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Resident bring python to Perak MB office as proof

May 20th, 2011
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Wow, talk about making a point! Pity the rakyat if have to go to these lengths just to get attention to solve the problem. And still no guarantee that solution will be there.

 

Residents from a village here brought a live 10-foot python to the Mentri Besar’s office to highlight their fear of having to bear with unwelcome visits from slithery “guests” for the past one year.

“We have been having sleepless nights as we never know when a snake would come by our beds,” said labourer C. Subramani, who acted as spokesman for the group of residents from Kampung DBI in Buntong.

He said he caught the snake on Wednesday night outside his house and decided to bring it to the state secretariat building here yesterday as “proof” of their traumatic experiences.

The villagers, he said, had to bear with incidents of snakes getting into their house compounds at least three times a week.

Raising a ssstink: Subramani (right) showing the python that the villagers had caught to a policeman at Dr Zambry’s office in Ipoh Thursday.

Subramani, 51, led the group of residents to present a memorandum to the Mentri Besar yesterday.

However, their plan was unsuccessful as the main gate of the Mentri Besar’s office was cordoned off by police personnel as word got out earlier about the villagers’ move.

The snake, which was kept inside a cage, was later sent to the Fire and Rescue Department. The cage was placed inside a car opposite the building.

Subramani, however, managed to present the memorandum to the Mentri Besar’s special assistant Zulkefli Abdullah outside the gate of the building.

Speaking to reporters later, he claimed their previous complaints about the snakes had gone unheeded.

He said Kampung DBI, a pre-independence village, consisted mostly of wooden houses occupied by low-salaried workers and retirees and was overrun with lalang.

He claimed that the reptiles started to appear in their bathrooms and bedrooms following development work in nearby areas.

One villager died in November last year after being bitten by a snake, he said.

Zulkefli said he would hand over the memorandum to Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was aware of the villagers’ plight.

 

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/20/nation/8718672&sec=nation

 

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JPA Scholarship allocation problem

May 19th, 2011
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At least Dr Wee Ka Siong was being honest when he said: “If this trend continues, many Barisan Nasional parties will have to close shop because such a practice will only scare away young voters”. Main concern is about political survival. Of course there’s other reasons too, as he said :  “Many talented young people will also be driven away and this will make the brain drain problem even worse.”

Dr Wee, besides being the MCA Youth chief, is also the deputy education minister. Makes us wonder what’s happening when “products” of one ministry is treated in such way by another agency.

Anyway, year after year we keep hearing the same stories. JPA says they are being transparent, but as I commented on Eduhelp:

…I just wonder, how difficult it is to post the details of the recipients on the website to ensure MAXIMUM transparency on the selection process. Its not enough to just announce the selection criteria and process, but not announce the outcome of the selection process. It can be manipulated, and is it a wonder if people think there’s manipulation in the selection?

To make it easy for JPA, let me suggest to you the relevant fields: recipient name, detailed result, detailed marks received for the selection process, selected for which award/country/program, family income, school name, district/state, and basis for selection (merit, race, location etc).

Sure, sometimes students have high expectations even though their results are not so excellent. They may have applied for courses with toughest competition, and all of them want to go overseas (presumably greener pasture and possibly not to return?). Or their academic results were good, but not their co-curriculum marks. Or maybe they performed badly at the interview session.

Sure, we have quota system whereby students from certain race/background is given place instead of other Malaysians. JPA already highlighted the category of selection criteria, which for readers’ reference, are two documents by JPA which document the selection process and also the relevant application details for 2011.

http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/esila_new/pdf/2011_piln/Syarat-syarat_permohonan_piln_2011.pdf

http://esilav2.jpa.gov.my/esila_new/pdf/2011_piln/Pre_conditioning_piln_2011.pdf

 

So, if the deputy education minister says the government officers made their own selection criteria, then who is ultimately responsible? Head of JPA is ultimately the Prime Minister as it comes under his purview.

The problem was made worse when PM Najib announced that all 8A+ students will get scholarship. Of course, this could easily be misunderstood by students and parents to mean that these students can get to study medicine or engineering in overseas. But the PM didn’t say that. He just said “will get scholarship”. Where/when/what??? So, when JPA released the results we saw students getting scholarship to enter matriculation or asasi (foundation) at IPTA/IPTS. Of course, not as glamourous as getting PILN to study overseas.

But, still its hard to understand why someone with 4A+ or 5A+ is given place to go overseas while one with 10A+ is sent IPTS. Maybe didn’t get A in BM? Or not active in extra curricular activities?

Now its up to MCA, MIC etc to take up the cases and get the second round of application done. Some appeals  will be made and few extra students will get a place and the political parties have once again saved the people.

I wonder, what if  the many disgruntled parents and students, along with 10 of their relatives will picket in front of PM’s house or JPA office. Just imagine, a thousand unhappy people (read voters), and with no politicians involved, peacefully voicing out their unhappiness. Will the police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse them? I wonder if there’s any Facebook page or event for this.

 

Government officers who failed to follow Cabinet directives is one of the main reasons why top students failed to get the awards, said MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Many students who deserved the scholarships did not get the grants, but those who did not deserve them had successfully obtained the financial assistance, he added.

He described the situation where qualified students were unsuccessful in their scholarship applications was the worst this year in all the years when he handled appeals.

Dr Wee said these government officers set their own selection criteria and did not follow what the Cabinet had decided.

Tale of woe: Dr Wee listening to one of the students during the press conference in Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur, yesterday.

“If this trend continues, many Barisan Nasional parties will have to close shop because such a practice will only scare away young voters.

“Many talented young people will also be driven away and this will make the brain drain problem even worse,” he told a press conference at Wisma MCA yesterday.

Dr Wee said students who scored full A+ in the SPM examination were not given priority during the selection process, and were only offered open scholarships for government matriculation programmes or vacancies at local universities.

An open scholarship for matriculation studies is financial assistance given to students only after they have obtained good results during their first year in the programme.

“However, students who obtained poorer results were awarded scholarships to study at universities overseas,” he said.

Previously, the Government announced that 300 of the 1,500 Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships were given based on merit, regardless of race.

Dr Wee said this figure was sufficient to cater to the 363 full A+ scorers.

One of the students facing this problem is Chan Shu Ren from SMK Chung Ching in Raub, who obtained 11A+ in the SPM examination.

Shu Ren, who was present at the press conference with her father Chan Ah Kau, was offered an open scholarship for the government matriculation programme.

“I have friends from the same school who only obtained 8A+ and 9A+ but received PSD scholarships to study in countries like France and India,” Shu Ren said.

Students Lo Chia Hwee from SMK St Teresa, who obtained 10A+, said it was disheartening when she was only offered an open scholarship.

She had worked hard hoping to get a scholarship to study medicine overseas.

Another student, Chai Sheng Min from SMK St Joseph in Kuching, who also obtained 10A+, said he only got a scholarship to study engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas while his friends who got 4A+ and 5A+ were awarded scholarships to do Pure Science in the United States.

Dr Wee said MCA would meet with PSD officials to discuss the problem.

 

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/19/nation/8714415&sec=nation

 

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Two differing articles on My First Home scheme

May 17th, 2011
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The first article is quite positive:

A total of RM21.3mil in loans has been approved under the My First Home Scheme since its launch in March, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.

“As of April 30, RM21.3mil in loans was approved to 143 applicants with an average value of RM149,365 per loan.

“We have also received encouraging response from banks as we now have 25 that have agreed to give out such loans compared to 20 initially,” he said before witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Syarikat Peruma-han Negara Bhd and banks on the scheme.

He said as of April 30, 772 people had applied for loans under the scheme.

The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on March 8, is to enable young adults earning RM3,000 or less to obtain 100% financing for their first home with the price capped at RM220,000.

Ahmad Husni said SPNB had also constructed over 4,500 houses worth between RM100,000 and RM200,000 for the scheme and another 8,991 being built in 16 projects nationwide.

“The future is in creative economy with the private and public sectors playing an important role in corporate social responsibility,” he added.

On the affordable housing programme for young urban folk and the poor announced on May 6, Ahmad Husni said they were looking at providing these in the Klang Valley and other urban areas through a public-private partnership.

“We realise that property prices have escalated.

“We are discussing with various groups to supply such houses. A couple of companies have already agreed to do so.

“We are looking at various initiatives to help the people,” he said, adding that the matter was also being discussed in one of the Budget 2012 focus groups.

SPNB chairman Datuk Idris Haron said they were in talks with land owners in the Klang Valley, including Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Rawang, Puchong, Damansara, Shah Alam and Klang, to build affordable homes by 2020.

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/17/nation/8699140&sec=nation

The second is not a rosy one:

There has been poor response to 4,516 housing units under the My First Home scheme in the country.

The units were completed by Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) and were priced within the RM100,000 to RM220,000 range.

The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in March, is opened to private sector employees aged between 18-years-old and 35-years-old; drawing a monthly salary of not more than RM3,000.

Potential buyers can get 100% financing and a repayment period of up to 30 years.

According to SPNB chairman Datuk Idris Haron, the company has completed 11,400 low and medium cost houses valued at RM1.1bil which remained unsold.

“Of these, 4,516 housing units in 12 development projects can be categorised under the My First Home scheme.

“The response has not been encouraging, perhaps due to the lack of publicity.

“We need to step up our marketing efforts,” Idris said at the opening of the new SPNB headquarters in Wisma Perkeso, Jalan Tun Razak yesterday.

SPNB signed MoUs with and 19 banks, witnessed by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, for the scheme.

Ahmad Husni said as of April 30, 772 applications had been received for the My First Home Scheme.

“A total of 143 applications have been approved, amounting to RM21.3mil in housing loans. The average loan is RM149,365,” he said.

Idris said 8,991 housing units, which fell under the My First Home scheme, were being built in 16 development projects in Selangor, Kedah, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak.

“For future developments in the Klang Valley, we are also in talks with landowners in Puchong, Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Damansara, Rawang, Klang and Shah Alam,” said Idris.

He pointed out that it was not realistic to build homes under the scheme in prime areas in the Klang Valley due to high land values.

“We work with private land owners. However, in areas that we have built homes, such as Laguna Biru apartments in Sungai Buloh, have good potential to become prime locations in five or 10 years.”

source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/17/business/8695472&sec=business

And it appeared in the same paper 🙂 Personally, not sure if its the marketing, or the terms of loan, or even the location of the properties. As a housebuyer, I would like to get a nice property, possibly landed, which seems impossible with the current income levels of many Malaysians. So, if our parents could buy houses, why can’t we, who are more educated and earning “more”?

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KIMMA presidents elected Dewan Negara senator

May 17th, 2011
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KIMMA has been rewarded after 35 years.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Datuk Syed Ibrahim Kader, president of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma), a Barisan Nasional (BN) ally, has been appointed a senator in the Dewan Negara.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Syed Ibrahim, 57, received his appointment letter a week ago and will be sworn in as a senator soon.

“I was told Syed Ibrahim (picture) has received his appointment letter last Thursday and his swearing in will be informed later,” said a source.

The source added that Syed Ibrahim had accepted the appointment with “an open heart”.

“I also understand that he does not want this to be revealed,” said the source, when contacted.

When contacted by The Malaysian Insider yesterday, Syed Ibrahim refused to field questions and urged the media to wait for his swearing-in ceremony.

According to the source, Syed Ibrahim will only hold a press conference upon accepting the appointment.

This is the first time a Kimma representative has been appointed a senator since its inception in 1976.

Late last year, Syed Ibrahim appealed to the government to elect a senator from among Kimma’s party members to represent the Indian Muslims in the country.

The leader said this was because the party had no avenue to voice its views, particularly about the Indian Muslims, to the government.

Syed Ibrahim also said Kimma will appeal to the government to allow an Indian Muslim on state executive councils and local councils to ensure the people’s grouses are heard.

source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/kimma-president-elected-senator/

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1Bestarinet Internet access project for schools

May 16th, 2011
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Again, another article for Teachers Day. The facilities that are being proposed in schools, does not seem to be able to provide a quantum leap. While other countries are going into Gigabytes, we are still in 10Mbps speed expectations.

 

WE can begin to leave SchoolNet behind us as a new tender to wire up schools with Internet broadband access is out.

This new project, known as 1Bestarinet, is supposed to wire up 9,924 schools in the country. The birth of 1Bestarinet dates back to the national key economic area telecoms lab days.

The tender bid was out on May 5 and a must-attend briefing was held on May 10. The closing date for the tender is May 31 this gives potential bidders three weeks to work on their proposals.

Some of those who want to be considered view the three weeks as too short for such a huge project that spans 10 years and can cost anything up to RM300,000 per year.

“Unless you had prior knowledge of this tender, it would be impossible for some parties to submit a tender as it covers a lot of areas and three weeks is just not enough,” one said.

Nearly a dozen companies have collected the tender documents. They include players such as Celcom Axiata, Jaring, HighTech Padu, Maxis Bhd, REDTone International, Time dotCom, Telekom Malaysia and YTL Communications.

This tender is called by the Ministry of Education and it is clearly stipulated that it is open to local companies and preference will be given to bumiputra tender bids that are registered with the Finance Ministry under some codes stipulated.

To recap, SchoolNet was born in 2004 to wire up schools using wireless or fibre technology. Several companies won the bids to provide Internet access to the schools and while the effort was put in, there is really not much to gloat about. The effort is fruitless if it does not achieve its objective and we can blame the lack of specifications to lack of integration, unpreparedness of teachers and find all the flaws but a key component that did not make it shine was the access speed and capacity.

Then comes 1Bestarinet.

There are two major components access and learning management system (LMS) module. Many did not expect the LMS to be included but it is there and details need to be furnished with the tender bid.

For urban areas the access speed is 2Mbps to 10Mbps, and for rural and remote schools 1Mbps to 4Mbps. All sorts of technologies can be used, be it fibre or wireless technology including Vsat.

The interesting part is that even before the tender came out some parties have been burning the midnight oil to get prepared. One company managed to get a LMS module in place and it is dangling its carrot to work with others. Two others the ones with the biggest fibre networks are likely to put in a joint bid and have been on it for a while now.

But those who only got wind of it days before the tender opened, they will be scrambling to meet the deadline.

The contention is on timing why only three weeks when it is such a big project? Three weeks happens to be the minimum time required for a tender to remain opened.

One of the flaws of SchoolNet was scalability. That apparently is also the issue with 1Bestarinet even though some claim that those making a submission should consider cloud computing as an option.

While the 1Bestarinet project is great, did it take into consideration themurid‘s perspective?

We are talking about a group of people who will be tomorrow’s leaders and they are the ones living in the era of social media, super fast Internet speed, smartphones, TouTube and so on, and for all that they need big capacity and super speed.

So 2Mbps or even 10Mbps is really not enough in a classroom of 30 to 40 students, the networks are going to be congested in no time. So should we pour money into networks that are only good for a year, two or three?

What we need to look at is the bare minimum of 1Gbps; there should be no compromises on speed and capacity. Taking U-turns can be a costly affair and it can delay us from reaching our destination.

Perhaps we ought to review our offering, make the change and give more time to those who are interested in the tender bid so that we can attract the best. While at it we should not consider players that don’t keep their promises.

 

  • Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu wishes all teachers a Happy Teacher’s Day and thanks them for taking care of our children.

    • source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/13/business/8675705&sec=business

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