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Malacca is still under BN. The MIC representative ex-teacher R. Perumal got Information, Consumer Affairs and Transport portfolio, not a poweful one as compared to other portfolios. Continue Reading »

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In the “developed” state of Selangor, we have such a serious situation. 10% of students from 4 tamil schools in Puchong don’t have birth certificate. Just imagine states like Kedah, Perak, NS, Malacca who have schools in rural areas. The lives of the kids will be full of misery.

The party that claims to be sole representatives of the Indian community, and the champion of Indian community is to be held liable. Election candidates can do wonders during election campaigns, entering jungles and estates, posing for photos in middle of jungle or rice fields, doing gotong-royong with kampung folks etc. But after election, everything is forgotten. People are still left hoping for change.

Obviously the irresponsible men who don’t want to register their marriages are also to be blamed. This happens to unregistered/illegal marriages (polygamy cases usually). This happens to folks who are in outskirts, uneducated, and lack access to information.

Spot Light: Hope for the ’stateless’ at last

source

THE move to address the problem of “statelessness” among Malaysian-born Indians has given hope to thousands who have felt “alienated” in the only country they have ever known.

Many who did not know the magnitude of the problem are surprised that up to 40,000 Indian children in Selangor alone do not have birth certificates.

At the core of the issue is the failure to register births due to the refusal of fathers to own up to siring the children. Some parents also do not register children within the prescribed 14-day period and do not do so after that due to unfounded fears of a large fine.

There was a huge sigh of relief among the community and the MIC when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently instructed Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad to form a task force to address the problem of “stateless” children.

This came in the wake of Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo’s revelation of the startling extent of “stateless” children in the state.

National Registration Department public relations officer Jainisah Mohd Noor, explaining the department’s policy on registration of births, said all births were registered as long as there was proof that the child was born in Malaysia. Verification of the birth could be done by the ketua kampung, a commissioner for oaths or two witnesses. “Even if the child’s father cannot be traced, we will register the birth as long as there is evidence that the child was born in Malaysia,” Jainisah said.

No one is more pleased with Abdullah’s announcement than Shelter Home executive director James Nayagam, who sees an average of three “stateless” children a week. He was equally shocked by the menteri besar’s figure which was double of that he had estimated. “I am thankful to the menteri besar for highlighting the issue. It restores my confidence in the system. We have been fighting for years to get some kind of identity for these children.”

Nayagam, who sits on the Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children, said giving the children proper identification documents would lift them out of poverty and other social problems later. “An adult without proper documents can’t get a proper job or get married legally. If he or she do get married and have children, chances are the children’s birth will not be registered. “Without documents, the child can’t go to school and he or she will end up living off the streets. It becomes a vicious cycle.”

Nayagam is concerned over the government’s decision to stop issuing green ICs since 2004. This, he said, meant that thousands of abandoned children in orphanages would have no proof of identity.

MIC Youth Social and Welfare bureau chief T. Mohan said the setting up of the task force to look into the matter was timely. The bureau’s recent survey on four Tamil primary schools in Puchong revealed that about 10 per cent of the 400 to 500 students did not have birth certificates. “And we have 500 Tamil primary schools in the country. And this does not include those who have left school and those who have yet to go to school.”

He said 99 per cent of the children were “stateless” because of the negligence of their parents. “In most cases, the children were born out of wedlock with the father refusing to come forward to register the birth and abandoning the family. “Some single mothers tried to register the child later and then gave up because of the red tape involved, especially if the registration is done after 42 days. “It can sometimes take a few years to get the registration done and many, including the non-governmental organisations, give up after a while.”

Beginning next month, Mohan said the bureau would visit each state and identify those who needed help to apply for their identification documents.

Retired assistant director of the Social Welfare Department Vijayakumari Pillai said the problem was more peculiar among the Indian community because of their complacency towards the issue. “Perhaps they have more pressing bread and butter issues to deal with that they do not see the importance of documenting the child’s birth until it is rather late.”

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I'm confused. What business does a Muslim have reading Christian children books until he/she can complain to the authorities? The report say Islamic authorities (which jokers is it this time?) made the complaint. Why would an authority on Islam go and poke its nose into a different religion matters? Surely they have better things to do like snooping on promiscuous couples, investigating deviant teachings, or checking on mosques' sermons? I'm sooo confused!

Christian children books seized http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/76951

Chua Sue-Ann | Jan 11, 08 5:13pm

The Internal Security Ministry has confiscated English language Christian children’s books said to contain offensive caricatures of prophets from several bookshops in three states. Malaysiakini learnt that these books have been seized from three MPH bookstores in Johor Bahru, Senawang in Negeri Sembilan and Ipoh, Perak. It is unclear if other book retailers have had similar raids. The raids were conducted by state enforcement officials of the Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department under the Internal Security Ministry. Negeri Sembilan and Malacca department director Faizah Nor Sidek confirmed that a total of 29 books were seized in mid-December from the Senawang MPH outlet. According to Faizah, her department acted on a complaint from Islamic authorities. “The illustrations of prophets in the Christian children’s books are said to offend the sensitivities of Muslims,” she said when contacted today. The six titles have been sent to the department’s headquarters in Putrajaya for investigation. Faizah said that the department had issued an official notice of confiscation to the bookstore’s management and will communicate the headquarter’s final decision to them. Director of the Perak department Mohamad Zaid also confirmed that more than 10 books have been taken off the shelves in the Ipoh Kinta City branch on Jan 3. According to Zaid, enforcement officers received information from headquarters to remove the children’s books. MPH bookstores management declined to comment, saying that they will wait for the Internal Security Ministry’s official decision. Officials from the Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department headquarters were unavailable for comment. Christian publications in limbo These confiscations come amidst other controversial restrictions towards Christian publications. Customs authorities seized six titles of Christian children’s books last August on the grounds that the Bahasa Indonesia publications contained certain words that were exclusive to Islam. The words in contention are ‘Allah’ (God), ‘Baitullah’ (House of God), ‘Solat’ (prayer) and ‘Kaabah’ (The Sacred House). Sabah Sidang Injil Borneo Church - who sought to import these books for their Sunday school classes - have a lawsuit pending against the government and the prime minister, who is also the internal security minister. The hearing has been postponed to Jan 15 to allow relevant parties to seek a resolution to the issue. The suit, filed by church president Pastor Jerry Dusing, is seeking the return of the consignment of materials that were confiscated by Custom officers at the Low-cost Carrier Terminal on Aug 15. The church also want the court to rule on the constitutional right and legitimate expectation to the use of the term 'Allah' as a translation for God in Christian publications as well the right to import such publications. Last month, controversy erupted over the Internal Security Ministry’s directive to the Catholic church’s weekly publication Herald to stop using the term ‘Allah’ when referring to God or risk having its printing license unrenewed. The ministry has since renewed the weekly paper’s printing license after public outcry over the issue. However, the paper will persist with its lawsuit against the government to challenge the prohibition from using the word ‘Allah’.

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