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Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email Remember Sampah Masyarakat? They started the trend by helping to clean up Batu Caves after Thaipusam last year. They are planning the same this year, so if you are free on 31st January (Sunday), make a beeline to Batu Caves.
Visit their Facebook Event for more details.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email PM Najib arrives in Delhi today for a working visit to India. He will be heading to Chennai as well (I was surprised to see the way the TV3 newscasters pronounce Indian/Tamil words. Don’t they have any Indian friends?).
Hindraf hopes that its recent activities at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2010 which concluded last week, would give some input and impetus to the Indian government to pressure PM Najib on the conditions of Malaysian Indians.
“Foreign minister SM Krishna was really moved by the ‘Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009: Malaysia Truly Asia’ which was distributed during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas international conference recently,” said Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar.
As such, Uthayakumar (right) said Krishna would likely highlight the ‘human rights violations’ against Indian Malaysians to Najib during the latter’s maiden visit to the state starting today.
“We have also asked the Indian government to use diplomatic means to handle (the) issue,” he said.
Uthayakumar was optimistic about India’s intervention as the minister and a representative of an opposition party, Sushma Suvaraj, has also promised to look into the matter seriously and bring them to the attention of the Indian cabinet.
“Most of them were shocked (about) how Indians are being ill-treated and marginalised in Malaysia. This does not happen in other countries. Only in our country,” he said.
About 1500 copies of the annual report was distributed to delegates from 53 countries.
‘Trade sanctions proposed‘Among the requests submitted to the Indian government were to persuade it to terminate all present and future Malaysian company projects in India especially by Plus, Gamuda, IJN, Scomi and other Umno-linked companies.
Uthayakumar said India would also be asked to stop buying Malaysian palm oil and to halt all its information technology professionals from working here.
Hindraf has also proposed to India to imposed trade sanctions on Malaysia until all the atrocities and injustices against Indian Malaysians end.
When asked about the negative implications that Malaysia may encounter due to the trade sanctions proposed, Uthayakumar said this is the only option left.
“People may suffer for awhile but this is the only option left for us as Najib has refused to address and resolve the problem,” he said.
Uthayakumar who is also the Human Rights Party secretary-general hopes that the Indian government would intervene and end the sufferings of marginalised Indians in Malaysia.
However, I think its just wishful thinking because India is more concerned with economic issues rather than getting involved in the internal politics of another country. Sri Lanka is one such example. So, definitely no trade sanctions or strong words from India. In fact, expect more MoUs and agreements signed.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email This is an useful information. Those in Selangor can get the MIC Youth help to register, or contact the Welfare Department or the ADUN service center.
THE Selangor MIC Youth is offering to help the state Welfare Department to identify the destitute and disabled so that aid could be given.
Its chief, R. Shanker, said many poor families and the disabled, especially the Indian community, were not getting aid from the government as they had yet to register with the department.
He said scores of people in Kota Raja division thronged the MIC service centre recently when they heard about the party’s programme to identify those in need of welfare assistance.
“It was shocking to see some 800 people, mostly Indians, ask for help. We believe there are many more out there in need of help,” he said after meeting state Welfare Department director Adnan Abu Bakar recently.
Shanker said its members in all divisions were ready to collect data in their respective divisions.
He said families with a household income of RM750 and below should be given help.
Shanker also said the MIC Youth had proposed to the Welfare Department to increase the allowance for the disabled from RM300 to RM500.
“For those living in Selangor and the Federal Territory, RM300 is too little as the living standard in the cities is higher,” he said.
Shanker said the MIC was also helping Indian youths by enrolling them at vocational training schools under the Human Resources Ministry.
For details, call Shanker at 012-3836905 or MIC national social bureau head S. Subramaniam at 019-3517474. Alternatively, call Selangor social bureau head A. Sivaraju at 012-3186631 or Selangor Youth secretary D. Kagendran at 019-3521129.
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Managed to visit the Women’s Prison in Kajang (and sorry, no photos allowed inside the building). Some interesting facts I learnt from the officers there:
1. There’s between 1000 and 2000 prisoners at any one time, but the capacity is about 400 only.
2. Most of the inhabitants are foreigners who commit crimes like overstaying, misusing visa/permit etc. There were nearly 80% of them at the time of the visit.
3. Most prisoners are in for short term (6 months and less) due to the type of the crime committed. Example of crimes: drug use, permit misuse, overstaying, stealing, etc.
4. The locals are allowed to study (MLVK Tahap 1 is being taught, started recently).
5. There are various activities like cooking, cleaning, tailoring, food processing, saloon and spa service ,batik making, handicraft making, etc. to occupy the prisoners’ time. The prison earns about RM7 million in annual sales from the products made by the prisoners.
7. Children up to age of 3 are allowed to accompany their mother in the prison (there’s a nursery). After that, the kids are given to next of kin or sent to welfare homes.
8. Being female, there’s less problem with the prisoners.
9. Those being remanded are also held in this prison while waiting for the case to be mentioned.
10. Overall, the prisoners looked well treated, and nope, I did not visit the cells.
Well, I can’t provide exact numbers and specifics of the place, but I hope the above gives you some idea of the prison.
| Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email I don’t think the answers are a surprise for us. While we may rant about rights and justice and what-nots, its the basic stuff that ends up as priority. Of course having a good platform/environment would simulate the economy, thus improve the livelihood. But that’s another story for another day.
Its hard to paint a rosy picture for 2010. While indicators like increase in car sales may be put forth, the general feeling is that there’s less people in shopping centers and sales is not much. Government doesn’t have much money, and budget has been cut. Increase in crime is indication of economic problem. People are encouraged to spend, spend, spend. But how about saving?
The survey covered just 500 people from Malaysia, so I wonder if a bigger sample would yield a contrasting result or merely reinforce the current one.
Cost of living, salary changes and personal debt are the top three financial worries for Malaysians, a survey by global payment firm Visa found.
In the survey conducted between Aug 21 and Sept 23 last year, 69% of Malaysians said they were extremely concerned about the cost of living expenses while 62% and 59% were worried about salary changes and personal debt respectively. “Malaysians were less worried about the value of their retirement fund and portfolio, and fluctuating interest rates,” the company said in a statement here yesterday.
However, 25% of those surveyed also said they were more confident about their personal financial situation compared to six months earlier although 52% felt there would be no change.
Only 23% indicated they were less confident than earlier.
Sixty-six per cent of Malaysians also said they were more concerned about the impact of the global financial crisis on the local economy.
The survey involved 5,520 respondents aged between 18 and 65 years, of whom 500 were from Malaysia.
The rest were from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan.
Visa country manager Stuart Tomlinson said Malaysians were being practical during the current economic climate by focusing on managing their concerns, providing themselves with a level of security and peace of mind.
“For Malaysians, potential changes in salary levels are also of concern,” he said, adding that across the region, consumers were looking to see how they could manage their expenses, savings and job security, rather than macro-economic conditions such as exchange and interest rates.
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