Malaysia placed 28th in Global Information Technology

/* August 18th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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 According to the report we dropped one place due to Qatar moving up to 25th place from 30th place.  But the survey has expanded from 133 countries to 138, so still OK la.  But if nothing much down, we can be assured of sliding down the ranks.

We did well in most categories except for two which affected the ranking. 1st was infrastructure environment where we were placed 51st with a score of 3.7 (higher score is better).  In this category, we ranked average for phone lines, mobile network coverage and tertiary education enrolment.

The affected category was individual usage (4.3 score with rank 45th).  In this category, we ranked average for household with PC, broadband internet subscription,  and mobile phone subscription.

We did well in some sub-categories, getting top 5, top 8 and top 11 ranks.

And note that we were ranked badly under freedom of the press, positioned at number 103.

 

 

 

 

Malaysia slid from 27th to 28th in the 2010-2011 Global Information Technology report released yesterday after it was bumped down by Qatar which jumped 5 spots from 30th to 25th.

Malaysia’s placing this year is equal to its ranking in 2008-2009 and worse than the 26th ranking achieved in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

Sweden and Singapore retained their first and second placing respectively atop the rankings with Finland, Switzerland and the United States rounding out the top 5.

The Global Information Technology report (http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GITR_Report_2011.pdf) is an annual publication prepared by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and INSEAD which assesses the impact of ICT on the development and competitiveness of 138 economies worldwide.

The WEF said that this year’s report confirmed the leadership of the Nordic countries and the Asian Tiger economies in adopting and implementing ICT advances for increased growth and development.

It noted that Sweden, Denmark (7th) and Norway (9th) are all are in the top 10, except for Iceland, which is ranked 16th.

Singapore meanwhile led the Asian Tiger economies with Taiwan and Korea improving five places to 6th and 10th respectively, and Hong Kong SAR following closely at 12th.

A look at the sub-rankings show that Malaysia was helped by government readiness (11th) but hurt by the infrastructure environment (51st) and individual usage (45th).

It was also ranked 42nd for international internet bandwidth and 59th in terms of broadband subscribers.

The ICT rankings come after Malaysia dropped two spots in the WEF competitiveness index last year, coming in 26th out of 132 countries and marking the second year in a row Malaysia has dropped in the rankings after falling from 21st to 24th spot in 2009.

The WEF rankings in coming years however are expected to show how effective are the Najib administration reforms such as the New Economic Model, the Government Transformation Programme and the Economic Transformation Programme, all of which were launched between January and December last year.

 

source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-slips-down-ict-competitiveness-ranking/

 

2500 Malaysian Indians get citizenship

/* August 18th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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Wonder how many more cases are out there.  With the effort made during the MyDaftar program, managed to help them.  But if no such effort, the number of approved cases will be much lower.

 

THE applications of 2,500 Indians to become Malaysian citizens were accepted by the Government under the MyDaftar campaign recently,Makkal Osai reported.

The Cabinet’s special committee for Indian affairs coordinator Datuk N. Sivasubramaniam said this was the first time a large number of Indians were given citizenships.

The National Registration Department would process the applications after receiving security clearance from the police department, he said, adding that 2,000 other Indians had succeeded in their applications for the MyKad.

“The major problem faced by NRD is the failure of applicants to give their correct address. There were cases where letters sent to the applicants were returned. Because of this, their applications had to be put on hold,” he was quoted as saying.

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/18/nation/9319257&sec=nation

 

subtle conversion at work?

/* August 16th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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I’m worried after reading the article below. There’s no mention of the children age or their status. Imagine young children from orphanages being exposed to “better understanding of the Hari Raya celebration”. To me, it can be construed as proselytization. MCCBCHST should look in to these kind of treatment of such children from homes and ensure the innocent and vulnerable children are afforded freedom to practise their religion and not influenced by over enthusiastic preachers. I don’t think can depend on Jabatan Kebajikan as they lack the resources and reasons for this.

If its really about knowing other religions, I’ll love to see the Yayasan organise similar programs to allow children of all religion to attend events like Chap Goh Mei, Thaipusam, Good Friday, Wesak Day, Vaisakhi, Navarathiri Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival and so on. There’s plenty that kids nowadays are not aware of other religions/communities festivals and they tend to mock other people’s festivals.

The Yayasan Harapan Kanak-Kanak Malaysia (YHKM) is set to provide a unique experience for non-Muslim children to fast and celebrate Hari Raya under the Ramadan and Raya 1Malaysia programme.

The Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor said that the pilot programme, involving approximately 50 non-Muslim children, is to create a better understanding of the Hari Raya celebration among Muslims.

Rosmah, who is also a patron for YKHM, said the children would join their host families on the last day of Ramadan and celebrate Hari Raya for two days.

“I hope such programmes will produce young Malaysians who are tolerant and respectful of each other,” she said in her speech delivered by YHKM advisory board member Datuk Atikah Adom yesterday.

The Majlis Iftar Prihatin, attended by 150 orphans, was funded by Concorde Hotel Network chairman, Tan Sri Syed Mohd Yusof Syed Nasir and organised by the Persatuan Amal Bakti Ramadan Malaysia and 10 other charitable organisations.

 

source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/15/nation/9301838&sec=nation

Malaysian Saiva Religious Council launch

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Hopefully they can work with Hindu Sangam and other existing organisations, and not splinter the community further. Can focus on reducing conversion cases, help to poor community and also classes in temples/schools.

PRESENTLY, many questions are being raised by Hindu devotees related to Hindu Saiva philosophy and practices. There is also a lack of understanding as well as confusion over the rituals practised.

In view of this, president of Malaysian Saiva Religious Council Dr. A. Nagappan said the council has been formed to serve the Hindu community .

“The aim of the council is strictly educational and its objectives are to widen knowledge of Hindu Saiva philosophy and to clarify as well as reform practises,” he said.

This is in line with the need for new awareness for the present times. The newly registered council will be holding classes and forums based on a structured and scheduled curriculum.

The esteemed Seervalarseer Sivapprakasa Thesiga Para­ma­achariyar, the 23rd Guruma­hasannithanam of Thiruvaava­duthurai Aatheenam will officially inaugurate the council on Aug 14 at the Sithi Vinayagar Temple Hall, Petaling Jaya.

Membership is RM10 and annual fee is RM30. All Hindus are welcome to attend and seek knowledge and understanding of their religion. Breakfast and lunch will be served

For more details, call A. Anbarasan at 019- 3795 198.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/8/10/central/9262763&sec=central

Punjabi Education Centre in Sungai Petani

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Good effort by the community. The authorities must support the enrichment and continuation of various cultures in Malaysia and not only provide lip service or token handouts. Our diversity is a strength, not a threat.

IN a bid to preserve the Punjabi language, the Punjabi Education Centre (PEC) in Sungai Petani wants to upgrade its facilities and rope in more students to learn the language.

Its principal, Manjeet Kaur, said there had been keen interest among Punjabi parents to send their children to the centre since it started Punjabi language classes eight years ago.

“They want their children to learn the written and spoken language in order to preserve their mother tongue.

“Many children from Punjabi households prefer to speak English or Malay with their parents and grandparents. So, there is a danger of the language dying off if it is not spoken or revived for future generations,” Manjeet said.

She said intermarriages of Punjabis with people of other communities was another factor for the decline in the usage of the language.

Manjeet said the centre was now running eight classes with 62 students, aged from four to 17, every Friday at SJK(T) Mahajothi in Taman Sutera Jaya. There are 11 teachers consisting of school teachers, retirees and housewives.

“We want to upgrade the facilities so we can accommodate more students. Parents who are interested can contact us to enrol their children,” she said, adding that the centre welcomed non-Punjabi children as well if they are interested in learning the language.

Manjeet said there were 36 PECs throughout the country and they received some financial aid from the Government.

She said these centres however had to depend on local gurdwaras and donations to keep the classes going as the aid was insufficient to, among others, pay teachers and helpers.

She said they had already appealed to the Kedah government for an annual grant and hoped to receive a positive response as several other states like Penang and Perak were giving out such grants.

Those interested to know more about the centre or to help out can contact Manjeet at 016-4215658 or the centre’s chairman Tarsame Singh at 013-3601433.

source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/8/10/north/9237732&sec=North