Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email I reproduce the whole article from the Star today. Heard a bit over the radio yesterday night as well.
The main points discussed:
1. there will be a special unit to monitor Tamil schools, especially to help convert to full-aided status, and merge schools with less students. Rather than merging, relocation will be a better option.
2. AIMST to receive grants from government to sponsor students. I don’t think that only AIMST should be chosen for this purpose. There should another few more institutions to avoid calls of cronyism or favoritism.
3. taxi and bus permits.
4. better business opportunities and loans.
5. more places for vocational training.
6. lack of Indians in civil service.
7. getting PNB’s help in the unit trust investment for Indians. This, I suppose is related to the recent announcement during 9th Malaysian Plan Midterm Review.
8. University intake for Indians will not be review (not mentioned in the article below). Najib says the students must study hard in school to ensure better prospect in entering local universities.
This committee was established in the aftermath of BN being rejected by the Indian community in the last election. Thanks to the awareness created by HINDRAF, the community can now see that proposals by MIC is being taken a bit more seriously by the government.
Unit to keep track of Tamil schools
KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will set up a special unit under the Education Ministry to monitor the development of Tamil schools as well as their problems.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the unit would identify the schools to be converted into fully-assisted schools as well as consolidate those which had an enrolment of less than 50 pupils.
“For these schools which will be consolidated, we will propose that dormitories and other facilities be built for the students.
“For schools which have too many students, cabins will be built as additional classrooms for them,” he told reporters after chairing a Cabinet committee meeting on social problems facing Indians at the Parliament building here yesterday.
Najib said the committee also proposed that an institute set up by MIC – the Asian Institute for Medicine, Science and Technology – be re-categorised as one of the five institutes to receive aid from the Government as a measure to boost the intake of Indian students into critical sectors like medicine and engineering.
The institute, he added, would then sponsor Indian students to pursue courses in critical areas in institutions of higher learning.
Other matters raised during the meeting included more taxi and bus permits for Indian companies, better business opportunities and easier loans for entrepreneurs from that community, and more vocational training places for its youths.
“We would also like to see more opportunities for Indians in the development of vendor programmes with companies like Proton and Petronas.
“The committee also notes the lack of Indians in the civil service. We will raise this matter with the Public Service Department,” said Najib.
Najib said the committee would also discuss with Permodalan Nasional ways to increase the Indian hold on equity in the Malaysian market.
in other words if the Indians did not send the frustration message via ballot box the above will never be proposed …… Also it shows we were sloppy on past elections . We made mistakes for past 50years . And Hindraf opened our eyes .
Next time if any mic supporters confront you guys for voting oppo on march8 make sure you guys spit on his/her face .
One thing came to my mind reading point no.8 . If that’s wht najib said then we should ask him that should also apply to bumi students . And why A-star students begging for public Uni places thus far ? Politician are no exception is using-brain-before-talk concept .
VJ & PB
It is a joke that this is being done because of HINDRAF. These proposals were submitted by MIC long time ago and it is being implemented now after the 9MP MTR.
Just imagine if Indians had supported MIC fully and the party had delivered all their seats to BN. If that had happened i am sure the govt would have been very grateful to the community and given much more than this. It is hard for BN leaders to give a lot to Indians now as Indians voted for the Opposition parties.
So it is a joke to claim HINDRAF is behind this.
BTW VJ, the point No 8 means we better buck up and compete with others on meritocracy / semi-meritocracy. There is no short cut….
Getting A is no big deal nowdays.
Kller,
I understand that MIC (and YSS) have submitted many proposals (based on the roundtable discussions, seminars, conferences etc) for last few years, and I’m sure you know of their dissatisfaction since nothing was being done or seen to be done. Question is why is it being implemented now? Purely because our equity went down by 0.1%? I doubt it.
I can also imagine that if the community continued supporting the coalition and BN won big, nothing would have happened in the review of 9MP. Only more promises till next election. I guess we can imagine what we want.
I agree that students must try their best to study, but hopefully on level playing field. Quite a number of Indians students in secondary school face many problems (financial, love, gangsterism, family breakdown, language barrier, hooked on entertainment) and not as focused as their chinese counterparts. anyway, having said there, there are students who are doing well, mainly due to self awareness and parental support. without this two, it is quite hard for a student to succeed.
Killer , running around the bush again….?
-How long ago mic submitted the proposal ?? 10yrs ago ?? Then why it took thus far (i mean 50yrs) to implement ?
-Indians have been giving mandate for past 11 GEs . What happened to those 5MP,6MP,7MP…etc ?
– oh yaaaa. If another mandate given in GE12 than the proposal will take effect after another 50yrs .
-as for point8 , if a student can get straight As than what are the things he need to buckup further my dear ? And does the ‘bucking-up’ only apply to non-bumi??