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Archive for January, 2008

is it a good time to have election?

January 16th, 2008

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– indian sentiments divided due to HINDRAF
– Lingam-gate
– Cost of living increasing – foodstuff/toll/raw materials
– "Free" schooling fiasco
– Increase in crime rate statistics
– Nurin and Sharlinie cases
– Chua Soi Lek DVD
– FDI behind few other countries in ASEAN
– Growth rate also behind few countries in ASEAN
– corruption issues
– racist and/or sexist MPs
– PKFTZ scandal
– Mazu statue
– Mat Rempit
– use of ISA
– banning of Catholic buletin
– "close one eye" case
– BERSIH rally
– Bar Council walk
– 3 rallies planned before end of February
– Politician assassination
– umno youth condemning indian newspaper vendors
– no bonus for civil servants (yet)
– altantuniya case

– and many more (just in the last 6 months!)

Who in their right mind will call for election now?

maybe one who knows that:

– rakyat have no (better?) choice
– rakyat only worries on local issues – fix the road, put up a surau, give out angpow (land title/house key etc)
– rakyat easily forget
– selfish mentality of individual : as long as my wellbeing is taken care, I have no worries.
– minority votes won't affect the results.

so, when is it? PM refuses to tell 🙂

Pak Lah keeps ’em guessing on elections

source

MADRID: The guessing game is still on as Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi refuses to give any clues as to when he may call the coming general election.

“It can be between now and March and it can be between now and March 2009,” the Prime Minister said in reference to the Barisan Nasional mandate which will end in March next year. “I am thrilled to hear that everyone seems impatient for the general election,” he told reporters accompanying him on his visit to Spain.

Political parties have been in full gear anticipating the elections in March, with Barisan having conducted election dry runs in several states. Election pundits have been predicting the polling date as around early March as Abdullah has not made any overseas travel plans in February.

After attending the Alliance of Civilisations Forum here this week, the Prime Minister will travel to Davos to attend the World Economic Forum at the end of this month. He told a press conference late Monday that he would attend the Organisation of Islamic Conference summit in Senegal in March as he would be handing over the chairmanship to the host country.

Asked if the elections would be held before or after the OIC summit, Abdullah replied with a laugh: “I have not made any preparation for the general election.”

However, the Prime Minister said everyone should be prepared for the polls. “Whatever it is, you have to prepare. Normally, you still have one year, one year before we complete the mandate, it is a full year to prepare for election. That has been the way all these years.” The coming polls will be the country’s 12th general election.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: Crime Hindraf ISA MIC Politicians Statistics Survey UMNO

MIC hotline to start in April

January 16th, 2008

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One of the positive outcome from Hindraf rally is the plan by MIC to set up a hotline, which was to take 6 months to set up. No reason was given then for the extremely long during. Now, SV says its part of their modernisation of the MIC HQ as well. The call centre is expected to be ready by April.

MIC also said there will be a special committee…

By K. Harinderanharinderan@nst.com.my

source

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC is setting up a hotline call centre at its headquarters here to address problems faced by Indians in the country.

"The centre, which will be fully operational in April, will be manned by professionals who will record and refer the problems received from the community to the relevant offices within the MIC," MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said yesterday. "We are modernising the MIC headquarters in line with our objective to have a new outlook in facing the general election."

He said the future for Indians was bright under the leadership of Prime Minster Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who was receptive to problems facing the community.

He said a vote for the opposition in the general election would be detrimental to the nation's progress.

Only the MIC could cater to socio-economic needs of the Indian community and developments. Incidents in the past two months had been detrimental to the hard work and position of the Indians, he added.

Samy Vellu, who is also the works minister, said he would be asking for an allocation of RM3.8 billion for new projects this year. This is because its present allocation has run out. "The billions allocated by the government last year have been reduced to a mere RM20."

He said this after launching the 6th annual Ponggal celebration which was attended by over 800 people at Menara Kuala Lumpur. Colourful earthen pots, sugar cane and visitors in traditional Indian outfits added colour to the festivities.

Ponggal, which has been celebrated over the last 5,000 years, originated from Tamil Nadu in India and is observed by Hindus to thank God for a bountiful harvest.

"I am lucky to be here for the festival and experience first-hand a facet of the Indian culture," said Elizabeth Heise, 74, a tourist from Holland.

The event was organised by Putera MIC. Putera MIC national co-ordinator P. Kamalanathan said a similar event was organised in Chennai, India, this year under the theme "The Colours of Ponggal from Menara KL" to highlight the unity and understanding of the various races in Malaysia.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: Festival Hindraf ISA MIC Politicians

transportation cost expected to increase

January 16th, 2008

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It was highlighted last year that there will be a price revision for major transportation in Klang Valley in 2008. That means more costly to use bus, rail, or taxi. So, how now? Petrol also expected to increase. Maybe next option is bicycle or motorbikes.

Operators want major fare hikes

By Minderjeet Kaurmkaur@nst.com.my

source

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should prepare for higher taxi, bus and rail fares in view of calls for a hike in rates from unhappy public transport operators.

They are demanding fare hikes, claiming they could not cope with increasing fuel, labour and maintenance costs.

Among the demands were:

– Taxi owners and drivers want a starting rate of RM3, an increase of RM1 over the current rate;

– Bus operators want to charge 10 sen for every kilometre instead of the present 6.5 sen per kilometre;

– Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) wants an increase of 30 per cent for inter-city routes and up to 50 per cent for Komuter services.

Taxi Owners and Drivers Association secretary Hiew Pow Man said members also wanted the 10 sen rate for every 150 metres to be reduced to 100 metres. They feel the waiting time in traffic jams should also be shortened from 45 to 30 seconds for an additional charge.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Hindraf ISA detainees stay united

January 15th, 2008

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However, the statement did not mention anything (agree/deny) about the police report made by Vasantha Kumar. So, is there such a report?

Hindraf 5 deny split in ranks
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/77057

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jan 15, 08 5:26pm

The five detained leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) detention have denied that there is a split in their ranks.

Malaysiakini reported yesterday that Hindraf secretary T Vasantha Kumar had lodged a police report against legal adviser P Uthayakumar over supposed allegations of misuse of funds. However, the latter’s lawyer N Surendran had urged caution over placing too much faith in such information.

The two, along with V Ganabatirau, M Manoharan and R Kenghadharan, are being held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) at the Kamunting camp in Perak.

Their joint denial was issued when they met today with their lawyers – M Kula Segaran, Karpal Singh, A Sivanesan, S Ponnumugam, M Manogran, T Kumar and Ram Karpal Singh.

In a statement signed by Kula Segaran, the five said: “We are not disunited, we will continue our fight (for betterment of the Indian Malaysian community) and will fast (from Jan 21-28).”

Specifically, the denial covers any suggestion that they are no longer on talking terms with one another or that “one or more of them will admit to (alleged terrorism charges)”.

“They are resolved to fight (on) and have not wavered in any way from their demands to the government,” Kula Segaran noted in the statement.

“Their detention without trial has put Malaysia on the world map as (a country) which does not respect human rights values. We hope the government will take steps to release (them) unconditionally as soon as possible.”

According to the statement, the ISA Advisory Board met in Kamunting today to discussion the alleged terrorism charges against the Hindraf leaders, but adjourned the hearing to Feb 12.

Yusuf Sam (whose designation was not stated), who presided over the closed- door meeting, was assisted by two assessors. The internal security ministry was represented by legal adviser Abdul Wahab, while lawyers for the Hindraf 5 were present.

Complaints about conditions

The Hindraf leaders further protested the conditions under which they are being held, calling for immediate attention to their complaints that:

• They are being locked up in their cells for nearly 16 hours daily “like common criminals”;

• The keys to their cells are kept some distance away in the administration block, thereby leading to potential delay in assistance in case of emergencies like a fire;

• They do not have access to television, computers or up-to-date books and magazines in the resource centre; and

• Vegetarians like Kengatheran do not get appropriate meals.

They also demanded more time with their families, who are only allowed a maximum of 45 minutes per visit and, even then, only in the presence of guards. Apart from wanting food from outside the camp, they want access to a temple for prayers.

The five reiterated their reasons for their forthcoming hunger strike, saying it is to protest their “unlawful and unconstitutional detention” since Dec 13, as well as to seek restoration of Indian rights and to “seek divine intervention”.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: Funds Hindraf ISA Perak Protest temples Uthaya

View from KL Tower

January 15th, 2008

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Since the International Ponggal Festival was at KL Tower (or Menara KL) , I decided to visit it as well. Cost me RM10 (RM20 for non-MyKad holders). Parking is RM2.65/hour. The staff were friendly and all smiles. There are lots of stall selling knick-knacks and souvenirs located in the tower itself. Few cafes and restaurants as well, among them D’Tandoor.

The lift took 58 seconds to reach the observatory level (TH01).

There were about 30 other visitors at that time. Mostly foreigners. I went around the whole observatory twice. Took me about 20 minutes. The weather was quite hazy, so I couldn’t see clearly beyond few kilometres.