Seven-year-old tops maths mental challenge

KUALA LUMPUR: Lai Chooi Jit was beaming with pride when her seven-year-old son emerged as the champion at the 16th National Pan Pacific Abacus and Mental Arithmetic (Pama) competition yesterday.
Her son Kong Chee Hong was one of the 500 pupils who took part in the competition, where they performed mental calculation at astounding speed, to the amazement of the crowd at the grand ballroom at the Royale Bintang.
"It is very important for parents to guide their children throughout the arithmetic learning process since it requires discipline and practice to master the skills," Lai said after the prize-giving ceremony where her son was presented with a trophy and a certificate.
Chee Hong was the winner of Group B, one of the five groups based on age.
Group A was for pupils aged six and below, Group B for pupils aged seven and eight while Group C comprised pupils aged nine and 10. Group D and E were for older children, with the former for those between 11 until 13 while the Group E students were for those aged 14 and above.
The top three winners from Group B, C, D and E will represent Malaysia at the 15th International Pama competition scheduled to take place in South Africa on Dec 28.
Chee Hong was a winner for his group at last year's event in Hong Kong.
However, due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus, parents are concerned about sending their children to South Africa.
Pama Malaysia president Ronnie Chong said the local organiser will be informed later of the parents' decision to allow their children to take part in the competition.
"Malaysia has the highest standard of competition throughout the world and Malaysian teams have always performed well at the international level every year by becoming the champion of champions in at least two categories," he said.