Compiled by ASHLEY TANG, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A PRIMARY school in Sabak Bernam, Selangor, became the first in the country to be used as a vaccination centre, Makkal Osai reported.

       SJK(T) Ladang Sungai Bernam has been transformed into a vaccination centre to serve 360 residents in Sungai Bernam Estate, Kampung Raja and Kampung Datuk Hormat.

       Sabak Bernam MP Datuk Mohamad Fasiah Mohd Fakeh was behind the move which saw around 40 officers and staff from the district health department carrying out the vaccination drive.

       So far, 220 locals and 140 foreign workers have successfully completed both doses at the school.

       Fasiah, who visited the school, thanked Sungai Bernam Estate manager L. Magesyaran and school headmaster Rameshkumar Ramaloo for allowing the school to be used as a centre.

       > The daily also reported that 58 Hindu priests from various castes were officially appointed by the Tamil Nadu state government as temple priests.

       Among those appointed, five are from the schedule class, six from the most backward class, 12 from the backward class and one from the general category.

       The classes are communities which were once oppressed and called untouchables in Indian society but are now officially recognised under the law.

       Based on the old traditions, only the Brahmins were allowed to function as Hindu temple priests.

       In the 1970s, the state government led by M. Karunanidhi’s DMK enacted laws enshrining the rights of all communities to function as priests.

       The Indian Supreme Court also upheld that anyone born a Hindu can become a temple priest after completing the proper training.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.