Chinese educationist Loot Ting Yee has quit his positions in various education groups following allegations of sexual harassment against him by a Sin Chew reporter. The said reporter had blogged about her complaints which have since become a controversy. The Sin Chew Daily and China Press, in their evening editions tonight, front-paged the story. The reporter has since taken her posting down from her blog, according to her colleagues. See The Star for more.
Loot, in his 80, has reportedly made a public apology and resigned from all posts. The allegations against the veteran leader of Dong Jiao Zong has shocked the Chinese community. Popularly known as Cikgu Loot, he was arrested under the ISA in 1987 but more recently, he has been vocal against the use of English to teach Maths and Science in vernacular primary schools.
PS Dec 23: It has been pointed out to me that Loot Ting Yee has never been detained under the ISA. My apologies for the error.
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23 comments:
He is a dinosaur and an extremist. His resignation is long overdue, with or without the sexual harassment allegations. His policies are totally out of tune with the needs of the Chinese students, who finish school with a horrible command of English and made the Chinese school graduates hard to employ in the corporations due to their poor English language.
if chinese were allowed to have 4 wives then this would NOT be a sex scandle ;)
All students should be taught and take their Maths & Science exam in English. They can also opt to to sit for these 2 subjects in Chinese or other mediums if they want to, for the next 5 years. Parents and educationists will be more convinced to stick to 1 language as the kids improve.
Wong, grave factual mistake. Loot was never arrested under Operasi Lalang.
If you are a Chinese but advocating English, you shamed your ancestors!
National and Tamil schools will continue to teach Math & Science in English, and option to choose to learn math & scinece in Bahasa Melayu. SEND YOUR CHILDREN THERE IF YOU WANT THEM TO LEARN MATH AND SCIENCE IN ENGLISH.
Chinese Primary Schools will teach math and science in Mandarin. Leave them alone, no need to tell them to teach in English, the Chinese schools are supported by the Chinese educated people. They know what they want for their community.
so sci & maths in english for agama school tooo?
-crackodollah
There is no harm in learing the English languange via various subjects taught in schools.
Whats important is that educationists and parents must understand the length and breadth of whatever stand they take since it actually is the child's future we are talking about.
In this new globalised world today's young children of whatever type of school system will find themselves in completely strange and new circumstances in the future and IF THEY ARE able to hold themselves well in this coming future than their education NO-MATTER of what languange will ultimately serve them and their kin well.
aBU
I have 2 kids studying in a Chinese primary school. I support that Maths and Science be taught in English. It won't make them less Chinese. They will still be able to read and write proficiently in Mandarin and at the same time, master the English language.
good reporting Datuk. PAS has always been consistent in their desire to shutdown individual freedom in the name of religion.
hoo... hoo... so many racist sentiment...
shame on you, MALAYSIAN!!!
Cikgu Loot 80 yrs old yes he can..
Datuk Wong, You don't have to publish this but the four Chinese educations detained under Operation Lallang were: Kua Kia Soong (then director of Malaysian Chinese Resource and Research Centre); Dong Zong president Lim Fong Seng (since deceased); and Jiao Zong president Sim Mow Yu and vice-president Dr Tuang Pik King. Cikgu Loot was not there. It would be good for you to re-edit your post to reflect this mistake.
ahaha. I'm glad and feel proud that i'm Chinese educated. We never forgot over learning from school which is think twice before you talk! It seems like someone talk nonsense and the fact he gave are totally wrong.
Sexual harassment is a kind of social problem which happened all around the world. Since it happens in our community, we need find out the way for prevention. Most of the people will look in deep of the case and think rationally. While some people just try to relate the sexual harassment case with the current vernacular school system issues. It is so annoying! You are just one of the troblemaker. Some thought they are commentator but they just can come out with all rubbish!
This guy is an extremist. Everybody knows about it. This guy has a liking for youg women. Tell that to Umno politicians and members of the Cabinet. But what has all his peccadillos got to do with his beliefs. Pse tell me, Mr Wong. One last word: pSE tell your editors, or whoever, the English in your newspapers is getting from bad to worse. Just because you are the No 1 Paper doesnt give you the licence to dish out atrocious English. This is pure arrogance. If you want tips on good English, I believe I am the one you can rely on. Pse give me a tinkle. Maybe I can give your sub-prime editors or editors some lessons in English.
I learnt Science and Maths in Mandarin during my primary school. I learnt Science and Maths in Bahasa Melayu during my secondary school. I learnt everything in 'Rojak' (English + Bahasa Melayu) during my university study. I am now working with Australian based company and dealing with people from various countries with various languages inclusive of English, Bahasa and Mandarin. I don't see any problem in the system, I only see problem with the teachers and learners, who play a more important roles rather than the politicians and public broadcasters like you who try to gain attention by politicize the issue.
Also, please correct your statement, Loot was never arrested under ISA. Please be a responsible blogger.
Regards,
many people success in their career is because their attitude not the language,,,i can survive and earn money without english...my father and uncle all already millionaire..and they are all not even finish study in secondary school..
"God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time."
- Robin Williams
all the comments here is reflective of malaysians. racist, backwards and chauvinistic. be it malay or chinese. should be ashamed of yourselves.
This is the product of chinese vernacular school! and they still defend it.
-Chinese
tahukah anda berapa murid-murid melayu belajar in sek jenic cina? Lebih dari 80000 murid!! ibubapa mereka kata sekolah cina lebih pentingkan displin dan pembelajaran...terbuktilah sekolah cina bukan halangan perpaduan..saya ada kawan melayu baik yg boleh bertutur dalam mandrin...matematik beliau bagus juga...sama dgn budak cina..sekarang dia bekerja di petronas (twin tower sana)...fikiran kita mesti buka sikit..jgn sesekali kaitkan perpaduan dgn aliran sek..
Dato' Wong,
As the eldest nephew of my uncle, I am writing in a blog the first time as I feel a personal obligation to do justice for this grand old man who has contributed much to the Malaysian Chinese education and for the Loot family, which he holds dear.
It is sad for me as a nephew who grew up and age with this eldest uncle, to see that his many years of selfless and timeless contributions, often at the sacrifice of his family, destroyed simply by the whimsy words of a young reporter, whatever her objective is. It has always been my uncle's habit to hug and hold our family's female gender eg.my sisters, my cousins, my daughter to show his affability and we had grown accustomed to this amidst the other uncles and aunties who are more trite and conservative.
Dato' would be aware that overseas, an open display of affection is a norm and in some instances, even expected! However, admittedly, my uncle had made the mistake of once too often, being too trusting and frank in the Malaysian community, til he has now fallen victim to one of his own, the generally conservative Chinese educated, whom he has indirectly fought long and hard for. The fire having lit, appears to give impetus, to some typical Malaysians, whom whether they know or not the full story or whether they are familiar or not with his life mission or good intentions, to jump on the bandwagon choosing to character assassinate a grand old man, whom we still have opportunity to share the limited times.
Knowing my uncle, (no doubt, some may think I am bias), sexual harassment would be far from his thoughts, (what with his frail health!) but neither is he the type who would clarify or excuse himself from this "wrong- doing" as in his mind, little did he imagine that someone someday would accuse him of what he must have thought to be just a friendly gesture. After all, he has always been the martyr.
I hope that with Dato's understanding and position, Dato' would help to clarify and educate the public as to my uncle's humble friendly intentions. Please clear a golden gentleman to allow him to finally retire gracefully and tranquilly in his golden years after a non-easy life. Thank you.
One commentator wrote about the bad English in the STAR paper. I agree that the standard of English has deteriorated in the STAR and all the other local English dailies and weeklies. It is not fair to just finger the STAR as an example. The same is also true about the command of English in the corporate sector in Malaysia. This sad state of affairs is a result of a failed education system. I was the country GM for an MNC for many years. I found that it was getting tougher and tougher to hire anybody with a good command of English, irrespective of whether they were the products of the Chinese of National-Type schools. I had no choice but to compromise on the standard of people I hire, or else I would not be able to hire anybody. These employees write letters with a horrible grammar. Yeah I admit my English may not be top notch, and I do make grammatical errors, but what you get today from the younger folks is really many levels down. The use of Bahasa Malaysia is of course necessary as we live in Malaysia, and it is also necessary to be proficient in Chinese due to the rise of China as an economic superpower. But do not forget that English is already the widest used language in business worldwide. Irrespective of the origin of an MNC, these MNCs use English when they hold a meeting for their international operations. China has recognized the importance of English, and they are spending billions to educate their people in English. If you visit any major institutions here that teach English, you can find a lot of students from China. In Malaysia, many people are so caught up in their political ego and racist sentiment that they refuse to acknowledge this fact.
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