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

       NATIONAL-TYPE Chinese secondary school graduates make up 30% of those being trained to become teachers at Chinese vernacular schools each year, Sin Chew Daily reported.

       According to Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, the bulk of students attending teaching training colleges across the country come from national-type secondary schools, which are also known as conforming schools.

       “Of course, the ratio could be higher since 45% of the candidates sitting for the SPM Chinese Language examination are from national-type Chinese schools,” he said during an online conference on Tuesday.

       To achieve this, he hoped principals and teachers at secondary schools would urge more of their students to join the teaching profession.

       On a separate matter, Dr Mah said that since becoming a deputy minister, he had kept close touch with the Malaysian Conforming Secondary Schools’ Principals Council and Majlis Pembangunan SMJK Conforming Malaysia to help resolve issues faced by these schools.

       He added that even though many national-type Chinese schools were gradually becoming national schools or government-assisted schools, the culture of how the schools were run remained the same.

       > Hong Kong actor Bob Lam has just moved to a bigger house on the island, noted for its expensive real estate.

       Sin Chew Daily reported that the 42-year-old recently posted a photo online of him and his family at their old three-storey villa in Hong Kong’s Kowloon region on the peninsula.

       “Bye bye! Thank you for sheltering us from the rain for the past three years,” Lam wrote.

       When interviewed, he admitted that the lease at the old villa had ended and his family moved to a new place that was “brighter” and had “better feng shui”.

       “At the old place, it was noisier as it faced the main road. Sometimes, changing to a new environment can give us a fresher feeling and better motivation to continue working hard!” he said, declining to reveal the rent at the new place.

       “The most important thing is that my family is comfortable and happy.”

       The father of four reportedly made around HK$20mil (RM10.73mil) 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.