Compiled by C. ARUNO, MARTIN CARVALHO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       PARENTS of students at SMK Dato’ Onn in Kuala Lumpur held a peaceful protest over the lack of Tamil subject teachers in the school, reported Malaysia Nanban.

       The parents gathered in front of the school in Jalan San Peng, Pudu, holding up banners and placards calling for the Education Ministry to probe the matter.

       M. Vetrivelan, who heads a Tamil education group, said the school used to have a teacher who taught Tamil Language and Tamil Literature. However, when the teacher was transferred to another school, no replacement was given, claimed the parents.

       There are about 60 Indian students at the school, many of whom are from B40 families.

       The parents said these students could not be expected to pay for tuition should they wish to take the subjects for the SPM examination.

       Vetrivelan also claimed that the matter had been raised with both the state Education Department as well as the Education Ministry but no action had been taken to date.

       > The daily also reported that a father and daughter in Tamil Nadu, India, were killed when an electric bike that was being charged in their house exploded and filled their home with smoke.

       Wireman Durai Varma, 49, and his daughter Mohana Preethi, 13, were asleep during the incident.

       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.