Quick-thinking bus driver saves pupils

Man evacuates 33 as vehicle catches fire

AN UNFLUSTERED schoolbus driver in Taiping, Perak, saved the lives of 33 primary school pupils by evacuating them before the bus caught fire.

Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported that the bus ferrying the pupils from SK Assam Kumbang was destroyed in a blaze at the Assam Kumbang flyover around 3.30pm on Monday.

The bus was heading to the students’ hostel in Kampung Jambu when thick smoke billowed from the engine.

The driver immediately stopped the vehicle and managed to get the children off the bus before it caught fire.

A student said they were frightened when they saw the smoke but luckily the driver stopped and shouted at them to leave the bus.

Firemen rushed to the scene but the bus was completely damaged.

> The relationship between newly appointed Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Patahiyah Ismail and journalists became rocky after several incidents where she allegedly ignored journalists who tried to throw questions at her, Sin Chew Daily reported.

On Sunday, Patahiyah was reported to have turned and walked away when a group of journalists tried to ask for her comment on public objections to a high-density development project in Tanjung Bungah.

She again left in silence at a tree planting event on Monday when journalists approached her to seek clarification on her speech.

When asked if Patahiyah planned to remain silent towards the mass media, MBPP corporate division director Mohamed Akhbar Mustafa denied the snubs and explained that Patahiyah went off because she was “too tired”.

State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow also backed Patahiyah, saying that she might be afraid of the media.

“I’ve spoken to Patahiyah and also suggested that she could conduct press conferences every week or once a fortnight so that the media could get updates on local issues,” he said.

> More young adults in Singapore are working as cleaners as the job could offer a better pay compared to being a waiter.

China Press reported that many youths, especially university students, opted to take up home-cleaning jobs which pay them about S$16 (RM43) hourly.

Several cleaning companies said 10% to 20% of their employees were in their 20s, and at least one company also planned to recruit more young employees.

An undergraduate said he was attracted by the high hourly pay, “I found out in my market research that the pay for a cleaner is the second highest in the market, just after tuition teacher”.

According to cleaning company Helpling Singapore, a freelance cleaner who worked 23 hours per week could earn up to S$1,500 (RM4,050) a month.