-NiE ,
INTERMEDIATE Fairness and justice
NiE Activity 1 ● Measure ● Organise
LET’S take a closer look at what it means to be fair. At some point in time, we must have said out loud, “That’s unfair!” How do you know when something is unfair?
Problem solving
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Brainstorm
Communicating ● Oral ● Written ● Non-verbal ● Aural
9
Judge, jury and executioner
Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
24 MAY 2017
● Connect ● Invent
Collaborating ● Listen
● Compromise
● Contribute ● Attain goal respectfully
● Question ● Recreate ● Research ● Present
(Note to teacher: Students can be tasked with looking for such stories from their copy of The Star, as well.)
Story 1: Conmen act with authority to ‘convince’ victims PETALING JAYA: Syndicates offering fake datukships are able to swindle their victims of millions of ringgit by being very convincing and operating with “authority”. Police sources familiar with such investigations said the modus operandi was simple – meet at expensive hotels, pay for the meeting and after the bait is taken, fleece the victim. “In one of the investigations, we found two people who allegedly conned more than seven others into parting with some RM700,000. “The victims actually believed that an investiture would be held in a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur. “However, when the victims realised the Sultan’s absence on that day, the excuse given by the tricksters would be that the Sultan was unwell. “Eventually, when the victims found out their datukship was not recognised by any state and lodged a police report, it was too late,” said one police officer who is based in Kelantan. The officer warned those desperate for a Datuk title that they were committing a crime if they bought it from any state, as stipulated under the Penal Code. The Star, March 22, 2017
Story 3: Tailor cheated by employer A woman who reported that she was cheated by her employer of more than RM10,000 in EPF payments is being harassed for reporting the matter to the authorities. Devinder Kaur said she had been working for the same employer as a tailor for several years. “The company did not pay my EPF contributions and RM6,400 in Socso payments,” she said. The woman reported the matter to the authorities, including the Labour Department. Following this, four men from the company came to her home in November and threatened her, she alleged. Meanwhile, no action had been taken against the employer or the four men, she claimed. The Star, March 8, 2017
Story 5: Blind man loses RM1,050 to ‘helper’ at ATM A 48-year-old blind man lost his savings when he asked a stranger to help him withdraw money from an ATM in Johor Baru. The man, known only as Yu, said he had gone to the bank to withdraw money at about 7am on Sept 30. A man who was queueing up there had helped him to check his balance using Yu’s ATM card. “He told me I still had RM1,104 in the bank so I asked him to withdraw RM1,050 for me. However, he told me the ATM had broken down and my money could not be withdrawn. He then quickly returned the card to me and left,” Yu said. Yu then sought help from another man there, who found a receipt showing that RM1,050 had been withdrawn from his account. He was shocked as he needed the money for his daily expenses. Yu called the daily to relate his incident as he hoped people would not take advantage of other people’s misfortunes. “I have been asking strangers for help to withdraw money but this is the first time I have been cheated,” said Yu, who lost his eyesight two years ago. The Star, Oct 24, 2016
Here are some stories taken from The Star. Your teacher will clip them out and place them in a box. While she is doing so, you will gather in groups of six. Each group leader will randomly select one story from the collection. Read the stories carefully, then role-play “the crime”. The jury – that is made up of the class – will decide on the punishment that needs to be meted out to the “criminal”. When all groups have completed the assignment, discuss the justice and fairness of the punishments. Were some punishments harsher than necessary?
Story 2: Traders cry out for compensation after demolition BUTTERWORTH: Six remaining stalls at Jalan Mak Mandin near the Rumah Hijau lowcost flats, whose operators had earlier protested against eviction, have been torn down. Two Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) excavators arrived to demolish the stalls at about 2pm yesterday. The road was closed and there was heavy police presence, with some personnel armed with tear gas. No untoward incident took place. Following the demolition, the stall operators held placards in protest and sought to resume business at a nearby vacant community hall or be paid a compensation of RM25,000 for each stall. Eatery operator Abdul Nazier Abdul Razak, 52, said there were initially 14 stalls along the road, but four had moved out, and the operators who remained were disappointed that they had to make way for development in the area. “My father started the business here 40 years ago, and we’ve been trading here every day to serve the local community. Then suddenly, we received an eviction notice on March 6. On Monday, our stalls were demolished. What we are appealing for is a small compensation of RM25,000 for each stall, or to be relocated to the nearby community hall, which is closed and not being used,” he told reporters yesterday. Another trader M. Telainayegi, 56, who sells processed chicken and vegetables at her stall, claimed that she felt cheated after MPSP cancelled her licence despite recently renewing it. “The council sent me a letter saying that my business licence has been cancelled because the land I’m trading on will be used for development. I’ve been trading here for almost 30 years, and suddenly now I have no more income,” she said. The Star, March 22, 2017
Story 4: Only a small contract but couple fools 1,000 into giving up RM55mil
SHAH ALAM: She came from a humble background in Besut, Terengganu, where her family ran an honest business to make ends meet. Armed with only an SPM qualification and big dreams, the woman secured a contract from the Defence Ministry to supply awnings. However, that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted more. Using the official contract letter, she forged documents to make it look like she had won a multi-million ringgit project from the ministry to supply digital camouflage uniforms. With this, she lured “investors” and before long, her entire village became her victims. The 30-year-old woman, along with her husband, 31, recruited at least 1,000 “investors” and raked in RM55mil. With the new-found wealth, the couple drove around in luxury cars, wore branded clothes, carried luxury handbags and hobnobbed with the rich. These made it even easier to snare potential victims. It took another woman, a clerk in a government agency, to bring down the duo’s house of cards. She lodged a police report about being cheated along with 40 others to the tune of RM1.7mil. The couple had roped in a schoolmate from Besut and they set about gathering at least 1,000 investors, promising returns of between 30% and 90% in a scam resembling a multi-level marketing scheme. The Star, Feb 12, 2017
NiE Activity 2 Critical thinking ● Identify ● Reason
● Measure ● Organise
Creative thinking ● Imagine ● Connect
● Invent
Problem solving ● Question ● Recreate
● Present
Communicating ● Oral
● Written
Think of a time when someone had taken unfair advantage of you. Describe it to a partner. ● What was unfair about it? ● How did it make you feel? ● What did you learn from the experience?
Next, write a newspaper report about the experience (from a third person’s point of view). Refer to the format of the five stories given in the earlier activity. Include quotes.