Star Q
I was on leave on the 28th of September, 2015, because I had to send my daughter back to her campus and that was also the day when the Ministry of Education announced that all schools in Negeri Sembilan (a few other states included) be closed due to the crazy haze coming from Sumatera, which incidentally is getting to be a bit out of hand due to the complacency of the people there.
The Ministry of Education had taken that measure so that children will not be outside their houses and be exposed to the haze and felt that it was a good idea for them to stay in the safety of their homes under the care of their parents.
The irony of that decision was that, these children were not in the safety of their homes as the ministry had intended. Instead, some of these children were having a field day going for outsings with their parents who were supposed to ensure that the lungs of their young ones would not be affected or infected by the haze.
I was about to sit down for lunch at one of the shopping malls in Seremban that day, It was there that I saw parents with their children tagging along side them whether window shopping or just taking in the sites. There were some teenagers (they must be in secondary schools) who were also there in groups, chatting away loudly, milling through the crowd and eventually leaving the mall without buying anything. Some even stopped by the video game shops and had a go at one of the games there. In short these school children, who were given the day off from school by the Ministry to stay at home under the care of their parents, were much happier getting themselves exposed to the possible health attach due to the haze, possibly with the consent of their parents! And that was just in that one shopping mall. Who knows how many hundred other children were loitering in the other malls scattered around Seremban!
The Ministry had taken a wise step in closing all schools in Negeri Sembilan that day, but parents had done that decision an injustice by taking them out or in the case of some parents, allowing their children to spend their time outside by going to malls or other public places.
A sheer lack of appreciation to the Ministry's genuine care towards the well-being of these children.
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