PM: Government will absorb SAR teachers into national schools.

(From New Straits Times (Malaysia))

JELI, Thurs. - The Government will absorb teachers from People's Religious Schools or Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR), including the unqualified ones, into national schools and give them better pay, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

"We will employ them. We can accept and help them. We will give training to those not qualified. But the SAR teachers' employment will be on a trial basis because we have to be sure of their sincerity," he told a gathering of 8,000 people in Air Lanas here this morning.

Dr Mahathir, who is Umno president, said he hoped SAR teachers would be sincere and that incidents …