Malaysiakini compares the key news and views in major newspapers. What is today's agenda for the newspapers?

Front Page

English newspapers

New Straits Times headlined the execellent performance turned in by female SPM candidates for the second year running scoring 4.94 according to the National Average Grade (GPN) compared with 5.79 points for their male counterparts.

Star led with the search for the "hammer man" widening with about 100 police personnel and detectives joining in hunt for the suspect who attacked children in a Muar kindergarten yesterday.

Malay newspapers

Both Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian also highlighted the 7987 SPM candidates scoring excellent results. 1.99 percent of the candidates scored excellent grades compared to 1.6 percent on the previous year, shows an improvement.

Sin Chew Daily focused on the tragedy of high achieving SPM candidates who die or get crippled in road accidents.

Nanyang Siang Pau headlined education ministry director Alimuddin saying that candidates sitting for the maximum of 10 subjects in SPM did far better than previously which is proof that the policy is valid.

China Press highlighted the tense situation in Thailand where the army discovered it had lost 6,000 firearms and the plan of million redshirts to hold an anti-government protest today.

Oriental Daily News gave prominence to the story of a cancer victim SPM candidate who scored straight As in the subjects he took even though he couldn't finish his last subject.

Editorial

New Straits Times came out swinging in support of women saying that they should not be pressured to "produce" babies for the country's sake. It is more important that babies are nurtured into becoming citizens of quality instead.

Berita Harian said recognition is an important catalyst for improving work performance. Sin Chew Daily urged government to enhance the welfare of small and medium enterprises.

Nanyang Siang Pau expressed pessimism over the likelhood of local government elections becoming a reality as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had strongly disagreed with it.

China Press urged the Education Ministry to communicate with UCSCAM(Dong Zong) and review their new policy that forces the Chinese primary school syllabus to conform with that of the government's.