teachers posted to Sabah every year.

He reminded that even the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Radin Malleh, had revealed that in 2011 there were 8,152 West Malaysians working at Sabah Education Department.

He further noted that Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Ronald Kiandee had also revealed that West Malaysian teachers are receiving more than double the allowances Sabah teachers are receiving.

Jaafar also said Kiandee’s revelation that Sabah teachers were being given allowances of RM250 and RM350 while their West Malaysian counterparts were receiving between RM730 and RM830, was clearly a double standard practice and was unfair to the Sabah teachers.

He was convinced that the deployment of local teachers at their hometown/district could lighten their cost of living and make them more comfortable to discharge their duties.

He added that this could help boost their performance, ultimately.

He thus urged the government to start recruiting more Sabahans to undergo teaching courses at the various teachers training colleges and universities.

Queville To