#jilius yapoo

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New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/02/25/i-felt-like-the-good-old-times-seeing-my-parents-smile-says-eldest-daughter/

I felt like the good old times, seeing my parents smile, says eldest daughter

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 25, 2015:

It was a good Chinese New Year break for Jilius Yapoo’s family. Things were almost back normal. Almost.

“Sometimes there would be total silence at home, some will be whispering, but there are times when we would sit together and enjoy the time together.

“I felt like the good old times, seeing my parents smile when one of the younger ones do something silly. It was good, and I wish I could freeze that time forever,” said Tini (not her real name), the 17-year-old eldest of eight siblings, when contacted today.

Tini told The Rakyat Post that her sister, who is at the centre of a sudden conversion controversy, along with her three other siblings were home for the long festivity break last week.

She said her sister, who is a year younger, kept mum when the issue of her conversion was raised by her and her parents.

Tini said her sister “looked fed-up, frustrated and bored”.

“I think she is just tired since everyone is asking the same question. I do feel that she’s pressured by the whole incident. I pity her.”

Tini admitted that being at home for the holidays had helped ease the tension engulfing the family.

Even her mother, she claimed, looked healthier and happier.

“Seeing the smile on my parentss’ faces was so good, it has been a long time since we had that much joy and laughter in the house. And I am hoping that we will still be able to do it again as one big happy family soon.

“I just hope that the situation will get better. I don’t like to see this controversy breaking up my family. I want that smile on our faces to last forever,” Tini said.

It was learnt that Jilius is working on transferring his four children out from SMK Kinarut to a new school.

This after he accused the school of failing to execute its responsibility by allowing his teenage daughter to convert to Islam without his knowledge.

Yapoo, a rubber tapper who lives in Kampung Kadamaian in Papar, is also planning to take legal action against the school.

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State education department should be swift and firm, says PBS sec-gen

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 16, 2015:

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) secretary-general Datuk Johnny Mositun wants the Sabah Education Department to act quickly and firmly against teachers and school officials who exceeded their authority and acted beyond the limits of proprietary.

Mositun, who is also the Deputy Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, said while he was not opposed to anyone converting to Islam or any other religion, he believed that such an important thing should be done in a proper manner, with full observance of social norms and upholding of family values.

Recently, the family of Jilius Yapoo was shocked when they found out that their underage daughter had converted to Islam without their knowledge while staying at a hostel.

“Being educated people entrusted with teaching our children proper values and respect for the law, the school principal and teachers concerned should have handled the matter in a humane and compassionate manner.

“After all, it is a matter for the student and her family, affecting their lives not just for now, but until the end of their lives. But they (the teachers) seem oblivious or unconcerned about the mental stress and problems they have visited upon a whole family,” he said.

Mositun added that the parents of the 16-year old student concerned were distraught, traumatised and offended at the way in which the school authorities seemed so unwilling to let the family sort things out properly as a family should.

“Anyway, I hope the Director of Education (Datuk Jame Alip) will impress upon all principals and teachers the need to conduct themselves with decorum and full observance of the country’s laws and confine themselves to teaching and instilling good family values in their students and respect for their own parents.

“Matters of religion and conversion should be left to the religious authorities,” he said in a statement today, adding that the school principal should also be in the know of what is happening in the school.

He said the police and Education Department must conduct a thorough investigation for the sake of justice and restoring public confidence in the administration of schools in the state and country.

“The police cannot just say that the student is not a Muslim and leave it at that. The student’s religious status is not for the police to determine, but that of the religious authorities and courts,” he said.

Having said that, Mositun added that the police still could not wash their hands of the matter because whether or not the conversion was valid, the police were duty bound to investigate the school authorities.

“They (police) must determine if the teacher or teachers concerned had violated the law. They should not get off scot-free if they had broken the law. The director of education also has some explaining to do,” Mositun stressed.

Describing the family as “very poor”, he said the teenager and her three siblings had no choice but to study in Kinarut and stay in the school hostel.

“Now with all the pressure brought about by what has happened to their daughter, the parents have asked me to talk to the education authorities about transferring their children to another school.

“They feel a change of environment is necessary for their daughter and her siblings to get over this traumatic event,” Mositun said.

Controversial conversion aside, the senior politician expressed concern over the dilapidated condition of Jilius Yapoo’s house in Kampung Kadamaian in Papar.

Mositun was touched by the family’s situation and had approached the District Office to see what could be done to alleviate their problems.

“I will also approach the relevant ministry to look into the possibility of providing this poor family decent housing under the ministry’s housing programme for the poor,” Mositun said, when visiting the Jilius’ family to hand over his personal contribution to them.

[therakyatpost]

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Family tense over Sabah teen's 'conversion' to Islam

KOTA KINABALU, Feb 13, 2015:

Gone was the laughter that used to greet the Jilius Yapoo family when everyone came home.

The family usually looked forward to the days when the four children, who put up at school hostels, come home over the weekends or school holidays.

But this time around, there was so much tension that ‘Tini’ (not her real name), the eldest of eight siblings, was at a loss.

“Everyone was very quiet. It was odd,” said the 17-year-old who went home for what was supposed to be the family’s talk with her younger sister, who was in the middle of a controversy following her sudden conversion to Islam recently.

Tini, who moved out after getting married, said she wished she had some personal time with her sister, but since they only had one night together, she decided the time would be better spent on the family’s talk with her sister.

“My daddy spoke to her softly. He didn’t want to scare my sister, fearing that she would not want to come home in the future.

“But, I believe nothing much came out of it. My sister didn’t say much, but my daddy told her that he would not accept her conversion or allow her to do so,” she pointed out.

She added that when told of their father’s intention to move them out of the school, her sister didn’t respond.

“I don’t really know if she had converted or not. But if she did, to me, I am good with her decision.

“Yes, I am sad that she took the decision without consulting our parents, but it’s her choice. I am not sure if she did it on her own will or was influenced by someone.

“One thing for sure is I don’t want this family to be torn apart,” said Tini, who admitted that she was equally confused like many others.

Touching on the police report lodged by the teenager against her family, Tini told The Rakyat Post that she was shocked that her sister took such action.

It was learnt that the teenager lodged the report stating her fear of her family’s reaction towards her.

“I saw the report, but it was impossible that she did it on her own. The sentences were too good. I have my suspicion that she had some help,” she said.

She, however, said that her sister’s behaviour did change recently, explaining that she was communicating with them less and less.

Frustrated, she shared her hopes that the issue could be resolved soon because the tension was beginning to take a toll on the family.

She is also looking forward to her sibling’s next visit, which is during the Chinese New Year break next week.

“This time, she will be home a bit longer. I hope I’ll get to pull her to one corner and ask her of her actual religious status.

“I want to have a heart-to-heart talk. Because whatever happens, she is still my baby sister,” said Tini.