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RM1.8 million - wow, that’s a lot!. With less than 2 months left, there’s not much activities that can be done. Allocations that are not used will not be carried forward to next year. What the places of worship can do is small renovations, purchase of items, and also perhaps organising charity event. School is around the corner. It will be great if some underprivileged kids are given new uniforms, shoes, bags and stationeries. If RM3 million can be finished in 60 over days under BN, why does it take new government long to finish the money?

1 - current government inefficient
2 - current government very stingy or ask too many question
3 - previous government very lax or used it as election goodies
4 - money went to cronies/favoritism under previous ruling
5 - lack of awareness

Only 10% of the additional RM2mil allocation by the Selangor Government for non-Muslim places of worship has been used up.

State Local Government, Study and Research Committee chairman Ronnie Liu said one reason more than RM1.8mil remained untouched was because many did not know its existence.

He said the previous Barisan Nasional government had allocated RM3mil for such places of worship this year, but all had been spent before the general election in March.

“The additional RM2mil is part of the commitment of the new government to help non-Muslim places of worship,” he said.

The allocation, he added, was meant for repairs, renovations and organising charity events.

He added that so far only Taoist and Hindu temple committees have applied.

“We hope churches and temples will apply before the end of Decem­ber,” he said.

Liu, who also sits on the committee for non-Muslim affairs, said there would be a higher annual allocation next year.

He said the allocation, for RM6mil, was approved in the state assembly last month.

Those who want to apply for this year’s allocation can write to the State Secretariat, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Bukit SUK, Section 5, 40503, Shah Alam or call 03-5544 7000.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I was supposed to attend the talk by Vinod Shekar (organised by the Minds association together with IGA UPM) today afternoon, but since Then was going, I thought better let others go since places was limited. I had met Vinod Shekar once, when he came to UTM  for our Cultural Night, looong time ago. Anyway, good thing I didn’t book a seat because I was stuck in another programme. Sara would have been unhappy if people booked a seat and didn’t turn up since it was limited

I in fact, had an informative session today. Majlis Perbandaran Sepang (MPS) organised a Workshop on Local Agenda 21 for its JPPs (Jawatan kuasa Perwakilan Penduduk - Residents Representative Committee) and also to present letters of appoinment for the JPP members. For your info, Sepang district had 12  zones, but has been broken into 24 now after new government took over (FYI - 12 Malays, 7 Chinese and 5 Indian councillors in MPS). Each councillor in the MPS is in charge of one zone. To my amazement, I found that my zone has the biggest population among all! Guess road and transport planning will take precedence soon.

The function was held in Cyberjaya, and from the looks of it, the MPS need to improve on its event management. The function started 30 minutes late, and after people were seated, they were asked to sit according to gender. That is so PAS-like! One guy was quite upset that his front seat had to be given up and he later admitted he dozed off while seated at the far end.

Event management aside, it was quite an informative program. 3 papers were presented - but all 3 were non-Sepang based. The first is a Lee Li Shyan, from MPSJ, and the other two were reps from JPPs in Taman Datuk Harun and Kota Damansara Section 6 respectively. The first speaker gave a good account on what Local Agenda 21 is all about.

Local Agenda 21 is the outcome of the World Summit in Rio, Brazil in 1992. It has 21 principles in 40 chapters, which is supposed to create sustainable living and communities in cities. The workshop today was to create awareness among the residents representatives and also to educate us that residents also play a role in creating a city that is sustainable and liveable.

In the afternoon there was a discussion session among the participants, and I was in the 3rd group - talking about environmental issues. The guest person was a Dr Kalithasan from Global Environment Centre  who gave very useful information.

The problem was, no one informed me that is a whole day event! I ended up stuck until 5pm.

What surprised me was the admission by the YDP of Sepang that this is the biggest crowd he has seen for a long time. He was very happy that the residents are showing concern and spending time to voice their opinions.

And voice out they did. I think the residents representatives were quite outspoken at times. Generally, most were happy with the change of government (or at least sounded like it) but clearly said that they don’t want to see the current government making same excuses or mistakes as before.

As for me, since I just joined this JPP, I was just a passive participant throughout the event. It was interesting to see and talk to the participants - getting their ideas, thoughts and expectations.

As for me, I am thinking of composting garbage as one activity which can be introduced in my housing area. Other than that, need to educate residents to be proactive in making complaints and monitoring their surroundings.

* Minds - Malaysian Indian Education Development Society
* IGA UPM - Indian Graduates Association of UPM
* MPS - Majlis Perbandaran Sepang (Sepang Municipal Council).

Popularity: 1% [?]

This is something different. Hmmmm…hope to get more details on this hostel idea.

SELANGOR executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the state will be building a hostel for Tamil school underachievers in the UPSR examination, reported Tamil Nesan.

The pupils would be given coaching to improve their academic performance, he said.

He said discussions would be held with the Tamil Schools Headmaster Council, teachers, parents and other Indian organisations to select 100 poor pupils for the extra coaching.

High achievers from poor families would also be assisted to encourage them to continue to do well in their studies and prepare them for secondary school, Dr Jayakumar told reporters after opening the state-organised Medical Health Camp at the Rinchang Estate Tamil School.

Popularity: 1% [?]