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Putera MIC online chat on education opportunities

June 27th, 2009
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Putera MIC conducted their first ever (and I believe a first for any Indian political party) online chat on tertiary education for students. The chat was on their website. According to Malaysiakini:

The discussions – which lasted for seven hours – involved more than 50 people who were eager to find out about opportunities available in universities and other colleges.

The discussions dealt with a number of issues including grouses by students who had been offered courses that they did not apply for and the apprehension some had in studying at Universiti Malaysia Sabah in Labuan and the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu in Kuala Terengganu.

There were also enquiries pertaining to the availability of scholarships, study grants and loans.

According to the panel of moderators, one option was for students to explore the Higher Education Ministry’s post-graduate study grants.

Students needing financial help were asked to check several websites (link is down – I checked twice in space of 11 hours) to find a comprehensive list of scholarships and grants available from various sources including the private and public sectors.

The MIC wing also offered students the option to check on job vacancies and scholarships via Facebook.

The online chat began at 10.30am and ended at 5.30pm.

The session was moderated by Putera MIC members who were former university students as well as several local university staff members.

Putera chief coordinator P Kamalanathan said he was happy with the response to the live chats.

“Based on the good response, we would extend this chat session to discuss other issues as well,” he told Malaysiakini.

Its a good effort. However, they should have done more publicity by informing the cyber community in advance of such a chat session.

Secondly, the Facebook link points to a group called United Malaysian Indian. Not sure how the two entities are related as I believe the FB group is not politically-affiliated with any party. Anyway, possibly a misreporting or just ad-hoc c0operation between them.

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Posted in Indian, TechStuff

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Time to remember Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett

June 26th, 2009
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Michael Jackson

The above is the March 19th 1984 front cover of Time magazine, two years after Thriller, the  world’s best selling album was launched. Today, the King of Pop is no more. He performed from a young age with his family, in the late 1950s, and still going on strong in the late 1990s. The generation that grew up to his music in the 70s up to the 90s would surely remember his songs and dance moves. Thriller, Billy Jean, Off the Wall, Man in the Mirror, Beat It, Black or White, We Are The World and so many more songs. I remember watching the Grammy awards in the 80s when MJ won awards for Best Album, Best Song etc.

Michael Jackson’s writeup in Wikipedia provides details on the one of the most iconic figures in world music.

Farrah Fawcett, more famously known as one of the Charlie’s Angels also passed away today (25th in US).

Farrah Fawcett in Charlie's Angels

Farrah Fawcett in Charlie's Angels

The above is the cover of November 22nd, 1976’s edition of the Time magazine. Together with Kate Jackson and Jacklyn Smith, she made up the the terrific trio who solved crime in a fresh, feminine way. Aged 62, she died after a long battle with cancer. She was suppose to marry long time friend and partner Ryan O’Neal in few weeks, but it was fated otherwise.

Charlie’s Angel was a groundbreaking series in the 1970s that brought women into a domain traditionally held by male actors – the private investigation  genre.

May this two souls rest in piece and have a better next life.

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Posted in Others

Appeal for IPTA via MCA

June 25th, 2009
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Update:

Link to the appeal form as provided by Novinthen:

http://youth.mca.org.my/Chinese/Form%20Library/Borang%20Rayuan%20IPTA%20lepasan%20STPM%202009v2.pdf

No harm in giving a try, though I assume its for the Chinese students only.

Those who have had their public university applications rejected and need the MCA’s help should file their appeals by tomorrow.

They can do so by downloading the MCA National Youth Appeal form at youth.mca.org.my.

Submit the form to Biro Pendidikan Pemuda MCA Kebangsaan, 7th floor Wisma MCA, 163 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

For enquiries, contact the MCA Youth Secretariat at 03-2161 8044.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

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IDD activated after 8 working days by TM

June 25th, 2009
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After the initial reply from TM (received on Sunday evening), on their failure, I replied to them via email. I also made THREE more calls – on Monday, Tuesday, and today. Monday’s call got a response that my application has been processed and will be activated, but the staff could not guarantee that it will be done on Monday itself. On Tuesday, same thing. Finally, today (24th) I called to inquire and the staff confirmed IDD has been activated. I successfully faxed some documents.

My letters to newspapers: came out in Malaysiakini. Not sure about the other two.

So, after a grand total of 12 days (8 working days), TM managed to activate IDD service. Bravo!

And this company is the one going to provide broadband speed of up tp 2Mbps in rural areas and 10Mbps in prime areas by 201o for a cost of RM 11-15b (If I’m not mistaken).  For comparison, both US and Australia are also drawing their respective National Broadband plans with targets of (hold your breath):

Median US broadband speeds are less than 5.0 megabits per second (Mbps)–capable of moving five million bits of data per second–according to the ITIF, far slower than those of Japan (63 Mbps) and South Korea (49 Mbps).

The FCC presently defines broadband as 786 Kbps–too slow for efficient video streaming, for example–and the ITIF and other groups are seeking target speeds of between 10 and 50 Mbps.

Australia earlier this week announced plans to build a $30bn government-controlled national broadband network offering speeds of up to 100 Mbps to 90 percent of homes and businesses and 12 Mbps to the rest. [I suppose 12 Mbps is for the outbacks]

Oh ya, I got another email response two days after replying to their initial email:

Dear Mr. M Poobalan,

Thank you for your reply. Firstly, we would like to apologize for the late response.

Referring to you e-mail dated 21th June 2009, upon verifying in our system, we found that this issue had been addressed by our personnel with the reference number XXXXXXXXXXXXX and it still in progress. Kindly noted, we have notified the respective department on your e-mail and latest status for their updates. They are in the midst of investigating and rectifying the issue. Your patience on this matter is highly appreciated.

We wish to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued patience and understanding, as well as extend our appreciation for your continued support of TM. We wish to assure you that we are constantly improving our service and listening to customer feedback to further improve on the level of our service and customer satisfaction. Should you need to check on your report status, kindly contact our Technical Department at 100 and select “Telephony and Data Services”.

We would like to apologise on the unpleasant experience that you have encountered.

For further assistance or feedback, kindly e-mail us at help@tm.com.my .
Alternatively, you can also contact TM at 100 and select “Telephony and Data Services”.

We look forward in serving you better.

Regards,

Kairun Azizi Md Noor
Customer Care Support, Internet Services,
Customer Service Management,
TM Retail.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Personal

Caring for school with single student

June 24th, 2009
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I first heard this via the 8am news on Minnal FM. Then saw the article in NST:

A school with only one pupil is no reason for the government to shut it down.

This was the undertaking given by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when asked on the case of SRJK (T) Ladang Sungai Timah in Teluk Intan, which has only one student.

However, Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said the government had advised schools with low enrolments to register students in larger schools nearby.

This, he said, would provide students with a better learning environment and better interaction with their peers.

“These cases are prevalent, especially among Tamil schools. Whatever it is, we leave it to the discretion of the school’s management.

“This is a considerate government and we will not shut schools like this. The student wants to study, so let her.”

K. Humah, 12, is a Year Six student and had been the sole student at the school, which has three academic staff and a gardener, since her first year.

Muhyiddin agreed that any attempt to close the school would be politicised.

“If that happens, some within the community would accuse the government of not caring for their education.”

Only thing missing was the announcement of some immediate allocation to improve something in the school.

Now, if I was  really caring and had the power, I would advise the student to shift to another Tamil school nearby, or make arrangements to provide transport. Then, I’ll proceed to authorise the transfer of the school to another location where there is high probability of more students registering.

The girl is in Standard Six. 4 more months and she will be ex-student. Nor is it practical to ask her to move in the midst of UPSR year. What will be the status of the school in 6 months time? No students enrolled in any other year. Unless the school manage to get some students enrolled for Year One next year, the school will be closed down, no? So, another Tamil school closed down due to “considerate” attitude? If not closed down, then what? Empty of students, the staff do what everyday?

As we all are well aware, there’s no new vernacular school license being issued. Thus the only way to survive is to relocate schools with very small enrolment to different locations. The authority to provide permission to transfer school license lies with…hmmm…..

Is there an attempt to pull our legs here?

Earlier in April (if I’m not mistaken), there was similar act in being “considerate” to the plight of SJKT Ladang Bukit Jalil, by asking to increase the number of classrooms in the original plan. But the actual problem is the small land allocation in the MIDST of a cemetary and temple. This was being protested by the  parents and PIBG of  SJKT Ladang Bukit Jalil as its an unconducive environment. The land allocated also did not consider future expansion and increased enrolment.

I smell a rat here.

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Posted in Indian, Tamil-Schools

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