Yoursay: A debt is a debt by any other name

YOURSAY | BN’s See-To should understand difference between M’sia’s loans and that of HK and S’pore.

'Each Malaysian owes RM29,134 in debt?'

Democrat: BN Strategic Communications Team deputy director Eric See-To, thanks for pointing to Singapore’s Straits Times article.

It clearly explains that most of the external debt is foreign money deposited in Singapore’s banks (given that the city state is a global financial centre). Once they are deposited in banks, they are classified as loans - to be lent abroad and make more money. So they are assets.

This is the same with Hong Kong (which is also a global financial centre). Moreover, they do not borrow to spend. Instead, Hong Kong invests all the proceeds which it has borrowed.

The income which it earns from its investments is also more than sufficient to cover the debt servicing costs. That is why they have a balanced budget. Technically, they have zero external debts.

In Malaysia, most of it is borrowed for development and to spend. Like the RM66 billion loan for the East Coast Rail Link project. It is borrowed to spend and we must return the cash. That, See-To, is a loan that we cannot reinvest like that in Singapore.

So you are misleading Malaysians with your article above. Be honest and give Malaysians the actual picture.

Quigonbond: See-To certainly sounds very clever. But does it make any difference if it is domestic or foreign debt? A debt is a debt.

Foreign debt just makes it more difficult to service because it is subject to fluctuations of foreign exchange, but domestic debt carries as much interest.

And guess what? Banks are largely owned by government-linked companies (GLC). When the government fails to pay, and non-performing loans become too high, will the government step in to bail them out? And whose money will be used? Taxpayers, EPF contributors, et cetera?

Yes, eventually it'll be (again) up to us middle-class people who toil, sweat and bleed on the daily grind to eke out a living and who do not have the luxury of having companies or businesses or offshore accounts to minimise tax impact or to launder money.

The point isn't how much debt each Malaysian owes, but how that came about. It's a result of misgovernance, abuse of power and gross corruption. See-To should try to address that point instead.

Clever Voter: It is deplorable that external debts in Malaysia ought to be on the high side, especially so as a resource-rich nation.

Our household debts now are almost 90 percent, meaning for every one ringgit earned, most of it goes to pay off debts.

It is fine if we borrow for actual development which brings real benefits, but much of the borrowings go to waste or allegedly to some people’s pockets. That is what annoys many.

Hundreds of teachers turn up in court, 'Cikgu Azizan' discharged

Ex-Wfw: Many parents forget that the so-called education practices in the West can lead us down a quagmire, though this should not be taken as a free hand to physically abuse all students.

Cikgu Azizan being an experienced teacher of so many years, surely the parents concerned could have spoken to the other teachers to find out the real situation before taking action.

Wong Fei Hoong: No one has the right to physically harm a student, including teachers. There are many instances where teachers physically harassed students and it is for the court to decide whether the teacher is guilty as charged.

There are many ways to skin a cat, but one should not do it physically.

Ahbengkia: All kinds of accusations have been levelled against the student. My question is, first, was the slap proven? Second, even if proven, was it justified to slap a student, especially a primary school student? How hard was the slap, by the way?

So now I want to ask, can a teacher slap a student or not, especially a primary school student?  It does not matter whether the student has been difficult; my question is whether the teacher is allowed to slap a student, and if so, how hard. 

I think Malaysians can no longer think rationally. I think our enforcement agencies are just succumbing to the teachers’ gathering at the courthouse. What nonsense.

Katusha: No matter how badly misbehaved the student was, this teacher had no right at all to slap him.

Retnam: Those days there were clear-cut standard operating procedures regarding punishment. Slapping a student was totally not allowed. Certain individual teachers were given authority to cane delinquent students after a proper investigation.

By allowing this incident of slapping, the floodgates will be opened.

Rupert16: Spare the rod and spoil the child, as the saying goes. During our days studying in a missionary school in Penang, our teachers were very strict. If we report to our parents that we got slapped by the teacher or caned by the headmaster, we will get extra punishment.

Looking back, most of us are now thankful to those teachers who were strict with us; they made us a better person.

Goldee: Rupert16, you are right that during our time in the 60s, we dared not complain to our parents for fear of being further punished by them.

I have seen a teacher using the edge of the ruler to knock on my classmate's fingers till the skin split and bled. In those years most parents were illiterate, as compared to now when most parents are well educated.

In my opinion, punishment and discipline actions are best left to the disciplinary teacher. If a student is found misbehaving, the teacher should report it to the disciplinary board. The school should notify the parent and request him or her to be present during counselling.

If the case is severe, it should be left to the police to handle it.- Mkini