The recent report of a teacher plunging to death owing to a rotten floorboard at the SJK (C) Keat Hwa in Alor Star brings to the fore several serious issues and concerns.

Foremost, this unfortunate incident should not be dismissed as another 'freak' or 'isolated' incident or as an 'act of God'.

Secondly, to state that 'if this incident had happened to a student there would have been a bigger impact', is totally unacceptable and reflects utter irresponsibility on the part of the person who made that statement. Surely the authorities will recognise that whether student or teacher, it still involved a person's life.

Worst, a teacher is an asset to the country's nation building aspirations. And, let us be mindful that the father leaves behind two children and a wife who have now lost a breadwinner, a husband and father.

The incident also brings to the fore several questions that demand honest, responsible answers.

How come a school is having a rotten floorboard? Surely the termites did not eat up the floor overnight but would have been signaling their presence for quite a while. And why was this not noticed, reported and acted upon. Or was it reported but faced the all too familiar 'no action' reaction. The teachers themselves should have the avenue to speak up without fear or favor. After all schools too have a duty to public accountability.

Perhaps the parent-teacher association of that school should speak up and dispel any wrong assumptions or blaming. This is the only way we can teach people to be accountable and take responsibility for their failings.

And for the authorities to state that the Public Works Department would have acted if only they were informed by the Education Ministry is again a classic example of how we are ever too quick to pass the buck in the face of a failure.

Proactive mindsets and work attitudes dictate that the Works Ministry should very well be working in close collaboration and cooperation with all ministries in ensuring that standards and measures are dutifully complied. Or is the benchmark to only act when a report is received.

The Ministry of Education must also owe up to several realities.

The SJK (C) Keat Hwa in Alor Star is not the only school that may be harbouring many more potential hazards. Many parents throughout the country will readily tell you that not all schools are safe and well maintained.

While we do pride of many well kept and newly constructed schools, the fact is there are also leaking roofs, worn and slippery concrete stairways, broken window panes, damaged doors, malfunctioning fans, damaged drains and toilets, and dirty canteens which are just some of the many symptoms of continuing neglect in schools all over the country.

In the good old days, for comparison sake, when schools were managed by missionaries and others, strict compliance to safety was taken very seriously. Even a tiny balding patch in a field would be spotted and repaired without compromise.

Further, the school inspectors who toured the country, not only supervised teaching quality but ensured the school was a safe place for children and quality food was sold in canteens.

Are there no more such inspectors these days? If heads of schools are to look into these safety and cleanliness measures, then how could the school in Alor Star have lived with a termite infested upper floor?

Let us not sweep the dust beneath the carpet. It is time to owe up. If there are weaknesses, let us have the determination to fix the problems in the true spirit of Malaysia Boleh .

If those entrusted have failed, they must take the rap even if it is a VVIP. After all the fact remains that after more than four decades of independence and with hardly15 years to Wawasan 2020, we are still seeing a teacher fall to his death because of a rotten floor in school.

These negligent developments are totally unacceptable for a nation that prides to the world of having world class infrastructure and award winning architecture.

As a society of responsible people entrusted to lead, we must foremost protect the rakyat especially our young at school. The Ministry of Education must rise to the occasion. Enough is enough please.