Compiled by C. ARUNO, IYLIA MARSYA ISKANDAR and R. ARAVINTHAN

       A TOTAL of 244 contract teachers will be sent to Chinese vernacular schools to alleviate staff shortage, according to the Education Ministry, reported Sin Chew Daily.

       Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon revealed that SJK (C)s were short of 1,010 teachers as of late last year.

       Taking action: Dr Mah said the ministry is currently processing potential hires. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star

       Some 340 teachers were sent to the schools between December 2021 and January 2022, with an additional 151 being sent in February, he said during a meeting with members of the Kulai District Chinese Vernacular Schools Development Committee on Wednesday.

       The ministry is in the process of addressing the remaining 275 spots which still remain unfilled, he added.

       On a separate matter, Dr Mah pointed out that the ministry had hired some 8,000 teachers out of the special one-off initiative last year to recruit 18,702 teachers.

       According to him, there were around 48,000 applicants and that the ministry was still processing potential hires for the remaining 10,000 spots.

       It was earlier reported that the application for the special recruitment of grade DG41 education service officers was opened beginning July 7, 2021, and teachers recruited were sent to schools from October last year.

       Dr Mah added that the biggest challenge the ministry faced was to get applicants to sign up for six subjects namely physical education, music, arts and crafts, counselling, design and technology, and history.

       > Malaysian singer Gary Chaw is being investigated by Taiwan police for being involved in an altercation with other guests at a restaurant in Taipei’s Neihu district on March 7.However, when police got to the scene, Chaw had already left.

       A one-minute and 51-second video, which was shared online, recorded a man going on a drunken tirade at a restaurant, reported China Press.

       Even though the man was not in the frame of the video, the police confirmed that it was indeed Chaw who was causing the ruckus.

       Witnesses at the restaurant claimed that the man yelling was Chaw and at one point during his outburst he began to throw items at other guests and the restaurant owner.

       A woman, believed to be a waitress, was seen hit by a tray flung at her.

       Even though the restaurant will not be pressing charges against Chaw, the police will be investigating the case under the Social Order Maintenance Act based on Chaw’s outburst recorded on video.

       This was not the first time the 42-year-old from Sabah was caught in a drunken outburst in public.

       In 2009, he was reported to have been in a drunken brawl with Hong Kong singer Justin Lo, after which he vowed to abstain from alcohol for a year.

       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.