On 18th of February 2019, SMK St Teresa held a special assembly to launch Program Jom ke Sekolah. This is a collaborative program of the Ministry of Education Malaysia (also known as Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, KPM) and the Royal Malaysia Police (also known as Polis Diraja Malaysia, PDRM) to uphold the discipline of students and prevent them from committing wrongdoings, when inside or even outside of the school.
The main objectives of this program is to increase the percentage of students’ attendance in school, to reduce students’ disciplinary issues, and to improve the students’ achievements and excellency in both academic and curricular activities. At 6.50 a.m. that Monday, the students, prefects and teachers gathered in front of the Administrative Block where the special assembly was held. The guests, ASP Jawai and Inspector Florence from the Royal Malaysia Police arrived at 7.00 a.m. The assembly started at 7.10 a.m with the singing of the national anthem and the state anthem, followed by Doa and Prayer. Doa and Prayer were led by our students, Maisarah and Sharon Keri,respectively. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance led by Ayra, Madam Cecelia, the PKHEM of SMK St Teresa gave a speech, stating the objectives and importance of Program Jom ke Sekolah. Then, ASP Jawai as a representative of the Inspector-General of Police, Malaysia (Ketua Polis Negara Malaysia) presented a message from him to the students.
Later, Madam Jennifer, SMK St Teresa’s counseling and guidance teacher read out a summarized message from the Ministry of Education Malaysia regarding Program Jom ke Sekolah. Following that, Madam Mary John, the principle of SMK St Teresa; Mr Awang, the PKP of SMK St Teresa; Miss Susie, the PKKK of SMK St Teresa; Madam Cecelia, ASP Jawai and Inspector Florence were invited to launch the program by cutting the banner as the students counted down. As the banner rolls down, the words ‘Datang dengan Harapan, Pulang dengan Kejayaan’, meaning ‘Come with Hope, Return with Success’ can be seen on it. At 8.00 a.m., the special assembly ended with the school rally, Proud to be Teresian. The government of Malaysia hopes that, with students participating and being actively involved in this program, it will not only create a friendly relation between the students and the licensed officers but will also prevent them from being involved in crimes in the future.
Love and serve,
Victoria Frances Teng