MALAYSIA - John Chai (top row, left), 20, KL (former school -- SMK Victoria, KL): Moral Education is easy. You're tested on your memorising skills. Although Moral is important, it's useless if we merely study it without application. Whatever moral values I learned in class, I don't consciously apply them in my life. Values come from home, from parents' upbringing more than anything. In school, if a student has to choose between what the moral teacher says, and what his friends ask of him, he'll definitely give in to peer pressure. I think morals have to be experienced, not taught. Moral Education is such a dead, exam-based subject now. Many students complete the practical part for their folio project just because it's compulsory, not out of willingness. Scoring A1 doesn't mean you're a good kid. I'm one example. My friends who are better behaved didn't do well in Moral.

Long Pik Yen, 20, KL (former school -- SMK Convent Bukit Nanas, KL): In a way, Moral is useful because not all parents instil moral values in their children. So teachers have to do the job. There's a lot of memorising, but you also have to know how to use the values to answer essay questions. I just hope learning the subject had been more fun.

Chang Mei Yan (top row, centre), 20, KL (former school -- SMK Aminuddin Baki, KL): Moral is a theoretical subject. We were made to memorise word for word the definition and supporting points of the values because, for two years, we were told that if we get even one word wrong, we wouldn't get any marks. During class, the teacher would dictate and we copied down the notes. I didn't find it practical because we were not given examples on how the values are related to our life. I never liked the subject. But the Moral Studies I have to take while doing my degree in a private university college now is very different. We help the poor communities in Selayang, organise fund-raising projects and visit the children's ward of a hospital. We don't only learn the word "empathy", we feel it. This is a very effective in instilling moral values. This is what they should do at SPM.

Yamuna Torysamy (top row, right), 17, KL (school -- SMK Cheras Jaya, Balakong): A lot of the things I learn from Moral are applicable to our life, not only as students, but also as citizens. I learnt about children's rights under the Child Act. I learnt that as a consumer, I have the right to ask for a refund or replacement if the product I bought is stale. I learnt about the Internal Security Act and what happened to Teresa Kok and Raja Petra Kamarudin. Besides these useful general knowledge, the moral values I learn also help me to be a better person.

Kishen Kumar Muralidharan (bottom row, left), 17, KL (school -- SMK Cheras Jaya, Balakong): Moral has helped me in my history and Bahasa Malaysia subjects, especially when elaborating on my essays. Once, there was a Bahasa Malaysia essay question on what values an outstanding student should have, and I did well because I applied seven of the moral values to it. Moral is not hard. We learn 36 values from Form One to Form Five. The definitions are the same. You just have to come up with the "how" and "why" when answering questions.

Tarishini Pubalan, 17, KL (school -- SMK Cheras Jaya, Balakong): I don't think Moral is difficult. We don't have to memorise the whole definition. We can get full marks by coming up with just five keywords for the value. I see some of these values in my life. For one, Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan (Belief in God) is very relevant to me as my family and I pray every morning. We are also taught the cultural practices of other races.

Mogana Gunasegerin (bottom row, centre), 18, KL (former school -- SMK (P) Pudu, KL): To me, Moral is useful to a certain extent but I feel that the purpose of the subject wasn't completely fulfilled. We memorised the values just for the exam. No one is going to remember them for life. What would make a difference is the teacher's approach. I had a very good Moral teacher who shared with us her experiences and real-life applications. Because of the way she taught, I never got bored with Moral. Some teachers did not make the subject interesting. My friends ended up losing interest and they couldn't answer the questions properly. I liked the SPM questions because they were scenario-based and really made us think. Teachers should switch to this approach.

Teh Mei Earn (bottom row, right), 18, KL (former school -- SMK Seri Bintang Selatan): No, Moral wasn't important or useful. What made it so was the strict and rigid marking scheme. We must memorise 100 per cent, we cannot even give synonyms. If the examiners don't see certain words, they won't give us marks. Even though the questions are scenario-based, they expect us to give the correct values with the exact definition. I think they should really give us the freedom to answer based on our opinion and rationalisation. As 17-year-olds, we are mature enough to do that.