‘Make these children remember their mother’s and father’s phone numbers and let them call their parents by themselves every day’
THE public telephone, once an essential lifeline for many Malaysians, has now largely faded into history, standing silently on forgotten street corners.
A Malaysian teacher recently triggered discussion online after calling for the return of functioning public telephones in schools, saying her personal mobile phone is frequently used to contact students’ parents and guardians.
“Please bring back functioning public telephones in schools.
“Make these children remember their mother’s and father’s phone numbers and let them call their parents by themselves every day,” she wrote in a viral Threads post.
The widely shared post resonated with many netizens, who reminisced about using public telephones during their school days while also highlighting their continued importance, even in the smartphone era.
Some users also shared their own frustrations and experiences.
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“I agree. Please provide a public phone in schools. It’s fine even if it’s placed near the guardhouse. My child has to use the security guard’s phone to call me,” one user commented.
Another pointed out a growing issue among younger generations: “Many students nowadays cannot remember their parents’ contact numbers, and that becomes another problem when trying to reach them.”
Others said public telephones could still be useful beyond school settings.
“Sometimes adults need to use public phones too. Once, I had to borrow a stranger’s phone to make a call, and I remember thinking, ‘Why are there no more public phones?’” another commenter shared.
The discussion also reignited nostalgia among Malaysians who grew up using coin-operated telephones before mobile phones became widespread.
Many noted that, beyond convenience, public telephones once served as an important backup during emergencies, especially when personal devices ran out of battery, were lost or had no signal.
Others argued that reintroducing public telephones in schools could also help encourage independence and responsibility among students, particularly in memorising important contact numbers rather than relying entirely on smartphones.
