Archive for July, 2010

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Rm23 million for graduates to become entrepreneurs

July 25th, 2010
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Firstly, only RM2 million has been utilised from the total amount of RM25 million allocated for last 5 years (9th MP). Something seriously wrong with fund management? Not enough publicity?

People complaining not enough funding, and yet, only received 1347 application for last 10 years???

Secondly, is this reserved for certain group of the population or open to all citizens of Malaysia? I didn’t get the impression that its open to all, when I read their website at http://www.insken.gov.my/home (refer their application guidelines at http://www.insken.gov.my/web/guest/training/1/4 )

Hopefully they can clarify so that don’t give false hope for the rest of the citizens of our country.

Probably, all those schemes reserved for that particular group of population should be put under one of the agencies handling just their matters (like MARA, TEKUN, MEB, etc.) Then it won’t mislead or give wrong impression to the rest of us on what is the reality.

The article on RM23 million which appears on Malaysiakini.

Graduates keen to start their own businesses can apply to the Graduate Entrepreneur Fund which still has RM23 million from the RM25 million allocated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Deputy director of the International Trade and Industry Ministry’s Entrepreneurship Institute Malaysia, Samsu Kadir, said from 2000 to May this year, only 1,347 applications had been received for the fund.

“From the number, a total of 659 applicants received loan approvals with the cooperation of SME Bank,” he told reporters after officiating a basic entrepreneurship training programme here today.

Samsu said the ministry encouraged graduates from local institutions of higher learning to make use of the opportunities to become entrepreneurs.

He said the ministry had conducted various training programmes which covered 7,943 participants from 2000 to 2009.

Samsu said the institute targeted 30 participants for each programme and as at May 2010, 31 applications were received for the Graduate Entrepreneur Fund with four of them already approved.

He said the amount given out under the fund was from RM20,000 to RM250,000 with a maximum repayment period of 10 years.

– Bernama

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parents of Kampar river victims yet to get compensation from state education dept

July 20th, 2010
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Do you remember this case? 3 girls drowned last year. You can read more articles on the Kampar Tragedy here. The court case is pending.

The parents of the three primary school pupils who drowned in the Kampar River after the bridge they were on collapsed on Oct 26 last year have finally received a total of about RM76,000 in donations collected from various schools in Perak.

The three girls who drowned in the incident were N Dina Dewa and M Davadharshini both aged 11, from SJK (T) Mambang Diawan in Batu Gajah and V Diviyasari, 12, from SJK (T) Gopeng.

They were among 22 pupils crossing the suspension bridge (left), from the SK Kuala Dipang primary school back to a ‘1Malaysia’ camping site across the river when the bridge gave away at 10.30pm.

Today, lorry driver T Nathan, father of Dina, and K Mageswaran, father of Davadharshini, displayed the cheques they received at the PKR office in Gopeng. K Vasuthavan, father of Diviyasari, could not be present as he was working in Singapore.

The two parents said they received their cheques from the headmaster of the SJK (T) Mambang Diawan Tamil school last Friday.

Both Nathan and Mageswaran received RM25,312.55 each. The parents said they were aware that donations were being collected from various schools, but were unsure when the state education department would hand the collected amount over to them.

Several observers have pointed out that the donations may have been held back from the parents out of spite, in light of the settlement of a lawsuit that the parents had filed against the department.

The handing over of the donations to the bereaved families and the release of the federal government’s findings into the bridge collapse tragedy were highlighted to Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong when a Pakatan ad hoc committee, headed by ousted Perak speaker V Sivakumar (right), visited Parliament on July 12.

The visit apparently proved fruitful as the donations collected were then ordered to be released by the authorities, though there has been no word yet on the release of the government’s findings into the tragedy.

Pakatan had disclosed on Nov 16 last year their findings of the tragedy and have urged the government to officially announce their results as well.

The parents of the deceased children have filed a RM105 million civil suit against SJK (T) Mambang Diawan and SJK (T) Gopeng where two of the children studied, the Kinta Selatan district education office, the Perak Education Department, the Education Ministry, the commandant of the 1Malaysia camp, the sponsor of the bridge’s construction, the contractor and the Malaysian government.

They also want the Ipoh High Court to compel the government to reveal their findings of the bridge collapse tragedy.

The families’ suit is coming up for mention at the Ipoh High Court on July 28.

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Go learn Tamil la MP Sivarasa

July 19th, 2010
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Undoubtedly, if one wants to connect with the Indian community in the rumah murah, estates, squatter areas, kampungs, and low cost houses in cities, Tamil language is an important tool. MP Sivarasa has been sitting in Subang, so not much of a problem communicating with the folks there.  But go national, and you’ll have a problem.

Yeah, most Tamil people nowadays can understand BM or English (the pasar type also OK la), but nothing beats a fiery speech or friendly banter in Tamil.

Solution is simple la, go and enrol in Tamil class, or better still, hire a personal tutor. My friend Arun learnt Tamil within months until can quote Tirukural.

After all, learning a new language is always an asset (that’s we tell others right?).

“Nandri” and “Vanakkam”, I think every MP and ADUN can say la. No big deal.

From the Star:

There are rumblings on the ground about PKR vice-president R. Sivarasa’s inability to speak Tamil – and this may be a liability for the leader in the party elections at the end of the year.

Some grassroots leaders have openly expressed their wish for Sivarasa to be voted out because they are unhappy he cannot communicate effectively with Indians who did not have a good grasp of English.

They want either Kapar MP S. Manickavasagam or Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishan to contest for the post.

Bukit Beruntung/Bukit Sentosa Indian Community Association vice-president N. Nadaraja said the post should be held by a leader who could speak fluently in Tamil.

“We want an Indian leader who can communicate with us effectively to highlight our grouses to the top leaders.

“Sivarasa could not even communicate with the old folk in the estates because he can only say simple words like nandri (thank you) andvanakam (greetings),” he said.

Sivarasa, also the Subang MP, is of Ceylonese descent.

Nadaraja, also a PKR member, said they would nominate Manicka­vasagam to contest the position.

Nadaraja added that they were also dissatisfied with Selangor executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar for a similar reason.

Meanwhile an on-line news portal reported that 40 Indian leaders had met party president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to express their dissatisfaction over Sivarasa’s inability to speak Tamil.

The group lobbied for Goba lakrishan to take up the post.

Sivarasa, when contacted, said a language handicap should not be regarded as a communication barrier in a multi-racial society.

“Furthermore PKR is a multi-racial party, and its leaders are obligated to serve all the people regardless of their racial background.

“Not being able to speak a certain language is not an issue,” he said.

Sivarasa said even though he could not speak Tamil, fellow party comrades Gobalakrishnan, Manicka vasagam, Dr Xavier, M. Ravi, S. Kesavan and S. Manikumar had good links with the Indian grassroots.

“We practise collective leadership in the party. We take care of all communities,’’ he said.

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want discount to buy house for RM300k?

July 18th, 2010
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Hey, everyone would want some discount too!

Can’t blame this couple since the system had groomed them as such.

But really, this couple can afford RM300k for a house and go to UK to study law together. Is such discounts appropriate for you, or more suited for the poor folks who earn less than RM1500 per month?

I would be ashamed to even consider asking for discounts.

Damn the system. No wonder some people change their names.

From Malaysian Insider:

A married couple in their 20s is opting for a condominium instead of a house to live in Kuala Lumpur due to budget constraints.Although a landed property is their preferred choice, Natrina Majid and Nik Ahmad Asraf, both aged 26, said that they can only afford condominiums currently after working for only a year plus in Malaysia since returning from the United Kingdom (UK) last year.

“If we can buy landed, we would buy landed. But we can only afford condominiums,” lawyer Natrina told The Malaysian Insider today at the Malaysia Property Expo (MAPEX) 2010.

“My budget is RM200,000 to RM300,000. Houses in Kuala Lumpur would cost at least RM600,000,” she added while cradling her seven-month-old baby in her arms.

Natrina said that their target areas were Taman Melawati or Wangsa Maju since they both work in Kuala Lumpur and also because Natrina’s in-laws were staying in Taman Melawati.

Currently, the young couple is staying with Natrina’s in-laws.

Senior assistant registrar Nik Ahmad also said the other main reason behind their hunt for a condominium was for investment purposes, adding that they may want to sell it sometime in the future.

“It is very easy to find buyers for condominiums compared to landed property,” said Nik Ahmad.

“The market is very big for condominiums compared to landed (property), like students and single people,” he added.

The couple’s choice for a condominium over a house because of a tight budget fits a growing trend of young Malaysians opting for condominiums or apartment units that can cost half the price of houses in Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur.

Statistics by the Valuation and Property Services Department showed that condominium and apartment units formed the bulk of total residential property transactions in Kuala Lumpur last year at 49.1 per cent (9,936 units).

When asked to describe their property search that began since their return from the UK last year, Natrina said that it was “stressful” while Nik Ahmad cited it as a “very tedious and long process.”

The couple were married five years ago before going to the UK to study law together.

”We want something where we want to stay in and also something that we can sell down the line. So it is very difficult looking for something with that dual purpose,” said Natrina.

“It was stressful (looking for properties) because of the price. The ones you want are really expensive. Sime Darby properties are nice but are expensive. We are also looking for one with a 10 per cent bumiputra discount as we don’t want to pay a down payment,” added the lawyer.

Nik Ahmad said that it was very difficult looking for property according to several criteria they had.

“Our budget is RM300,000. We also like condominiums with low density. There is also security and traffic. We don’t want very congested traffic and we want easier access,” he added

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12 new campuses but not for all to benefit

July 18th, 2010
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UPDATE – Today’s Star reports that the “The construction will be fully-funded by private companies, with the project cost for each campus not exceeding RM300mil” according to Higher Education Minister. Wow, I wonder which private companies are so benevolent to spend a collective amount of RM3.6 billion, and what’s the catch. And if these are companies with the public as shareholders, then maybe the shareholder should start asking questions on how RM300 million can be better utilised. Maybe should boycott such companies. – END UPDATE.

What would you do if you are a believer in justice, fairness, equality, and pray to God? Build campuses at cost of RM300 million each that would only benefit certain groups, or benefit everyone?

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) will build 12 new campuses by 2015, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said this was in line with UiTM’s target of having 200,000 students in five years’ time.

The construction of six of the campuses have been approved while the rest are still are at the discussion stage prior to the Cabinet’s approval, he told reporters after the earth-breaking ceremony of UiTM Johor campus in Pasir Gudang here Saturday.

Mohamed Khaled said besides Pasir Gudang, other campuses would be built in Pekan, Dengkil, Tapah, Jasin and Seremban Tiga.

He said each campus, which would be built at the cost of RM300 million, would enrol between 4,000 and 5,000 students while each hostel could accommodate 2,000 students. On the Pasir Gudang campus, he said it would be completed in three years’ time and would offer diploma in engineering (civil, electrical, chemical and mechanical), and diploma in business studies.

12 x RM300 million = Rm3.6 billion for just one group of people. And the rest scrape the bottom of the barrel is it?

Why not build new campuses for UM, UKM, UTM, UTEM, UNIMAP, UPM, USM, UNIMAS, UMS, etc?

Yeah, we support 1Malaysia.

On an hindsight, I think 1Malaysia is the most misused and abused word in Malaysia, at the moment. Everything also, shout 1Malaysia. Get something, its due 1Malaysia. Don’t get something, say not following 1Malaysia. Rakyat is smart already 🙂

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