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National Housing Policy

February 10th, 2011
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I’m sure this news will be music to many peoples’ ears. Those in the RM2500-4000 bracket would find it difficult to purchase a house, especially a landed property in KL. A double storey terrace of decent size (20×70) would easily cost RM350k if located in some corner of Klang Valley. Those in high-value areas can reach RM650k.  Want to buy apartments, may be too small and mostly rented to college students, foreign worker etc. Not exactly conducive environment once expects a graduate in a city to live in.

I just hope that houses (be it landed or high-rise) be of suitable size with enough rooms. I’ll say 1200-1600 sqft with 3-4 rooms should be the minimum.

Next will be the quality of the materials used. Hopefully there will be proper monitoring and enforcement. That’s a big IF.

Finally, not only the house, but the surrounding infrastructure is important too. No point building houses that are affordable but located far from everything. There should be access to public transport, medical services, schools, business/commercial areas, green spaces and places of worship. There should be community halls, enough lifts (for highrise), enough car parks too.

Oh ya, yet another concern is the financing. Wonder how the terms would be. Maybe combined loan, longer tenure and lowest deposit (government to provide some sort of guarantee).

BTW, would there still be discounts for certain community? Or can we consider all of them need help equally?

As it is, this is a policy. We all know how thing turn out when implemented in due time. Hope this policy works out well.

The Najib administration launched the National Housing Policy (NHP) today, focusing on houses for sale or rental to those earning between RM2,500 and RM3,999 a month, or the middle-income group that is growing to be a major urban vote bank.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today that the policy would ensure that every income group would be able to afford to purchase homes through affordable public housing (APH).

He said the policy was a follow-up to the 10th Malaysia Plan, where the government has set a target to construct 78,000 units of affordable public homes throughout the country by 2015.

“At this moment, the two challenges concerning the housing sector are the preparation for affordable homes for all segments of society and the need for a safe and comfortable housing environment in line with the country’s socio-economic status.

“The government is now working on the distribution of affordable homes as well as to strengthen our efforts in providing high quality homes,” said Muhyiddin(picture) today.

The DPM said the NHP was needed to provide direction and basis for the planning and development of the housing sector by all relevant ministries, departments and agencies at the federal, state and local levels as well as the private sector.

The NHP will be under the purview of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, which is headed by minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung.

The three key objectives of the NHP are:

• To provide adequate and quality housing with comprehensive facilities and a conducive environment

• To enhance the capability and accessibility of people to own or rent houses

• Setting a future direction to ensure the sustainability of the housing sector.

Under the NHP, the government and private sector will provide affordable houses for sale and rental especially for the low-income group, and also for the disabled, senior citizens and single mothers.

The policy outlines the role of the private sector as it is encouraged to develop medium-cost houses for the middle-income group with a monthly household income of RM2,500 to RM3,999.

It is understood that the national policy will enhance the role of state governments and their agencies, as they will be given flexibility in determining the quota of low-cost houses to be built in mixed-development areas based on the sustainability of the location and local demand.

“We will be engaging the state governments, so that they will set a quota or a percentage for medium-cost houses to be built so that middle-income earners can also purchase houses,” said Chor today.

He said the NHP was not really “new” as policies on housing had existed prior to the creation of the policy.

“It’s just that it is more systematic and proper now, and it will be easier for reference,” he added.

The NHP also outlines ways in ensuring that the lower-income group can afford to purchase homes which include providing financial support for the group and setting a realistic rental rate for low-cost houses.

Prices will also be set for low-cost houses and its ownership and sale will be controlled to avoid speculation.

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Vernacular schools won’t be abolished

February 5th, 2011
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This news came out about two weeks back. Obviously its reassuring to hear that vernacular schools won’t be abolished. This is provided for in the constitution (but yeah, I’m sure we know that how things are implemented is a different story altogether).

While the PM compares with neighboring countries, I think there’s a bit of difference. Indonesia did not focus on diversity or mutli-culturalism under the previous dictatorship. It was single language, single name (luckily not single religion). Their aim was different from the beginning. But things change as the world opens up. As for Singapore, I think their schools provides language classes and are secular in nature. No religions/racial discrimination (be it real or perceived). But here, we hear horror stories ranging from bringing food to racial remarks.

Secondly, the article doesn’t mention about steps taken to promote and encourage the growth of vernacular schools. That’s why we don’t see new schools, only those being relocated or rebuilt. The national education policy favors national schools, so the vernacular schools only receive minimal support to survive (can check the amount of fund allocated for each type of schools in the Malaysian Plans). Yeah, we should be grateful for that, I suppose.

I think vernacular schools (especially Tamil schools) will gradually be reduced due to non-action – no allocation of land, no political will to relocate, and no relocation fund. Aided by “brilliant” ideas to merge schools, we can expect number of schools to reduce.

The alternative is to set up language classes in national schools and to guarantee a non-racial/religious environment in school, which is impossible. You’ll need 45% of the teachers to be non-Malays, plus have more physical rooms to run a variety of religion classes. Not in the near of far future as far as things going now.

That’s why I think there’s no need to abolish vernacular schools, because in the long run, they will die a natural death due to various reasons.

The Government will not abolish the national-type school system and will continue to assist and recognise them as part of the national education system, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The Prime Minister said Malaysia was the only country in South-East Asia which still defended the vernacular school system through the Chinese and Tamil national-type schools.

“If we look at our neighbours, there are no more vernacular schools although they existed at one time,” he said when declaring open the new RM9.3mil building of SJK Chung Hua Sungai Tapang Hilir here yesterday.

He said to ensure a fair policy for these schools, the Government allocated RM145mil in the country’s economic stimulus package for the development of Chinese national-type schools nationwide.

He added that the vernacular school system was recognised not only by the Chinese and Indian communities but also the bumiputras due to the advantage it provided in the learning of Mandarin and Tamil.

He said that since the Education Act was formulated, Chinese national-type schools have attracted 55,975 bumiputra students out of 612,000 students overall.

“The system provides an opportunity for students to learn three major languages – the national language, English and Mandarin,” he said. – Bernama

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Tax rebate for local Chinese and Tamil movies

February 4th, 2011
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I’m not sure if this news will be well received by the proponents of Malay language. Bahasa Malaysia is considered national language according to constitution, so according the other languages similar tax breaks will be angering these groups. However, if we are to accept the diversity of our country (as I always said, we can’t just shout about diversity and multi-cultural, but no doing much to cultivate it) then we can accept the suggestion to offer tax breaks to Chinese, Tamil, English and other language movies locally produced.

This step can help promote the local entertainment industry for Tamil and Chinese community. By having that extra cash, they can use it for more promotional activities or invest in better quality tools/actors/services to improve movie quality.

However, the current ruling which says the movie’s content must be 60% in BM is a problem if still maintained. The ruling need to be rescinded if the proposal is to be accepted.

Homegrown movie Ice Kacang Puppy Love and other Malaysian productions in Chinese and Tamil are expected to be given a 20% entertainment tax rebate following a request by Information, Commu-nications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim to the Finance Ministry.

“The news is timely,” film director Tan Kheng Seong (pic), popularly known as Ah Niu, told the Daily Chilli, a news portal of The Star, yesterday.

However, he suggested that the rebate be given across the board – to all Malaysian-made films – instead of only to those with 60% dialogue in Malay as stipulated by National Film Development Corporation (Finas).

He also suggested that the rebate be backdated to 2010 instead of this year because there was a boom in the local movie industry last year.

A news portal had reported that the Cabinet had an in-depth discussion of the issue and Rais, who is responsible for the matter, had asked the Finance Ministry to allocate a refund for the film.

Ah Niu, interviewed on arrival home from Beijing, said: “The budding local Chinese film industry really needs the support of the Government in order to grow.”

Citing strong international interest in Malaysian-made Chinese films after the phenomenal success of Ice Kacang Puppy Love, the talented musician and filmmaker added: “Malaysia and Singapore can produce good Mandarin films. But our production costs are really high, partly because of the tax.

“If the Government can help us with tax relief, we stand a good chance of competing with Hong Kong and penetrating China’s market with more quality projects.”

Ice Kacang Puppy Love, which starred Ah Niu, Lee Sinje, Victor Wong, Gary Chaw and Fish Leong, raked in RM4mil at the box office last year.

But Ah Niu said he ended up paying RM800,000 in tax (20% entertainment tax) because his movie did not meet the current criteria for a tax rebate.

Echoing the sentiment, James Lee, who had a crossover success in the Malay and English markets with horror movies Histeria and Sini Ada Hantu said: “It’s a great idea. We need to support and protect our local films, be they in Malay, English, Chinese or Tamil.”

According to Minister Rais Yatim, the movies should have BM subtitles. Anyway, let’s see how the proposal is actually implemented. There may be some “small prints” that end up disqualifying most movies.

Malaysian-made movies in Mandarin, Cantonese or Tamil with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles are now recognised as local movies, Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Rais Yatim said today.

Citing an example, he said that ‘Ice Kacang Puppy Love’ (Cinta Ais Kacang), directed by Tan Kheng Seong or popularly known as Ah Niu, is already classified as a local movie.

“I have decided with our committee and I have informed the cabinet about this decision,” he said.

“Therefore, if the movies make money at the box office, they will be given the entertainment tax rebate,” he told reporters in Shah Alam.

It was reported earlier that the locally-produced Chinese movie, ‘Ice Kacang Puppy Love,’ which raked in RM4milion, did not qualify for the 25 percent tax rebate as it had been classified as a foreign movie.

It was also reported that the movie did not comply with the provisions of Finas, the National Film Development Corporation, which stipulated that local movies must have at least 60 percent dialogue in Bahasa Malaysia to meet the conditions for rebate.

However, there were also reports that the movie could enjoy the rebate.

Asked when the Ministry would make the refund, Rais said: “I think we can make an announcement (on that) in March.”

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Reply on community request for private Chinese school in Kuantan

January 8th, 2011
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The following press statement was removed hours after it was posted on MOE website. (Un)Luckily, it was captured in BERNAMA and reported by Malaysiakini.

The truth hurts, doesn’t it?

Maybe this is also part of the reason why MIC talks about relocating schools and building new blocks only, but never about new schools.

We can say similar things (not follow national education philosophy, not using national language, not using national exam) about international and private schools in Malaysia. But these schools seem to be increasing in numbers instead of maintaining status quo or decreasing.

Gesa kebenaran mendirikan Sekolah Menengah Swasta Cina di Kuantan (China Press: 29/12/2010) – MOE

MAKLUM BALAS LAPORAN AKHBAR

Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (KPM) ingin merujuk kepada Berita dalam Akhbar China Press bertarikh  29 Disember 2010 (A11) –Komuniti Cina di Pahang gesa kebenaran mendirikan Sekolah Menengah Swasta Cina di Kuantan segera diuruskan.

Pembinaan sekolah swasta Cina di Kuantan (SMPC) tidak boleh dipertimbangkan pada masa ini dan pada masa akan datang. Ini kerana dasar kerajaan ialah mengekalkan 60 buah SMPC yang sedia ada (status quo). Pembinaan SMPC tidak mencerminkan konsep pendidikan secara holistik di mana SMPC tidak menggunakan kurikulum yang ditetapkan oleh KPM iaitu tidak akur dengan Dasar Pendidikan Kebangsaan. Sekolah ini juga menggunakan kurikulum sendiri, Bahasa Cina sebagai bahasa pengantar dan murid-muridnya menduduki peperiksaan yang dikelolakan sendiri oleh Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia Independent Chinese Secondary School (MICSS). Peperiksaan yang diduduki oleh murid SMPC seperti The Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).

Kerajaan ingin melihat perpaduan di antara kaum terus kekal dan mempunyai sikap hormat-menghormati antara satu sama lain. Sehubungan itu, kerajaan menggalakkan semua kaum di negara ini belajar di sekolah bantuan penuh kerajaan atau sekolah jenis kebangsaan yang mendapat bantuan daripada kerajaan.

Pertambahan murid di kawasan berkenaan boleh disalurkan ke sekolah bantuan penuh kerajaan sedia ada di kawasan berkenaan. Pembinaan sekolah hendaklah mengikut perancangan oleh KPM yang dibuat oleh Bahagian Perancangan dan Penyelidikan Dasar Pendidikan, KPM.

Status quo penubuhan sekolah menengah swasta kekal seperti sedia ada. Permohonan untuk menubuhkan sekolah swasta Cina yang baru tidak disokong.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATION UNIT

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION MALAYSIA

source: http://web6.bernama.com/bpa/details.php?id=886

The Malaysiakini report:

An education ministry statement on its website on the rejection of a proposal to revive an independent Chinese high school in Pahang was taken down a few hours after it was posted. 

The statement by the ministry’s corporate communications department said the proposal was turned down because it was government policy not to increase the number of independent Chinese schools. 

The ministry was responding to a report on the proposal by Chinese daily China Press on Dec 29, 2010. 

The statement was spotted on the education ministry website this afternoon and several major Chinese dailies ran news flashes on the matter. 

It was taken down from the website a few hours later, with no explanation being given. 

However, the statement was archived by national news agencyBernama and can be accessed through its ‘Response From Government Agencies’ page. 

Asked about the statement, Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong confirmed that it was retracted.

“It is no longer there. It was taken down,” he said when contacted.

“It is a major decision… everything will be announced by the prime minister or deputy prime minister (later).”

PM approved proposal

China Press’s exclusive report said that the Pahang Chinese community were urging the government to approve the application for the school as they have been waiting for the greenlight since September last year. 

The report quoted United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) Pahang chairperson as saying that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had approved the establishment of the school as a branch of the Kuala Lumpur Chong Hwa independent high school.

A piece of land, donated by the community, had already been earmarked for the school. 

However, the education ministry statement states that the proposal “cannot be considered either now or in the future” because it is government policy to continue the status quo, which is maintaining the current number of independent Chinese high schools at 60.

“The government wants to see unity and mutual respect among different races. Hence, the government encourages all ethnic groups in this country to study in fully-aided government schools or national schools,” read the statement. 

The statement pointed out that independent Chinese high schools do not use the education ministry syllabus, adopt Mandarin as the teaching medium and their students sit for an independent examination operated by Dong Zong.

Fishing for Chinese votes?

It adds that fully-aided public schools are capable of absorbing any increase in student population in the area. 

Previously, there were eight independent Chinese high schools in Pahang that were maintained by the Chinese community but all were closed down due to various reasons. 

The Chinese community there made several attempts to revive these schools since the 1990s to no avail. 

Their hopes were reignited after the Najib administration provided greater recognition of independent Chinese high schools by allowing United Examination Certificate (UEC) graduates to enroll in teacher training colleges. 

For the first time ever, the federal government also awarded scholarships for high-scoring UEC graduates. 

This has been widely seen as an attempt to shore up support from the Chinese community ahead of possible snap polls.

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Tamil School enrolment decreased for 2011?

January 7th, 2011
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Not sure how valid this info is, but if it is, then there’s a problem brewing. Possible reasons I can think of:

1. Less Indian students going to standard 1 (population growth problem?).

2. Parents deciding to enrol in other schools (national or Chinese or private) due to better facilities/environment (?).

3. Location of Tamil schools not strategic enough (not enough community population or too far away compared to other schools, thus incurring more cost to send).

4. Lack of publicity/effort by PIBG, teachers, NGOs, political parties to promote the schools to parents.

THE number of pupils enrolled in Year One in Tamil schools has decreased slightly but more are expected to register over the next week, Tamil newspapers reported.

Malaysia Nanban said 15,998 pupils joined classes in 523 Tamil schools nationwide this year compared to 16,198 pupils last year.

Tamil Schools national coordinator S. Baskaran said there was still a lot of interest among parents to send their children to Tamil schools.

from the Star

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