Rot in system: Teachers suffer, cronies benefit, warns Nie Ching

The plight of temporary teachers is symptomatic of the rot in not just the Education Ministry but the entire BN administration.

Recently, up to 7,000 temporary teachers have been shortchanged by the government, as their ‘contract of service’ have been changed to a ‘contract for service’so as to ‘exempt’ the Ministry from paying EPF contributions, bonuses, maternity benefits and other basic benefits which amount to RM200 per teacher per month.

The Education Ministry is lamenting that it is lacking in the financial resources to make those payments. By stripping RM200 per month from every temporary teacher, a year’s savings would amount to merely RM16.8 million – a mere fraction of the amounts that are lost in wastages and corrupt practices inherent in the system.

Till now, the problem has remain unsolved despite repeated assurances from Deputy Education Minister Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong. Therefore, I would like to put forward a proposal.

New villages

In the tsunami of March 8, 2008, apart from Barisan Nasional’s loss of power in 5 states, an ‘inexplicable’ phenomenon also took place.

Village Development and Security Committees or Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK) have existed for as long as BN has been in power, and the committee members of the JKKK are appointed by the state governments. The head of the committee is commonly known as the village head or ketua kampung.

After the 12th GE in 2008, we not only have the JKKK but the federal government formed its very own 3,231 Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung Persekutuan (JKKKP). Why is that so?

After the BN lost power in five states, it was highly indignant over its loss of influence in rural areas and New Villages, and quickly established the JKKKP and appointed BN members and supporters to head these committees. Therefore, in Pakatan Rakyat states, we have a village head and a ‘federal’ village head. Such an absurd and bizarre situation does not exist in BN states!

The state of Perak offers a classic example of this ridiculous setup. After the events of March 8, BN established 815 JKKKPs in Perak. After its unlawful and malicious power grab of 2009 which succeeded in BN wresting back control of the state, the JKKKP was promptly disbanded in June 2009.

Presently, there are 1899, 142, 381 and 765 JKKKPs in Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Kelantan respectively. The committee members not only have ‘official’ JKKKP name tags but they are also remunerated with monthly allowances. A chairperson and a secretary are paid RM800 and RM200 respectively in addition to a monthly meeting allowance of RM100. Committee members who attend meetings receive RM50 each.

These allowances look insignificant at first glance but when one adds it all up, it is a huge amount. From 2008 till today, the federal government has spent a staggering RM137,802,059 on these ‘clone’ committees.

All because of BN paranoia

If this big sum of money has proven to be money well spent and of good value, then this expenditure need not be a big concern. But as the organizational structure and functions of the JKKKP is very similar to the JKKK, setting up a duplicate committee is definitely a waste of taxpayers’ money.

By setting up JKKKPs in Pakatan states, it shows that BN cannot accept its defeat in GE12 and will do whatever it can to provide an ‘official’ channel for its practice of money politics and grassroots work in rural areas.

Just think about this. If the present allocation for JKKKPs can be diverted to these temporary teachers, there would be more than enough to cover the cost of their remuneration and basic employment benefits, in addition to maintaining the present scheme. This would certainly improve the lives of temporary teachers, most of whom put in as many hours as qualified teachers.

The question is, is BN ready to sacrifice enriching their cronies for the benefit of ordinary Malaysians?

Teo Nie Ching is the DAP National Assistant Publicity Secretary and Serdang MP