Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is worried about that problem of truancy, He has appealed to parents, schools and communities to help the police check the problem before it gets worse.

Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein jumps in and declares that his ministry plans to help the police to seek amendments to the law to enable them to detain students playing truant.

Internal Security Minister Noh Omar echoes the response by the Bar Council - the police are not empowered to detain students who play truant. But, he adds, the police could take them to the police station and alert their parents or the school authorities.

The Selangor government says it will do exactly that. Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo reveals that his state government has asked police to pick up truants and hand them over to their parents. The police should also check their school bags and belongings to ensure that they were not involved in criminal activities.

Similar to the manner in which it has handled the gangsterism problem, the government's proposed solutions to the truancy problem does not make any sense. Seen from a different perspective, it smacks of double-standards and hypocrisy on the part of the adult world in this case represented by the politicians.

Would the government consider asking the police to round up the civil servants who play truant during office hours and hand them over to their bosses?

Should the police not detain senior government officials who are on the greens playing golf during office hours (Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman would have much to comment on this) and hand them over to their higher-ups?

What about irresponsible fathers who are out late in the night playing truant - getting drunk, womanising, having affairs, gambling, etc. and shirking from their parental duties should the police not arrest them and hand them over to their spouses and children at home?

Should the marshals in parliament not round up truant MPs who spend their time loitering in the canteen and toilets of parliament or who are out somewhere doing business when parliament is on, and hand them over to the speaker?

What about the municipal workers who sit, smoke and squat around and idle away in empty chatter during working hours - should the police not round them up and inform their municipal chief, who, hopefully is not playing truant himself?

Very obviously, Hishammuddin's solutions have so far been, to say but the least, simplistic and even silly. Here again, he fails to or chooses to ignore the root cause of the problem.

Why would students want to play truant if learning is fun and relevant to their lives? Why would they want to run away from this place called 'school' when their need for identity, belonging and purpose is being met - and further enhanced by adult role models?

The education minister does not give an educated answer.