The New Malaysian Maths

Our kids are learning new stuff in school that is sometimes mind-boggling.
Ask any parent of a primary school student and unless you have kept up to date with the new mathematics, you will find that after about six years, you will not be able to tutor your child in certain topics.

Maybe that is the reason why our Prisons Department made the serious error of not being able to calculate when a detainee was supposed to be released.

Perhaps the prison officers do not know the meaning the terms like “remand” or more seriously do they know how to read and calculate periods from the calendar?

Some people believe in the merits of practical experience. Should we place the person responsible for this mess in remand for a day and prison for a week so that everyone understands the terms?

One other sinister reason could be that some prison officers have catering deals and having to feed an extra prisoner for 217 extra days adds to the gravy.

The government cannot afford to pay for this type of mistakes and there should be a mechanism whereby those responsible for losses should bear part of the penalty. For example, a 10 per cent pay cut would be a powerful reminder to civil servants to take their jobs seriously.


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