Archive for January, 2008

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Interview with MIC Secretary Dr S Subramaniam

January 20th, 2008
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


In previous elections, we only had to contend with issues pertaining to the party and leaders which we managed to overcome. This time, we are facing a much bigger problem which affects the people directly.

– what an understatement!

Issues raised by Hindraf like those pertaining to Tamil schools, Hindu temples, job opportunities for Indians in the government service and social ills in the Indian community have been raised by MIC at legitimate forums. In our party annual general assemblies, we discuss all issues relevant to the community and resolutions are forwarded to the relevant government agencies. These issues are also raised by our president at cabinet meetings and in meetings with ministers and other government officials.

– yes, issues has been raised. in fact, I think the resolutions at MIC general assembly has been more or less the same for quite some time now. How effective has it been as compared to a recent one time rally?

Many Tamil schools have been relocated and rebuilt and land has been given by state governments to relocate and rebuild temples.

– many tamil schools? how many?

We have made representations that partially-aided Tamil schools be converted to fully-aided Tamil schools.

– and what happened to the “representations”?

We will continue to serve, we will get the results’

PATRICK SENNYAH

source
MIC is coming under intense scrunity by Indians following the unprecedented street demonstration over Indian rights and the murder of a state assemblyman. Party secretary-general Dr S. Subramaniam tells PATRICK SENNYAH that the party will weather the storm

Q: Is the forthcoming general election going to be MIC’s greatest challenge ever?

A: Yes. In previous elections, we only had to contend with issues pertaining to the party and leaders which we managed to overcome. This time, we are facing a much bigger problem which affects the people directly.

We will do what we can to speak to the people to win their support. We hope they will be able to see the larger picture and continue supporting the Barisan Nasional. We are sincere and doing all we can to address issues affecting the Indian community. Only certain segments of the people have been influenced by Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force).

Tenggaroh state assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy’s death is a tragic event. We have lost an effective grassroots leader. However, this will not have any bearing on the functioning of the party. We hope the police will identify those responsible.

Q: What has MIC been doing to counter allegations made during the demonstration?

A: Hindraf affected the way some people perceive the MIC. As people begin to think deeply about the issues concerning the community, the negative perception of MIC will fade away.

Issues raised by Hindraf like those pertaining to Tamil schools, Hindu temples, job opportunities for Indians in the government service and social ills in the Indian community have been raised by MIC at legitimate forums.

In our party annual general assemblies, we discuss all issues relevant to the community and resolutions are forwarded to the relevant government agencies..

These issues are also raised by our president at cabinet meetings and in meetings with ministers and other government officials.

There have been areas in which changes have been brought about. Many Tamil schools have been relocated and rebuilt and land has been given by state governments to relocate and rebuild temples.

We have made representations that partially-aided Tamil schools be converted to fully-aided Tamil schools.

But there are still areas which need to be addressed and we will continue to engage the government till we get positive results.

We have gone to the ground (MIC has been organising road shows) to tell the Indian community that the party has been representing the interests of the Indian community at all levels all these years.

Q: Do you think these road shows have helped repair the image of the party?

A: Clear-thinking people recognise the role of the MIC in the government as the representative of the Indian community and give the party the support it needs.

The MIC has presented all the issues at recognised platforms while Hindraf presented it on a different platform

Comments Off on Interview with MIC Secretary Dr S Subramaniam »

Posted in Indian

Tags:

PPP testing water only

January 20th, 2008
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Kayveas clarifies on PPP's entry into Sarawak. Testing water only….

PPP testing waters in Sarawak

source

KUCHING: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which launched its Sarawak pro tem committee here yesterday, is gauging its support before deciding whether to set up a full-fledged state branch. 

Its president Datuk M. Kayveas said this was why the party did not inform the state Barisan Nasional of its intention to enter Sarawak. “I will give the committee some time to see how big they can grow and how much support they can get. “Once we are ready we will inform the state. As of now I did not inform the state but there is no need to make a hoo-ha,” he told reporters after launching the committee. Kayveas was referring to comments made by several state Barisan leaders that they were in the dark about PPP’s intention to spread its wings to Sarawak. 

He said PPP would inform the state and federal Barisan of its plans to set up a Sarawak branch if the pro tem committee could get between 5,000 and 10,000 members.So far, it has received 1,200 membership applications in the state, 400 of which have been processed. 

On PPP becoming the first peninsula-based Barisan party to enter Sarawak, Kayveas said it should not be an issue since Opposition parties such as DAP, PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat were already in the state. 

Meanwhile, in TAIPING, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the PPP would not get more seats for the coming polls. However, Tajol Rosli who is also state Barisan Nasional chairman said the PPP’s request could be entertained in the following general election. “When the next redelineation exercise is carried out, the PPP will be given more seats,” he told reporters after convening a pre-election meeting involving Barisan MPs, state assemblymen and component representatives from northern Perak. 

Tajol Rosli also announced that the Barisan leadership had appointed Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Tan Lian Hoe as Barisan chairman for the parliamentary seat of Taiping. However, Tajol Rosli reiterated it did not mean that Kayveas would not be fielded for the Taiping seat. 

PPP enters Sarawak

source

KUCHING: The Peninsular Malaysia-based People's Progressive Party (PPP) unveiled its presence in Sarawak with the establishment of a state protem committee yesterday.

"This is only a soft launch of the protem committee of the party and we don't have any plans for a big launch now. "It is also to see the support, whether it comes from the voters, and how they will accept a peninsula-based party," PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas said.

Later, Kayveas, who is also a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he was targeting between 5,000 and 10,000 members.

He said it was up to the protem committee and members to make PPP's presence felt.

The PPP's entry into Sarawak was at the urging of members and he added that the protem committee had so far received 1,200 membership applications.

Comments Off on PPP testing water only »

Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags:

Penang Silver Chariot

January 20th, 2008
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Silver chariot gets cleaned and polished

source

PENANG: Every year without fail, the 114-year-old silver chariot undergoes cleaning and polishing one month before the Thaipusam festival begins.

Managing trustee of the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple Trustees Datuk N. Ramanathan said yesterday A. Veerapathiran, 73, and his two sons V. Kajendrakumar, 39, and V. Sugumar, 38, have started cleaning and polishing the chariot housed in a shed opposite the Kovil Veedu (Temple House) in Penang Street. Veerapathiran has been carrying out the task for the past 40 years without any charge, as he considers it a service to God.

Ramanathan said a special prayer to Lord Muruga would be conducted at Kovil Veedu at 2am on Jan 21, before the deity was placed on the chariot. The chariot is expected to leave the Kovil Veedu on its journey to the Nattukotai Chettiar Temple in Waterfall Road at 6am.

The 7.3m-high chariot was brought by ship from India in 1894, and was made of wood and is silver-plated. The Chettiar community here commissioned for the silver chariot after the original wooden chariot started showing signs of decay. The new chariot parts, made in Karaikudi, India, arrived here in different shipments and were assembled locally. The wooden chariot was subsequently “sold” to a Lord Muruga temple in Medan, Indonesia.

Ramanathan said a VCD featuring the significance and importance of the Thaipusam festival with a voice-over done in English and Mandarin would be available by end of the year. “We produced one in Tamil in 2005 but found the need to do it in English and Mandarin for the benefit of non-Tamil speaking devotees,” he said. He said among others, the one-hour documentary touched on the rituals and prayers that began one month before Thaipusam.

4 comments »

Posted in Religion

Tags:

update on boycott batu cave poll

January 20th, 2008
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Since the poll was launched on 18th January 8.15pm, there have been 17 votes with the following results:

Yes – 14 (82%)
No – 2 (12%)

Unsure – 1 (6%)

you can have your say at:

http://poobalan.com/blog/borninmalaysia/2008/01/18/to-boycott-or-not-what-say-you/

the poll is on the left side menu at

http://www,poobalan.com/blog

Comments Off on update on boycott batu cave poll »

Posted in Indian, Religion

Tags:

Khir Toyo blames community for delay of Indian Culture Centre

January 20th, 2008
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Hmmm…government giving 20 million, and these guys have not sent a proposal yet? I’m more than willing to step in if these guys have other better things to do. I’m sure the Indian community feels the same as well.

And Nadarajah’s response – “was unwell”.

Perhaps this is a chance for MHS to come back from death?

The so-called proposal was submitted during the meeting between Khir Toyo and Selangor temples representatives held on Jan 4. Extract from the article:

At yesterday’s dialogue, Malay- sian Hindu Council chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah also submitted to Dr Khir a proposal for the setting up of a Malaysian Indian Cultural Centre in Batu Caves. This is following an announcement by Dr Khir that there was a RM20 million state allocation for the purpose of building a cultural centre for the Indian community.

read it here.

to be fair, MHC can claim that it has only been 2 weeks since Toyo announced the allocation and they need more time to come out with comprehensive plan. But if I’m not mistaken, the plan for Hindu Cultural Centre was announced quite sometime back by Selangor govt.

Khir in dark over cultural centre proposal
http://malaysiakini.com/news/77213
Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jan 19, 08 11:54am

The Selangor state government has blamed the Indian community’s lack of initiative for the delay in implementing the Hindu Cultural Centre project in Batu Caves.

Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said that his government has allocated RM20 million for the project but has yet to receive any feed back from community leaders or the Batu Caves temple committee, headed by R Nadarajah. “I have given them the freedom to decide on how they wish to conceive the cultural centre, according to their needs and the state government has allocated RM 20 million for the project. “If the state government is to implement the project without consulting the Indian-Malaysian community, they would say the government is unfair,” said Khir when contacted by Malaysiakini.

He was commenting to a recent protest by some 100 Indian-Malaysians from the Batu Caves area over the delay in the project. These protesters claimed that Khir and his government’s three-year-old promise to build the Hindu Cultural Centre (said to be built within the vicinity of the Batu Cave temple on a 20 acre land) has not been fulfilled.

Khir explained that the reason why the project was yet to be implemented was because he has not received any proposals regarding the cultural centre from the Indian-Malaysian community. He denied press reports which quoted Nadarajah as saying that the temple had submitted a blueprint and proposal to Khir on Jan 4.

Khir said he was shocked to discover that the proposal submitted by Nadarajah was actually a proposal of merely landscape alterations for the Batu Caves temple and not the blueprint for the cultural centre. “So why accuse me of lying? You ( Selangor Indian-Malaysian community) give the proposal, we will study it and if approved, it will be implemented immediately,” said Khir.

Nadarajah, when contacted, said that he was unwell and could not comment on the matter.

As for the 100 local residents who protested over the delay in the project, Khir believed the event did not reflect the opinions of majority of the Selangor residents. “Most of the protesters were PKR supporters. They are just desperately trying to manipulate the situation to gain support. I suggest they get their facts right,” he said.

To counter allegations that the delay in the project was racially motivated, Khir argued that his government has implemented the Chinese and Malay cultural centres respectively. Khir said both the Chinese and Malay cultural centres are currently undergoing development though he could not elaborate on the details.

2 comments »

Posted in Indian

Tags: