A comment by a Pupil in Kuala Lumpur about the Legal Aid Program
I read an article today about the situation orphaned and other disadvantaged children face, especially the difficulties faced in studies and job prospects upon graduation. Some of the children were attached to vocational training schools while others were attached to homes. One of the students scored 6As during her exams, which was the best result a student from the home had ever achieved. That's a pretty good result.
I was posted to the juvenile rehabilitation program as part of my legal aid programme. I've done similar work before. I visited a vocational training school as a teenager and saw how the students, who were quite ordinary looking, perhaps a little naughty, trained. I also helped out at a school for children with learning disabilities when I was in school.
I think I have a special interest in looking out for younger people, especially disadvantaged teenagers. There's a lot of real injustice in the world, such as parents who can't afford tertiary or other education for their children, parents who are constantly arguing, children who grow up in broken homes - injustice because it's not the child's fault to be in that situation. Keeping in mind the difficulties I experienced in school myself, I think young people's lives can be changed with education and if guided well, especially with a little encouragement.
I think every person should take an interest in the well being of others around them, a genuine interest I mean. I wrote in my recent ethics paper, that I felt I would still have a responsibility to help others out even if I weren't a pupil or lawyer.