..I really can't stomach this

"Two of her children Teck Chai, 16, and Pei Fei, 14, quit school to help their mother. They sold their school text books to a recycling centre just to buy rice for the family."

I know poverty. I've seen and gone thru' that myself so I ask, "are we really living in a civilised land or in some remote time forgotten jungle?"

School kids selling their school books to buy food!!!  Oh! come on...this is UNACCEPTABLE.

Books should be kids' best friend. This I learned from my late father and in Malaysia we have school going children selling books for food. 

The Malaysian government spends and buys billions of ringgit on stuff we Malaysians don't need or require and yet they can't look after kids in schools. Education is a priceless gift and it should never be traded, not even for gold or let alone all the gold or diamonds amassed.

I understand the poverty stricken kids were given help in the form of money, food and clothing and school books after their story was highlighted by a local daily.

When school children fail to attend school or drop out, it is the onus of the teacher or the Principal of the school to highlight this to the Ministry of Education. Not wait for the whole sympathy showcased to the country via the local government controlled dailies just to insinuate the opposition or the public. 

As far as education is concern, issues concerning education, kids truancy, schools not able to provide proper teaching facilities, absenteeism of teachers and low salaries are the paramount onus of the Government of the day. 

The very moment we fail to provide that to our kids, we fail as guardians as well period.

Money should be well spent caring and educating the young. We should never at any cost neglect but ensure the future generation are not left out of the mainstream knowledge-gaining spectrum. This is the paramount, a blue print to build a better nation then we have now. What we sow and reap is our utmost responsibility and it is also our duty to leave behind a better future for the younger ones to embrase. 

54 years and beyond; never mind who is ruling the country, we're still living in a cloud of shame.

We never should lick what we spill..now should we?