Archive for January, 2010

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Temple relocation hampering school construction

January 28th, 2010
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This should be a simple process. Since its for a good cause, the temple authorities should accept the proposal by the developer if the terms like land, relocation cost, building costs etc are acceptable. I assume the temple was there before the land was allocated to the school construction.  So what is the problem until can’t solve this issue since 2004? Is the suggested land near sewerage area or too small? Relocation cost not enough?

Hopefully the problem will be solved soon.

The state Education Department has called for cooperation from political parties and local Indian community to expedite the relocation of an illegally-built Hindu temple to allow the completion of a secondary school in Johor Bahru.

Its deputy director Markom Giran said the school SMK) Nusa Damai was now almost 100 completed except for the school field due to the presence of the temple.

“All infrastructures including classroom blocks and hostels have been completed but due to the presence of the temple, the contractor is unable to complete the school field, which is the last infrastructure to be built before the school can be handed over to the department,” he told Bernama.

He said that the negotiation to relocate the temple started in 2004 but there were no solutions yet.

Markom said he was made to understand that housing developer Nusa Damai had offered an alternative site for the temple not far from the existing one.

He hoped that the issue could be resolved soon as the school could help solve congestions in schools nearby such as Sekolah Menengah Kota Masai and Sm Taman Cendana which had 3,200 students and 2,800 students respectively.

“When SMK Nusa Damai is opened, 600 students from SM Kota Masai and between 300 and 600 students of SM Taman Cendana will be
transferred to the new school, thus easing congestion in the two schools,” he said.

He added that SMK Nusa Damai would have the capacity of 1,600 students while the hostels would be able to house 200 students.

“We hope the issue can be resolved amicably as soon as possible,” he said.

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Selangor MB ratings drop

January 28th, 2010
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Indeed a bitter pill to swallow for the MB. His ratings dropped 8 points in last 6 months, while the state government itself dropped 4 points. Blaming it on mainstream media may be considered as trivial. The state have nearly two years now, and people can’t be easily swayed by media. If the work is done properly, then support will be there. Selangor being one of the most advanced state surely has lots of people with access to Internet and alternative media. The state government may be running out of excuses soon.

According to a Merdeka Centre poll, the MB’s approval rating has dropped eight points in recent months – from a high of 62 percent in June 2009 to 54 percent in January this year.

The survey comes hot in the heels of recent claims of rampant dissatisfaction in the state with Khalid’s rule.

However, interestingly the approval rating for the state government has remained quite strong – it stands at 60 percent, only losing ground slightly from 64 percent in June 2009.

The survey was revealed today in a close-door discussion on the public perception towards the Pakatan Rakyat state government at a Pakatan Rakyat retreat in Subang Jaya.

Sources said Khalid strutted his usual corporate savvy by stressing the need to serve Selangor’s five million residents, or “customers” as he calls it, with the outmost efficiently.

He also appealed to the elected representatives to win over the state public service institution in order for state policies to be implemented smoothly.

Speaking to reporters during a break later, the main organisation of the retreat Yaakob Sapari said the surveys commissioned by the state had helped identify weaknesses in the Pakatan government.

An area of concern was the state government’s problems in communicating with the public.

“Currently, the public mostly subscribe to the mainstream media, as such information from the government does not get through. Only a few actually use the alternative media,” he said.

“This is something that we must address to make sure that our message gets through to the public”.

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PR stage to be removed at Batu Caves

January 28th, 2010
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Kesian! But I don’t think PM Najib was supposed to visit on Sunday afternoon, more than 24 hours after Thaipusam since there’s nothing much but rubbish to see after Thaipusam is over.

Police have ordered the Pakatan Rakyat state government to remove a stage set up at Batu Caves for celebrations on the eve of Thaipusam tomorrow despite prior approval from the authorities.

Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar told The Malaysian Insider he had been informed that this was because Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was scheduled to visit Batu Caves at 9pm tomorrow.

“This is totally unfair, I had met the Gombak Police chief earlier this week at the Selayang Municipal Council and there was no problem.”

Xavier said tomorrow’s celebrations, which starts at 10.30pm, is part of the Selangor Tourism programme which is being hosted by the state government and sponsored by Digi.

“Nobody told us Najib was coming tomorrow and he was only initially supposed to visit on Saturday afternoon.”

The Malaysian Insider is still attempting to contact the Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar for an official comment.

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Thaipusam starts early but still no holiday in Kedah

January 25th, 2010
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As the crowd grows bigger every year (and not to mention the negative elements which tend to create chaos and anger among devotees), Thaipusam at Batu Caves sees devotees fulfilling their vows as early as a week before. With the coming Thaipusam falling on a weekend and part of a 3 days holiday in the Federal Territory, one can expect more tourists, and curious onlookers in addition to more crowd from outstation.

Thaipusam may be a week away but there are already devotees making their way up the 272 steps in Batu Caves here to pray and give thanks to Lord Muruga to avoid the crowd on the day of the festival.

Businessman K. Karthigan said his wife and him shaved their heads to give thanks to Lord Muruga for blessing them with a baby boy.

“My wife and I had been trying for a son but my wife had some gynaecological problems.

“However, after praying, her condition got better and was able to bear our son, who is now four months old,” said the 35-year-old when met at the Sri Subramaniam Swamy Temple in Batu Caves on Saturday.

“We came to perform our prayers earlier so that my wife and son would not have to join the Thaipusam crowd,” he added. Karthigan lives in Seremban.

Retiree R. Pathmavathi, 71, who was carrying a pal kodam (milk pot kavadi), said her family and her decided to come early to the temple because she had a difficult experience previously on Thaipusam Day.

“I could not even go beyond the foot of the Batu Caves steps. There were so many people. As we get older, we want to avoid such crowds,” said the grandmother of two.

Indian tourist K. Shrawan, 50, said the majestic Lord Muruga statue at the foot of the caves reminded him of the 17m-tall Sravana Belgola statue at a Jain temple in his country.

“I find Batu Caves very nice and peaceful. We don’t normally see limestone caves back in India,” said the banker, adding that in India Thaipusam was also celebrated on a grand scale.

Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein would attend this year’s celebration on Jan 30.

“We are expecting about 1.5 million people. During the PM’s visit, we will urge him to make Thaipusam a national holiday.

“Then, all Malaysians can participate,” he told reporters yesterday.

The Thaipusam celebrations will kick off with the Holy Silver Chariot procession that leaves the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee early in the night of Jan 29.

It is expected to reach the Batu Caves temple at 11am, followed by a flag-raising ceremony at 4pm to mark the official commencement of the festival.

KTM commuter train service will be available at the Batu Caves station on Thaipusam Day.

Yeah, there are calls every year to make more states declare Thaipusam as a public holiday. I especially wonder what is happening in Kedah. Its the second year running under the PAS government and the promise of public holiday is for Thaipusam still remain unfulfilled. I hope the makkal there will start to pressure their state representatives.

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Two Tamil schools in Bera

January 25th, 2010
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This is a good news indeed (although RM1.4 to RM1.5 million per schools is quite inadequate. We most likely have to repeat the pleas in another 4-5 years time). They are not new schools, but actually new buildings. If you search using keywords like “Kemayan” and “Menteri” at the MOE’s schools directory, you’ll find info about these schools, including their status (operational). And I expect the students to be less than 200 in each school as previous statistics indicate enrolment of less than 160 each.

The land status is not indicated, but the MOE directory lists the schools as “sekolah bantuan kerajaan”.

The federal government has approved RM2.97 million to build two Tamil primary schools in the district this year, Bera Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Sunday.

The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister said RM1.5 million had been allocated for the construction of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Kemayan and RM1.47 million for SJKT Ladang Menteri.

“Tenders for the construction of the two schools will be called soon,” he said, adding that site-clearing work had already begun for the Ladang Menteri school.

Ismail Sabri made the announcement at the launch of the “Ponggal” (harvest) festival organised by the Bera Indian Cultural Organisation, at the Kemayan Subramaniar Temple here.

He reminded the people to be wary of attempts by opposition politicians to confuse them.

“The opposition brings up various issues to create chaos. Even the construction of these two schools is politicised. They claim that the government will not build the schools in Bera as there are only a small number of Indians in the district and, as such, the existing schools are sufficient,” he said. – from Bernama.

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