Sibu SUPP branches launch incentive to boost Form 6 Chinese language enrolment
SIBU (July 4): The Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) Dudong and Sibu Jaya branches have jointly introduced an incentive programme in an effort to attract more students to take up Form 6 Chinese Language.
SUPP Dudong chairman Wong Ching Yong said the launching of the programme will take place at the branch's office on Jalan Aman here tomorrow (July 5) at 2pm.
'SUPP Dudong and SUPP Sibu Jaya will award the first round of incentives to Form 6 students currently taking the subject,' he said in a statement.
According to him, Form 6 Chinese Language enrolment has witnessed a sharp decline over the past few decades.
'The number of candidates has plunged from over 3,000 in the 1980s to fewer than 300 in 2024 – a drop of over 90 per cent – raising serious concerns within the education community.
'We hope this incentive programme will rekindle students' passion for Chinese education and help them see Form 6 Chinese Language as not merely as an academic option, but as a pathway connecting cultural heritage with public service,' he said. Chinese language lead Sibu SUPP Wong Ching Yong
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
South Korea imposes curbs on foreigners buying homes in Seoul
Surging property prices have become a political liability for President Lee Jae-myung. - Photo: Pixabay file SEOUL: South Korea has introduced new restrictions on foreign property purchases in the greater Seoul area, its latest effort to curb housing prices. The new measures unveiled by the government on Thursday (Aug 21) will require foreigners to get prior approval to buy a property starting Aug 26. Those granted approval must move into the home within four months of receiving permission and reside there for at least two years after the purchase, the land ministry said in a statement, adding that the policy will remain in effect for one year. The measures are aimed at countering speculation in the housing market, the ministry added. The number of housing transactions by foreigners has increased by an average of 26% annually since 2022, rising from 4,568 that year to 7,296 in 2024, the ministry said. Chinese nationals account for 73% of those purchases, followed by US citizens at 14%. Gyeonggi Province accounted for 62% of such purchases in the Seoul metropolitan area, followed by Incheon at 20%. Surging property prices have become a political liability for President Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June pledging to ease living costs. The Bank of Korea's rate cuts since last year have fueled demand, adding to speculative buying. Lee's administration tightened mortgage lending in June, but apartment prices remain elevated and have risen for 29 consecutive weeks. The property boom, coupled with swelling household debt, has discouraged the Bank of Korea from cutting rates further, even as the export-driven economy shows signs of weakness following new US tariffs. Total household debt rose by 24.6 trillion won ($17.7 billion) in the April-June period, the biggest quarterly gain since the third quarter of 2021. - Bloomberg
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Boeing in talks to sell as many as 500 planes to China
BEIJING: Boeing Co. is heading closer toward finalising a deal with China to sell as many as 500 aircraft, according to people familiar with the matter, a transaction that would end a sales drought that stretches back to US President Donald Trump's last visit in 2017. The two sides are still hammering out terms of the complex aircraft sale, including the types and volume of jet models and delivery timetables, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential matters. The mega sale to China, years in the making, is contingent on the two nations diffusing the trade hostilities that hark back to Trump's first term in office - and could still fall apart, they said. Chinese officials have already started consulting domestic airlines about how many Boeing aircraft they'll need, the people said. The transaction taking shape is similar in scope to the order for as many as 500 jets that China's central planners have struck with Airbus SE, but haven't yet announced, they added. Boeing shares jumped as much as 3.7% in premarket US trading Thursday (Aug 21) after Bloomberg reported on the talks. The stock has risen 27% this year amid a turnaround under Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg. The order is expected to be the centerpiece of a trade agreement that would benefit both Trump and China's President Xi Jinping, the culmination of long-running and sometimes contentious negotiations. The nation's leaders were close to a similar announcement in 2023, but then-President Joe Biden and Xi left a San Francisco summit without consummating an aircraft sale. Complicating matters for Boeing is a leadership void in China. Alvin Liu, its top executive in China and a fluent Mandarin-speaker with extensive government contacts, left the company in recent weeks. Carol Shen has been named interim president of Boeing China, said people familiar with the matter. Boeing declined to comment on any potential deal or management changes. Aircraft orders for Boeing have figured large in US diplomacy since Trump returned to the White House in January, with nations touting new, tentative and existing deals for airplanes, which are as expensive as skyscrapers, to narrow trade imbalances with the US. The US and China have engaged in several rounds of talks since de-escalating tit-for-tat tariffs that soared to as high as 145%, but have yet to reach a final trade deal. Earlier in the summer, Xi, in a phone call, invited Trump to China at an unspecified date. One opportunity for the pair to meet is in late October, ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea. For China, the deal would secure aircraft delivery slots that are hard to come by at both Boeing and Airbus, which are largely sold out into the 2030s. The world's second largest's aviation market is expected to more than double its commercial fleet to 9,755 airplanes over the next 20 years, by Boeing's estimation, far more than China's homegrown planemaker Comac could manufacture. The country's top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, recently sought input from Chinese carriers about how many jets they want, one of the people said. Talks centered on the 737 Max series of aircraft, Boeing's popular single-aisle jet, in a sign Beijing is laying the groundwork for a major order. Boeing's last Chinese deal was unveiled in November 2017 during Trump's first state visit to China. The deal amounted to orders and commitments for 300 single-aisle and twin-aisle planes valued at $37 billion at the time. The next year, Boeing's China deliveries peaked, when a quarter of its jets ended up in the mainland. Airbus has dominated sales and deliveries to China since 2019, when the nation's regulators were the first to ground the 737 Max after two fatal accidents. Boeing has notched only 30 orders with Chinese carriers and leasing companies since the start of 2019, according to the company's website. In an interview with Bloomberg in January, CEO Ortberg was optimistic that years of talks with Beijing would finally pay off. "We certainly hope that there's an opportunity for some additional orders in the next year with China,' he said. - Bloomberg
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai's 'punditry' not criminal: lawyer
HONG KONG: Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai's lawyer clashed with judges on Thursday (Aug 21) over whether the pro-democracy newspaper founder's "armchair punditry" on social media and other platforms breached the city's national security law. The 77-year-old founder of the now-closed Apple Daily has pleaded not guilty to two counts of foreign collusion, with authorities accusing him of using various platforms to lobby Western nations to sanction China and Hong Kong. The charges were brought under the city's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub the year before. Lawyers are presenting their closing arguments in the trial, which began in December 2023. Prosecutors have cited 161 articles, including op-eds carrying Lai's byline, as part of their evidence that the tycoon conspired to lobby for sanctions against China and Hong Kong. Defence lawyer Robert Pang read out some of Lai's social media posts in court. He also pointed to a 2020 livestream in which Lai warned about China's "war-wolf attitude" in foreign relations that the mogul said would not change unless Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped down. "He's commenting on world affairs... (like) over the dimsum table," Pang told the court. "It's not a request for Xi Jinping to step down." However, the three-judge panel disagreed multiple times, with judge Esther Toh telling Pang to interpret Lai's words "without obfuscation". The 161 articles have also been cited as evidence of "seditious publication", which is being brought against Lai as a separate charge. Western nations and rights groups have called for Lai's release. Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday that it and "a coalition of 72 human rights and press freedom organisations" are urging British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to secure the release of Lai, a British citizen. Hong Kong authorities "strongly disapproved and rejected the slanderous remarks" last week from foreign organisations and media regarding Lai's case. Officials also maintained that Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" medical care while in custody. Lai has been fitted with a heart-rate monitor and prescribed medication after his defence team said last week he was experiencing heart palpitations. - AFP
