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BBN organised Nambikai Nam Nadu Unity Nite concert to unite Indian groups

September 7th, 2012

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Its a good effort obviously, as we seldom have any concerts with performance reflecting the various groups. But I was curious why amidst the representatives from different communities, a leader from religious organisation was also garlanded. You have leaders from Sikh, Malayalee, Telugu and Ceylonese communities, and then there’s president of Malaysian Hindu Sangam. Yes, Sikhs are based on religious categorisation as well, but I think nearly every Sikh is a Punjabi (maybe I’m wrong here). Wondering what happened to leader from Tamil community. Maybe can’t agree who to choose since got many splinters? But then, choosing a religious organisation leader is not the solution since you’ll then have to include leaders from other faiths like Bahaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam (since there are Indians following these faiths). I did ask the organiser but never got a reply. Anyway, that’s just me picking on the small points rather than looking at the bigger picture.

Interesting to note that the president of Barisan Bersatu Nambikei, Kalai Vanar was ex-PKR Jerai division head. He stood for Gurun state seat in 2008 elections but lost to BN candidate. He was (still is?) president of Alternative Action Group, another NGO. I remember him during the commotion when protesting at MPSJ regarding some housing project problem compensation (can search youtube).

Since this group is interested to unite all the Indian community, why not we follow the association its president and advisor of BBN. I’m sure they will be excellent role models for us. Here’s their twitter/FB accounts (do read all the interesting tweets they make)

BBN Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barisan-Bersatu-Nambikkai/441279205895158

Kalaivanar: https://twitter.com/kalaivanar

Ramesh Rao Krishna Naidu: https://twitter.com/RameshRaoAKN (and facebook at http://facebook.com/rameshrao.krishnannaidu)

Most recently, BBN staged a protest along with other NGOs at the HQ of a political party over the cases where some teenagers stepped on PM photo and also some others carried a flag. Watch the video here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEfV9B1cXBg).

So, why wait, do join them and proclaim that you are united!

GREETINGS of vanakkam, vanthanam, namashkaram and namastehrang through the hall as five distinguished personalities welcomed their guests at the “Nambikai Nam Nadu” musical extravaganza at the Malawati Satdium in Shah Alam recently.

It was historic of sorts as the musical night was the largest and first of its kind held to unite the major Indian ethnic groups in the country.

More than 50 well-known local Indian singers and musicians kept the night alive with five hours of non-stop music and songs from movies of the black-and-white era to current hits and various cultural dances that kept the audience spellbound until the show closed at midnight.

Organised by non-governmental body Barisan Bersatu Nambikei (BBN), it attracted about 20,000 people from the Sikh, Tamil, Ceylonese, Malayalee and Telugu community.

“The musical night is held for one reason, to unite the entire Indian community under one roof,” said BBN president Kalai Vanar.

Vanar added the “Unity Nite 2012” themed “In Our Country We Place Our Trust” was not all about a one-off gathering but with the objective to unite all the ethnic groups as Indians and not proclaim themselves as different Indian ethnic group.

Meanwhile BBN special adviser Ramesh Rao in his speech pointed out the importance of tolerance among the different groups in order to move forward and develop as the country progressed.

For those who missed out on the show, it was undoubtedly spectacular as the initiative taken by the organisers was commendable.

With a combination of songs, both old and new, the show encouraged the young to search for their roots with respect to music and art.

At the interlude of the musical night, five special guests — Gerak Sikh president Tan Sri G. Darshan Singh Gill, All-Malaysia Malayalee Association president Tan Sri Ravindran Menon, Persatuan Kebajikan & Kebudayaan Telugu president Datuk Dr Prakash Rao, Malaysian Ceylonese Congress president Datuk Dr NKS Tharmaseelan and Malaysia Hindu Sangam president S. Mohan Shan were each garlanded with the traditional Indian shawls as a mark of respect.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/9/4/central/11918070&sec=central

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Posted in Events, Indian

Tags: Culture NGO

Mass marriage registration ceremony for 59 couples

September 7th, 2012

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This is yet another good effort by DHRRA Malaysia. Imagine if the couples continue to live without legal records, the problems faced by their children will multiply.

The problem of unregistered marriage lies with couples who either don’t think its important or is unaware. Programs like this, hopefully would create awareness.

And yet, I wonder if in future the concept of marriage will cease to exist. If you have kids, just need to ensure the father and mother columns are filled.

THEY may not have been blushing brides and grooms, but they were certainly a bunch of relieved couples after having their marriages legalised in a mass registration ceremony held at Kuil Sri Siva Muniswara Alayam in Jalan Ipoh recently.

About 59 couples between the ages of 22 and 60, decked in their bestsarees and dhotis, the women wearing flowers in their hair and the men big smiles, registered their marriages at the temple in front of witnesses.

The event was organised by DHRRA Malaysia (Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas), a non-governmental organisation which helps the Indian community living in rural areas on various socialrelated issues.

Perfect union: Couples taking their oaths after the registration.

DHRRA women’s programme director Nanthini Ramalo said that during their outreach programmes conducted in small towns all over the country, they realised that many couples lacked important documents such as marriage certificate.

“The problem lies in the fact that many couples, including the younger generation seem to give more importance to traditional marriage ceremonies and that registering the marriage is not necessary,”Nanthini said.

“They fail to realise that a non-legal marriage will result in their children being deemed as born out of wedlock and spouses who have not registered their marriages will not benefit from Socso and government pensions if one of their partners were to pass on,” she said.

“We explained to them its importance and we’re happy that many turned out today,” Nanthini said, adding that DHRRA will be carrying out more of such programmes in the future.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/9/7/central/11957302&sec=central

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Posted in Indian

Tags: Culture NGO

Supermum Devigi

September 4th, 2012

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husband has heart disease, brother-in-law bedridden, sister-in-law a diabetic, and all 3 kids having muscular dystrophy, but she didn’t give up!

THERE were several times when S. Devigi wanted to commit suicide after all three of her children were diagnosed with muscular dystrophy.

But her determination to provide the best for them stopped her.

“I don’t know how I got through it.

“I remember selling fried rice, noodles and thosai at night to pay for my children’s medical and educational expenses.

“It was a harrowing experience. I had thought about taking my own life but could not do it when I see my children’s faces,” said the teary-eyed Devigi when met at their dilapidated house at the JKR quarters.

Apart from taking care of her children, Devigi is also looking after her husband, V. Ugjayan, 52, who suffers from a heart disease, her bedridden brother-in-law and a diabetic sister-in-law.

However, the 53-year-old woman, dubbed as the “supermum” is now a happy mother.

Proud moment : (from left) Zuraidah, Devigi, her husband Ugjayan, Dr Rajendran and two other representatives of the NCM posing with a mock cheque with Devigi’s children on the wheelchair- (from left) Abby, Meghala and Gopi.

Her children, Nyanamambiga @ Abby, 27, Meghala, 26, and Gopi, 24, are all independent and are helping with the family’s expenses.

Abby works part-time as an executive administrator at the college where she is pursuing a Business degree, while Meghala designs greeting cards and sells them online.

Gopi, meanwhile, works part-time as a deejay at wedding receptions.

The family’s household income has now increased to between RM1,000 and RM1,500 compared to the few hundred ringgit Devigi earned in the past.

“I am happy to see my children earning money despite being wheelchair-bound.

“Thank God I did not give up and continued to fight,” Devigi said.

Devigi, who has stopped working, is now saving up to build a house on her husband’s land in Sungai Manggis, Banting.

The family is still in need of about RM60,000 to build the house.

Prof Dr M. Rajendran, who handles the family’s trust fund, said RM97,000 had since been collected from kind donors.

“Many have contributed to Devigi after her plight was highlighted by The Star.

“The Star is one of the contibutors to Devigi’s family,” he said.

Northport Corporation Berhad (NCB) Holdings Bhd donated RM20,000 to the family recently.

Its director Datuk Zuraidah Atan, who handed over a mock cheque to Devigi, said the effort was part of NCB’s corporate social responsibility.

In March this year, The Star had highlighted Devigi’s life story, calling her a supermum for single-handedly taking care of her loved ones.

For information, contact Dr Rajendran at 012-229 4518.

source:

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Posted in Indian

Tags: Funds Poverty Role Model

more non-malays have applied or have joined civil service?

September 4th, 2012

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I read few media sources and ended up confused. Nearly all reports said the number of applications increased (nearly tripled) to 5.6% out of 1.2 million applications between the period of June and August (3 months) as compared to just 2% as of May. refer (Bernama, Malaysian Insider, Malaysiakini). The excerpt below is from TMI:

The government’s efforts to get more non-Malays to join the civil service seem to be bearing fruit.

Job applications from non-Malays rose to 5.6 per cent between June and August this year compared to only two per cent as of May out of the 1.2 million applications received through the Public Service Commission (PSC), said PSC chairman Tan Sri Mahmood Adam (picture).

He attributed the increase to the large-scale campaigns carried out in the Chinese and Tamil print media as well as the dialogues held throughout the country.

But according to the Star, its not application but “joining” the civil service:

There has been an increase in the number of non-Malays joining the country’s civil service workforce in the last three months.

“There has been a marked increased from 2% to 5.6% of the total number of non-Malays joining the civil service throughout the country since June,” disclosed Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman Tan Sri Mahmood Adam during the press conference after launching Pusat Temu Duga SPA Malaysia office here Tuesday.

Mahmood said this marked increase in the numbers of non-Malays joining the civil service workforce were an indication that PSC’s strategy on perception and direct public engagement are showing positive results.

Looks like The Star made an error here.

Regardless of the number of applicants, to have a more balanced population we have to look at the number of people hired and also the vacancies available. According to PSC chairman, for next two years, the vacancies will be low since retirement age has been extended till 60. Estimated 7000 vacancies will be available for each of the coming two years. Now, even if all the 14,000 posts are given to non-Malays, it will barely increase the percentage by 1%! Now, how (and when) are we going to increase the non-Malay percentage to, say about 35%? Sure, you can take in temporary or contract staff as stop-gap measure, but its not a long term solution (like increasing front counter staff from 1000 to 3000). Create new posts? Not feasible as it means more civil servants => more salary and pension payments. So how?

It will be interesting to hear the reply to MP Hulu Selangor P.Kamalanathan’s oral question number 9 (refer here).

Its not easy to undo few decades of discrimination.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Indian

Tags: discrimination Employment Media Statistics

Tamil Nesan to start English pullout

September 3rd, 2012

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This is indeed a bold and innovative move by Tamil Nesan. I assume there’s no price increase.

The positives:

– news on Indian community can be provided to the non-Tamil speaking section. Can’t be depending on Star/NST or other papers.

– mouthpiece for party and government initiatives. As mentioned by Vell Paari, info like the RM180 million SME fund is still not as accessible as it should be.

– another source income from advertisement

– can possibly increase readership numbers

The negatives:

– would it be able to get the targetted section to buy the paper? This means pulling the readers from their regular English papers.

– sustainability is a concern.

– negativity surrounding Tamil Nesan as propaganda tool may not attract the intended readers.

Its a risky move, but worth giving it a try. Maybe Vell Paari should start with an online version first to see how’s the response.

Anyway, I will give it a try when the English pullout appears. Hope its not too political and end up being rejected. And definitely should have local news instead of news from India etc, unless relevant.

The Tamil Nesan daily is starting an English pullout on September 15 as its MIC-linked owners want to widen readership among non-Tamil-reading Indians ahead of the general election which must be called by next April.

There are four Tamil newspapers that cater to the 1.7 million Malaysian Indians in the country, with the oldest being Tamil Nesan which is owned by S. Vell Paari, the son of former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

Vell Paari says the English pullout of the Tamil Nesan is to reach out to more Indian ethnic groups. — Pictures by Choo Choy May

“Our target audience has always been Tamil readers, but we want to increase it to the sub-ethnic groups; the Malayalees, Punjabis and Telegus, for example,” Vell Paari told The Malaysian Insider in an interview, saying that the local English and Bahasa Malaysia newspapers do not cater to the Indians, a key vote in a number of federal and state constituencies.

“Take, for instance, the government’s recent announcement of giving the Indian community RM180 million. None of the dailies further explained how or where the Indian community could get it from. Tamil Nesan wants to use our reach to inform the community specifically on these details,” he said.

The pullout, which will be a tabloid insert, would be published on a weekly basis with an average of 12 pages but could eventually be printed daily, said the newspaper owner.

Vell Paari, who is also MIC information chief, said the daily had received an approval letter signed on behalf of the secretary general to the Ministry of Home Affairs dated June 20.

Tamil Nesan’s English pullout comes exactly two months after a new Tamil daily, Nam Naadu, hit the streets to compete with Tamil Nesan, Malaysia Nanban and Makkal Osai. The new daily is backed by prominent businessman and Malaysian Association of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) president Datuk Kenneth Eswaran who also runs the fledgling pay-TV venture Asian Broadcasting Network (ABN).

Despite the number of Tamil newspapers licensed by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government, a majority of Malaysia’s ethnic Indians rejected BN in Election 2008 and threw out a number of MIC candidates including Samy Vellu from his Sungai Siput fortress. Analysts have attributed BN’s poor support from the Indian community to the snub to the Hindraf movement and falling circulation of the Tamil dailies.

Vell Paari said the 88-year-old Tamil Nesan has an average daily circulation of 44,000 copies while the Sunday edition has an average of 85,000, admitting that circulation has fallen over the years.

“Our highest so far for the daily has been 81,000 copies while the Sunday edition once registered a circulation of 178,000,” he said, expressing hope that the English pullout would increase circulation by catering to a new audience.

“Some Indians nowadays don’t read and write Tamil because they went to government schools, others just prefer to read English. We plan to cater to these readers as well,” he added…

source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tamil-nesan-starts-english-pullout-helps-mic-woo-voters/