Using newspapers to teach the English Language

The reports on the ongoing turmoil in PKR is a "mother lode" source for the teaching of English, more than, I would say, the "letters to the Editor" pages. When the 'fun' started, Zaid has been assailed as a "bull in a China shop" . If you look at these articles today, you will find more similes and metaphors, and will surely make the learning of English an enthusiastic and fun experience.. ... click here>> Zaid a thorn in PKR's flesh and Zaid is not Barisan's Trojan horse.. Other phrases of note are

• blue eyed boy
• get under the skin
• elections have been bastardised
• not a poodle to anyone

Using animals in the reporting seem to be the favourite, and in the coming days, you may find the inclusion of such phrases as,

• Zaid is jumping like a "cat on a hot tin roof" and not willing to "bite the bullet"
  
• behaving like a "dog in the manger" or "sour grapes"
• having a "bee in the bonnet"
• or casting "pearls before swine"
• tries to "hit while the iron is hot"
• screaming till the "cows come home"
• is a "snake in the grass"
• and is accusing the leaders of behaving like the three monkeys, "see ho evil, hear no evil and speak no evil"

hahahahahahah

Thumbs-up for Penang government

As expected, there is hue and cry over the decision of the Penang State Government to further ban the use of plastic bags next year, No Plastic rule may cost jobs.. but for once, i am happy to see that there is political will to do something right, for the long term good of the nation

Such unpopular decisions will come at a "political cost" but it is good to see that there are politicians willing to take the risk for the betterment of the nation. We cannot always fall back on the reason that people will suffer through the loss of jobs and employment opportunities, and even the closure of some businesses, just so that we can continue destroying the nation, and deplete it of natural resources that should be saved for future generations.

Our Government cannot maintain that it's striving to achieve a "green" status, but at the same time turn a blind eye to unethical practices and protests by selfish businessmen who will only look at short term profits and nothing else. Collectively, as a nation we must be proud to feel "ownership" of the country and must realise that hard work and sacrifice are needed to keep it safe and healthy for generations to come.

In this context, politicians must also not think parochially, but must react above political constraints and mutually agree to make further decisions to ensure all Malaysians enjoy living healthy and dignified lives. Some of the "unpopular" decisions that have to made are

• Reduce or stop the use of foreign menial labour in the country; encouraging such low wage earning labour (in many instances illegally acquired) only serve to pollute the environment, cause social problems, and cause our nation to be branded a "human trafficking" hub
• Promote the use of Internationally approved type of incinerators to dispose off and manage our waste; at the same time ensure all local councils enforce a uniform recycling policy for household and industrial waste
• Implement a National Forest Strategy to demarcate the size of our depleting Forest Reserves; the Policy must include independent and internationally verifiable procedures to ensure the Designated Forest Reserve Areas WILL NEVER be trespassed. This policy will elicit loud protests from many parties, not least among them timber tycoons and 'connected' politicians, but can we allow our dwindling reserves and Water Catchment areas to be abused anymore. The annually increasing severity of floods is testimony that we cannot flinch from our sacred duty to protect our nation and our forests.
  

Of course, there are many more areas that the governments can look into, many more unpopular decisions that will have to be made, but if the leaders of out nation believe in what they are doing, let the 'plastic bag ban' be the first step towards making our country great again...

Thumbs up for Penang Govt.

Is the Ministry of Transport working at all??

Yet another gruesome express bus accident and yet another heartfelt response from a reader, Punish Bus Operators too! Professor Hasman Shah Abdullah feels that with the almost daily occurrences of such tragic accidents, the public has become desensitized to these reports. The Government should heed his call that... " it could give the “People First” slogan real punch by forcing the installation of speed limiters in all buses to ensure no driver can, for whatever reason, place the passengers in jeopardy." he added, " Many Transport Ministers have tried but meekly conceded to the industry lobby. It is time to place the industry second and the “people (passengers) first.”

But what raised my heckles is another tame statement made by the Minister of Transport, who said after this gruesome accident, " It is the responsibility of bus operators and owners to ensure that the drivers they hire have valid driving licences,... “If they do not have a licence, they should not be allowed to drive.." The same Minister was reported to have said in the other horrible express bus accident near Simpang Ampat, Pedas, that "according to a Ministry analysis of the accident, if the bus has NOT speeded, the lives may not have been lost"

Come on Mr Dato Minister, we know that! Don't be so patronizing!! Professor Hazman has correctly pointed out that the one big reason that the Ministry seems to be so powerless, is that it always has acceded to the "requests" of the Industry. Even when the Ministry has ALREADY approved of speed limiting devices to be installed, nothing seems to be done.

How much more blood do you want on your hands, Minister, before we can see beyond "industry profits and slave labour" and give the rakyat the service they deserve?

In Japan, the Minister of Transport would have committed 'hara kiri'

Reckess Littering by foreign workers!

I REFER to the report “Villagers in Muar don’t want factories” (The Star, Nov 1). Once a tranquil and beautiful town, Muar has now turned into a busy industrial site with hundreds of heavy vehicles entering and leaving the area daily.

But what was more insidious and more revealing was the remark made by one of the villagers that “the drains are clogged because the foreign workers throw their rubbish there”... the more than 1,000 foreign workers “imported” to man the factories.

Read in conjunction with the other news in the same issue like “A heap of landfill woes,” the statement is portentous of the disaster we are going to have on our hands.

Just imagine more than three million foreign workers (and increasing daily) legally and illegally brought into the country to maintain Malaysia as a “low wage paying nation,” and what sort of rubbish mess they are creating.

It’s a daily occurrence that has happened right in front of my house. Foreign workers returning from their 16-hour shift work at a nearby restaurant drinking from plastic bags filled with teh tarik throw the empty bags into the nearest available drain.

Likewise, contract workers at nearby houses under renovation also use the drains for their empty plastic bags and plastic food packages.

No wonder the disease Leptospirosis is spreading like wildfire, with Dengue close on its heels.

Concern over littering by foreign workers