AN educator has sparked awareness as to how much the teaching fraternity has lost out to politicians or more specifically MPs and senators who are showered with an abundance of allowances on top of their fixed monthly income.
“Then teachers go to the course, pay for it yourself, drive yourself, eat yourself,” lamented Chuan Teik Min 🇲🇾 (@teikmin9) on the X platform.
“Where is the allowance? Meeting four days a week. Last time during the PKP (Movement Control Order), webcam, keypad, all out of pocket. Call parents on their own phone. If you want to print A4 paper, buy it yourself. The saddest is the teacher. 😥”
Then teachers go kursus, bayar sendiri, drive sendiri, makan sendiri. Mana ada allowance. Meeting 4 hari seminggu. Last time masa PKP pun, webcam, keypad, semua keluar poket sendiri. Call parents pun phone sendiri. A4 paper nak print pun beli sendiri. Paling sad is Cikgu. 😥 https://t.co/B9FApbFbYt
— Chuan Teik Min 🇲🇾 (@teikmin92) June 20, 2024
Nevertheless, the passionate teacher contended that the love for his job has pushed him to render his service without being calculative.
“I enjoy teaching and sharing life with my pupils. My pupils are my fuel and they keep the passion strong. Most of the time, we don’t mind the sacrifice because we care for them. At times, we just wish that the government would care for us better. 🫶🏻”
For context, Chuan was reacting to a post by Aidila Razak (@aidilarazak) which revealed Part 2 of the @KiniNewsLab series which looked look at perks for Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara members.
They include fixed like monthly allowances of RM16,000 and transport allowance of RM4,800/month in addition to variable allowances like attending meetings (ie parliamentary i sitting), etc.
Obviously, the sentiment expressed by Chuan struck a chord with the teaching fraternity chipping in with their thoughts, the most notable being MPs are likely to rebut by saying “don’t be overly calculative; offer your service with sincerity”.
As one sarcastically out it, “even flowerpots are better taken care of in schools than the teachers”.
In terms of ringgit and sen, one commentator noted how he just found out that “the teacher who received the Excellent Service Award has to pay RM50 to cover the food expenses for the award ceremony”. Likewise, the pathetic “RM1 per session allowance to invigilate the SPM examination without any meal allowance”.
One teacher recalled that there was internet access in her former school, thus prompting teachers “to use our own internet for everything even at the so-called makmal computer (computer lab)”.
As one netizen summed up, it is little wonder that many civil servants eventually opt to become MP even though they are already past their retirement age. – June 21, 2024
