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Gerakan starts wooing indian voters in penang

January 14th, 2008
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From the party that asked what "rubber tappers do behind trees" 🙂

source

GERAKAN has asked the Government to take advantage of the higher rubber and palm oil prices to raise estate workers’ wages, Malaysia Nanban reported. It also proposed a special fund to help the children of rubber and oil palm estate workers and former plantation workers. 

Acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the move was crucial to help plantation workers, particularly the younger ones in the estates, to earn higher incomes to provide a better life for their families. 

He was speaking to reporters after chairing a four-hour central committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. 

He said he was making the suggestion following a meeting with Indian community leaders in Penang. Party leaders had also met Indian grassroots officials in several places to find ways to improve the community’s socio-economic status. 

On Gerakan, Koh said the party had expanded the Maju Diri programme, a special programme to help the Indian community in Penang, to other states. This programme was initiated eight years ago in the form of sponsoring kindergarten classes, giving financial aid to poor Indian students and paying Tamil schoolteachers’ salaries. Seven Tamil schools in Penang have benefited from the programme so far. 

Koh said Gerakan would also expand the “Lim Keng Yaik Education Fund”, set up by the party adviser, who is also Energy, Water and Communications Minister, to help the Indian community in his Beruas parliamentary constituency. He said the fund, set up three years ago, would be extended to other Gerakan-held state and parliamentary constituencies. 

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another MIC fella threatened

January 14th, 2008
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A source said the threats began after the private handphone numbers of the leaders were circulated via SMS.

Meaning all this while the public don't know how to access their leaders?

Death threat for MIC man

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By NELSON BENJAMIN

JOHOR BARU: Just hours after the slaying of Tenggaroh assemblyman Datuk S. Krishnasamy on Friday, a senior national MIC leader received a call saying he was next on the hit list. The leader has lodged a police report on the threat. It is learnt that the caller, who spoke in Tamil, just uttered a few words before hanging up. Police have started investigations into the case. When contacted, the leader declined to comment. 

Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm (II) Ku Chin Wah only confirmed that police were investigating a report but declined to elaborate on the content or investigations. It is learnt that police were not taking any threats made against politicians lightly, especially in the wake of Krishnasamy's murder. 

It is also learnt that threats have been made against several senior MIC leaders. They have, however, not made police reports, dismissing this as an “occupational hazard”. 

A source said the threats began after the private handphone numbers of the leaders were circulated via SMS.  

On Saturday, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Krishnasamy had told him two weeks ago that he had received that death threats. He reminded all MIC assemblymen and MPs to be extra cautious and also ordered for security to be beefed up at all MIC buildings.

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PM to talk on managing multiracial country

January 14th, 2008
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As long as economy is well, public won't complain much. As long the majority are taken care of, there overall situation will be fine.

Not sure if PM will be asked to talk/comment about illegal conversions, apostasy, banning of books/movies, temple demolition, forced wearing of tudung/songkok, etc.

PM to tell how KL bridged racial-religious gaps

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By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR

MADRID: Malaysia will get to share with other world leaders its experience as a successful moderate Islamic country with a multi-racial society and serve as an example to other nations. 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, specially invited to the First Alliance of Civilisations (AoC) annual forum here from tomorrow will explain how Malaysia was able to bridge the religious and racial gaps among its people. 

The two-day forum, to be opened by the President of Spain, Josi Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, will be attended, among others, by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former Portugal President Jorge Sampaio, who is also UN High Representative for AoC.  

Malaysian ambassador to Spain Datuk Naimun Ashakli Mohammad said the Spanish Government had cited Malaysia as a successful Muslim country, which practised a democratic process that could be emulated by others. 

Naimun said the forum organisers had invited the Prime Minister to be one of the panel members in a plenary session to discuss the topic The Alliance of Civilisations: Managing Diversity in the era of Globalisation. 

Abdullah, who arrived today, is also expected to hold bilateral discussions with Zapatero and extend an invitation to the Spanish leader to attend the third International Conference on Islam and the West in Malaysia. 

The conference to be held on June 9 and 10 is in line with the Malaysian government’s aim to create an alliance among civilisations through the involvement of governments, scholars and civil society.  

The two leaders are also expected to touch on the situation in Myanmar and West Asia. 

On trade ties, Naimun said trade volume amounted to RM3.7 bil, in Malaysia’s favour, between last January and October. Malaysia exported telecommunication equipment, electrical goods, vegetable fats, textile and rubber gloves.

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social entrepreneur Raj Ridvan Singh

January 14th, 2008
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Life skills for youths

By NG CHENG YEE

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KUALA LUMPUR: Being a systems engineer and enjoying a lucrative income at the young age of 17 might be everyone's dream.  

Raj Ridvan Singh, who achieved just that, however, did not want to end up being a rich man with an empty soul.So, he decided to quit his job and co-founded Science of Life 24/7 (SOLS24/7) with his father Madenjit Singh and younger brother Dhinu Singh seven years ago.  

The organisation provides a comprehensive two-year training and boarding programme on life-skills education for the disadvantaged and at-risk youths from poor communities in Cambodia, Timor Leste and Malaysia.  

“It was very difficult for me at the initial stage as no one believed in me and trusted me but I am very thankful that my family and friends supported me from the beginning,” said the 24-year-old Raj. He said the training emphasised character building.  “We are training young people to develop the right mentality to make them stand out from the rest in the market place. With the right attitude, you can do any job,” he said. 

Raj also believes that one must suffer first to be a successful entrepreneur.  For example, he said, one of his students was a divorcee who earned about US$10 a month ( RM33) by selling candy in a Cambodian market.  “After she received her training at our centre in Cambodia, she managed to find a job in the US embassy as a supervisor and earn a monthly salary of US$400 (RM1,300),” he said, adding that one should be patient before achieving success.  

On Jan 19, Raj will share his story and vision of being a social entrepreneur, a term that refers to a person who uses entrepreneurial principles to address social problems, at the National Youth Entrepreneur Convention.

The event will be held at the Putra World Trade Centre during the three-day MCA's 9-Point Party Platform Exhibition from Jan 18. For more information on the exhibition, call the MCA headquarters at 03-2161 8044 (ext 420) or visit www.mca.org.my 

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subra says malaysians cannot be priests

January 14th, 2008
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A memorandum was submitted to the Home Affairs Ministry in the 1970s outlining the various difficulties faced by Malaysian temples and gurdwaras in employing local priests and musicians. "Following the submission of the memorandum, a new policy was formulated by the Home Affairs Ministry in 1984 stating that Hindu and Sikh priests from India shall be considered to stay in Malaysia for a maximum period of seven years, and musicians for a maximum period of five years, to be renewed on an annual basis," he said.

– even if we assume 1979 as submission year, it took 4 YEARS to establish the new policy!
– renewal on annual basis. So if 7 years from 1984, it is 1991. For the last 16 years, there have been annual renewals for priests.

He added that it was not possible to train Malaysians to become priests because they had to be vegetarians and teetotallers.

– meaning generally local Hindus not fit to be priests? Can we say out of every 10 Hindus, 6 consume alcohol, while 9 are non-vegetarian?

The salary offered was also low, only about RM500 monthly.

– last time maybe yes. Now with so many prayers from birth to death, priests can earn quite well.

Subra: Consult before making policy changes

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KUALA LUMPUR: A memorandum was submitted to the Home Affairs Ministry in the 1970s outlining the various difficulties faced by Malaysian temples and gurdwaras in employing local priests and musicians.

Former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam said local Indians faced difficulty in becoming priests because they were not educated in Sanskrit, the common language used along with Tamil for performing Hindu rites and prayers.
Subramaniam was commenting on a statement by Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad that the government had tightened the rules on the entry of foreign religious teachers and priests from other countries to encourage more locals to become priests.

Subramaniam said priests from India undergo several years of training to become a priest. He added that it was not possible to train Malaysians to become priests because they had to be vegetarians and teetotallers.

The salary offered was also low, only about RM500 monthly.

"Following the submission of the memorandum, a new policy was formulated by the Home Affairs Ministry in 1984 stating that Hindu and Sikh priests from India shall be considered to stay in Malaysia for a maximum period of seven years, and musicians for a maximum period of five years, to be renewed on an annual basis," he said.

Subramaniam also urged the government to consult relevant Indian-based religious bodies in Malaysia before making any policy changes regarding the intake of Hindu and Sikh priests or issues related to their work permits.

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