MP Hulu Selangor Kamalanathan’s service centre

/* July 13th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions 5 comments »
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Good effort by MP for Hulu Selangor, P Kamalanathan. Hopefully more people make use of such service centres. I think location of service centres should be publicised for all the 222 parliamentary seats and also the states seats. Can use local newspaper vendors, schools, places of worship, markets, 4-digit outlets, 7-11 stores, petrol stations, banks, popular youth hangout areas etc., as means to advertise to the public.

48 0ut of  362  (263+85+14) is 13.25%. Of course can’t expect very high rates because it depends on the departments to settle the cases. Do note, it says “solved” and “cleared”, but no mention of how many were successful. For the benefit of doubt, we assume all 48 were successful in obtaining their citizenship/documents.

BTW, looks like DHRRA members in the photos. Is this part of the MyDaftar initiative as well?

update:  got this from DHRRA Malaysia website:

Pusat Khidmat Rakyat Parlimen Hulu Selangor (Puskap) dengan kerjasama DHRRA Malaysia telah menyelesaikan sebanyak 48 permohonan MyKad, Sijil Kelahiran, Pemastautin Tetap dan permit masuk di daerah ini dalam tempoh bermula Oktober 2010 hingga Julai tahun ini.

Ahli Parlimen Hulu Selangor, P Kamalanathan berkata, permohonan itu melibatkan seluruh rakyat daripada pelbagai kaum dan peringkat umur.

“Saya bagi pihak penerima amat gembira apabila usaha membantu menyelesaikan permohonan MyKad dan dokumen kerakyatan berjaya dilakukan dengan sempurna.

“Kini, mereka mampu bergerak bebas, malah masa depan mereka lebih cerah dengan adanya dokumen ini,” katanya pada majlis penyerahan MyKad dan Sijil Kelahiran kepada 11 penerima di Wisam MIC Bahagian Hulu Selangor di sini.

Daripada 11 penerima itu, dua menerima MyKad dan sembilan lagi menerima Sijil Kelahiran. Hadir sama, Presiden DHRRA Malaysia, S Saravanan dan wakil pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO), Yoong Tham Fook. Kamalanathan berkata, sehingga kini Puskap telah menerima sebanyak 263 permohonan sama di mana 35 pemohon MyKad, 129 Sijil Kelahiran, 85 Pemastautin Tetap dan 14 permit masuk.

Menurutnya, daripada jumlah itu, 115 sedang dalam proses di Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). Sementara itu, Saravanan berkata, terdapat beberapa kes melibatkan pemohon yang mempunyai tunggakan bayaran dan denda turut diselesaikan dengan bantuan Puskap.

Menurutnya, kerjasama diberikan Puskap banyak membantu dalam menyelesaikan kes seumpama itu selain membantu meringankan beban pemohon yang kurang berkemampuan.

 

Article on the service centre:

SINCE October last year, Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan’s service centre in Bukit Beruntung, Rawang has solved 48 cases in the district with regards to people not having identity cards (IC) and birth certificates.

According to Kamalanathan, there were cases of people in Hulu Selangor not having ICs and BCs when he went on his rounds.

“I told them to come to my service centre. We have received a total of 263 cases involving birth certificates and MyKad, 85 pertaining to citizenship and 14 cases of not having entry permits.

“We have submitted these applications to the National Registration Department (NRD) and they have cleared 48 cases thus far.

Happy day: Kamalanathan (squatting) presenting a young girl with her birth certificate at the Hulu Selangor MIC office in Kuala Kubu Bharu.

“There are still more people — orang asli, Malays, Chinese and Indians — coming to my service centre seeking for help.

“It does not matter which race or religion they belong to. We are 1Malaysia and we’ll do our best to solve their problems,’’ said Kamalanathan, who presented nine people with birth certificates and two individuals with MyKad at the Hulu Selangor MIC headquarters in Kuala Kubu Baru on July 4.

Those who received their MyKad were Manorni Malay and Kumaran Rajoo while the nine who received birth certificates were Nor Fitri Syahira Zarzuli, Nor Fitri Amalina Zarzuli, Jessita David, Jamuna David, Dhivashini Kaliyapan, Ubenthiran Kaliyapan, Tharanitaran Rick Clay, Daenise Wong Thiyagarajah and Abdul Sarip.

He said he was happy for the recipients knowing that they would have a peace of mind and able to lead a normal life from now onwards.

“The recipients can go to school, send in applications to receive aid from the Government and other benefits.

“The rest of the applicants will also be able to get their birth certificates and MyKad when we receive them,’’ he said.

Those in Hulu Selangor who are in the same situation can call Kamalanathan’s service centre at 03-6092 5094.

source:  http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2011/7/7/central/9032226&sec=central

50 NGOs and 30000 supporters

/* July 13th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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As we all know, the rally participant numbers between 6,000 (police) and 50,000 (foreign media, rally organisers, participants). I wonder what the Indian NGOs below would have said after the rally. Where were their 30,000 supporters?

30,000 / 50 Ngos = 600 supporters per NGO. Not to mention, how many percent of the supporters are also supporters of the other NGOs.

I really wonder if these folks did any analysis of their membership strength and activeness. Or simply talk.

 

A coalition of 50 ethnic Indian NGOs says it will mobilise 30,000 supporters to join the Bersih 2.0 rally tomorrow.

 Known as the Angkata Warga Aman Malaysia (Warga Aman), the coalition said it whole-heartedly supported Bersih 2.0’s rally and hoped the authorities would cooperate to make the event a success.


Warga Aman spokesperson Gobi Krishnan said the coalition hoped police would respect the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s mediation effort between Bersih 2.0 and the government. 

“We advise the police to stop all harassment and arrest of people who support Bersih 2.0,” Gobi said in a statement issued late yesterday. 

The group said it would gather in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, before marching to Stadium Merdeka.

The 50 NGOs involved include Persekutuan Pertubuhan India Malaysia (Prima), Malaysian Indian Voice (MIV), Persatuan Kemajuan Pelajar Tamil Malaysia and Majlis Kemajuan Belia Bell Tamil.

Two ex-ISA detainees lend voice

NONEGobi’s statement was also endorsed by two former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainess V Ganabatirao (right) and T Vasanthakumar. 

The duo were active in the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) movement in 2007 but are now playing the same role in DAP and PKR respectively.

Bersih 2.0 intends to rally at Stadium Merdeka tomorrow but police have denied the coalition a permit for an assembly. 

The movement chose to accept the government suggestion to rally at a stadium after the Agong stepped in as mediator on Tuesday. 

However, Bersih 2.0 is now accusing Prime Minister Najib Razak of reneging on his word by refusing to do the necessary to facilitate the stadium rally.

source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/169324

 

 

 

 

PSD PILN scholarship 2011 statistics

/* July 12th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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a TOTAL of 4000 scholarships were offered by JPA for this year for the SPM 2010 leavers. According to JPA, 58.8% (882) of overseas scholarships were granted to Bumiputra students while the rest were for non-Bumiputras (41.2% or 618) (refer this article).  A more detailed breakdown:

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz said 882 Bumiputera students and 618 non-Bumiputera students received the scholarships under the PILN.

For the local degree programme this year, 1,301 Bumiputera students and 1,199 non-Bumiputera students received scholarships, he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat,

source: http://mynewshub.my/2011/06/13/psd-offers-4000-scholarships-to-spm-holders/

1500 were for overseas while the balance 2500 were for local universities. This is excluding the 86 cases who were given local scholarships after appeal, public uproar and intervention by political parties (as per this article). The breakdown of the 86 cases is available here.

Total number of applicants were 16,900 as per stated in this article. Breakdown of the 16,900 applicants:  7,277, or 43.1 per cent, Bumiputeras and 9,623, or 56.9 per cent, non-Bumiputeras. Only 8,857 of the 16,900 (52.4%) made the cut with the minimum academic requirement of straight 9As and above (refer to this link). But since only have 4000 scholarships, the balance had to be satisfied with local matriculation, diploma and foundation programs.

According to this report in The Star, a total of 1,552 of the 4,000 PSD scholarships for this year were given to Chinese students. Of the figure, 466 scholarships were for overseas courses.

And the report below indicates the allocation for Indian students, which states 245 scholarship to Indian were awarded – 137 scholarships were for overseas universities and 108 in local universities.

 

In summary:

PILN:

58.8% or 882 places for Bumiputra

41.2% or 618 places for non-Bumiputra.

31.07% or 466 places for Chinese students (and this is 75.4% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

9.13% or 137 places for Indian students (and this is 22.17% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

1% or 15 places for “other” students (and this is 2.43% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

Total 1500.

PIDN:

52.04% or 1301 places for Bumiputra

47.96% or 1199 places for non-Bumiputra.

43.44% or 1086 places for Chinese students (and this is 90.56% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

4.32% or 108 places for Indian students (and this is 9.01% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

0.2% or 5 places for “other” students (and this is 0.42% of the places allocate for non-Bumiputra)

Total 2500.

IF combine both of the above, 2,183 spots, or 55 per cent, were snapped up by Bumiputera students and 1,817, or 45 per cent, were offered to the non-Bumiputeras (refer this link).

And this is comments from Deputy Minister SK Devamany (if you are looking to apply for matriculation – refer here):

Indian students currently in Form Five have been urged to apply for the matriculation programme for the year 2012/2013.

MIC vice-president SK Devamany said Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has invited the Form Five students to apply for next session.

According to Devamany it is better that the students, who are scheduled to sit for SPM this year apply now and not later.

He said the ministry was offering seats in three streams of accountancy, science and technical (engineering).

“This is a good opportunity and every student should apply for the matriculation programme,” he told FMT.

He added the ministry had extended the registration period until end of October.

Those who are interested have go to http://www.moe.gov.my for further information.

When asked about the Indian students’ involvement in matriculation studies, Devamany, who is also deputy minister in the PM’s Department, said that this year the ministry had allocated 580 seats for Indian students.

But the response, he said, had been poor. Until last month there were only 262 students who registered.

“Since 2009, the government had granted more than 1,000 Indian students the opportunity to study under the matriculation programme but only some 640 accepted the offer,” he said.

Poor response

Meanwhile, he also acknowledged that for the year 2011, the Public Service Department (PSD) has awarded 245 scholarship to Indian.

“From this total,  137 scholarships were for overseas universities and 108 in local universities,” he said.

He added that the government had also awarded Indian students another 100 scholarships under the 1Malaysia Development Board.

He added that since the PSD scholarship became a buzzword, MIC had managed to sort out almost 80% of the cases received.

“MIC studied all the 181 cases received. There were three cases which failed to get scholarships and another 25 who got courses they were not interested in,” he said.

He added that MIC successfully solved 12 of 25 cases of students who wanted to switch courses.

“The balance 13 are still awaiting replies from PSD. I am confident they will get the course of their choice,” he said.

He also said that PSD had already offered scholarships for matriculation courses in public university for the 13 but they refused.

“MIC has put all it’s effort in this scholarship issue and we have already requested the PSD to reconsider the wishes of the 13 for scholarships,” he said.

source: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/08/indian-students-urged-to-apply-now/

being vegetarian saves money and can help control food inflation

/* July 12th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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I have gone vegetarian for the last 50+ days, just to give it a try. Not so difficult as one may think.

As I was reading about rising cost of food, and obesity issues in Malaysia, this idea popped up.

I noticed that I tend to eat less, eat accordingly, and waste less after being vegetarian.

So, I suggest that we practice vegetarianism in our daily life. It need not be strict accordingly to religious believes, but adapted to your liking. I would suggest a minimum of 4 days vegetarian and if can up to 6 days in week.

By being vegetarian, one reduces intake of meat and poultry products (like egg, chicken, mutton, pork, fish, seafood, and beef). Once demand reduces, what happens next? The prices will drop.  All Malaysians should try it for 6 months and see what happens. Imagine the price of chicken is RM8.3o per kilo currently. But if no one buys it, would it still be at that price?

Secondly, by reducing meat, the livestocks being reared will be reduced (in the long term), and this in turn reduces the need for animal feed (food for the animals). A portion of agriculture products is channelled towards animal feed. By reducing this portion, we can have more grains and other products directly for human consumption. Result = price of other food items MAY (yes, I know, “may” only because some may try to cash in by hoarding or having cartels) drop due to availability of these items.

Admittedly, there’s not many choices for vegetarian food in Malaysia. The safest place is any pure Indian restaurant (no mixing of vege and non-vege items)  and also the Chinese vegetarian restaurants (serving mock meat – not advisable). You most likely can’t go to fast food joints, Mamak restaurants, kopitiams, Western food restaurants, and Malay restaurants. So, you tend to eat less. No more in between snacks, no burgers, no fast food. LOTS of money saved. When the options are less, you tend to eat less and spend less. Most of the time, we eat to fulfill our taste buds, but remember, once the food passes through our throats, there’s no taste.

You can also start a mini garden at home. Plant a few herbs and plants. If you make arrangements with neighbors and friends, each can plant different items and do a barter trade. This helps to reduce cost as well. There are plenty of DIY kits available – from home fertigation to hydroponic techniques.

Yet another option is to shop at the Pasar Tani or smaller markets which can at times provide a very competitive pricing if compared to hypermarkets or shopping  centers.

Some quarters will say that you will lose nutrients or can’t get enough proteins and vitamins. Well, if you are really into that excuse, then take meat once a week. You are not in a labor-intensive industry right? Are you shovelling tar on roads? Or cutting trees in middle of forest? Do you need that much of protein and food, or is it just a craving/norm that you are used to?

I stopped taking coffee and tea for a while, just to see if it can be done. So, no more Starbucks. No more Old Town white coffee. No more teh tarik. End result: less chance of wasting time at these places and end up overspending. Who knows, it can help to reduce the price of coffee beans globally if we reduce the intake of these beverages.

Yeah, you can ask…where’s the little pleasures in life if want to cut down on everything? As I said earlier, try reducing little, if not all. You can still have your cuppa one a week, or once a fortnight. Surely there are bigger things in life than being attached to food.

Another thing, I would also propose that buffet meals are banned in Malaysia, limit the number 0f 24 hour restaurants in a locality, and avoid having too many open houses during festivals. Our food havens may well be the silent killer for many Malaysians.

new slogan: Eat less.

Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1

/* July 10th, 2011 by poobalan | View blog reactions No comments »
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From Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1

Went to Putrajaya yesterday morning to visit the Floria flower festival. It was the 1st day of the festival. We reached the venue at 9am but the opening ceremony was not started yet. The weather was cloudy, and it rained early in the morning. Heard that PM Najib was to dropped by as he was there for some koperasi event. The launching was supposed to be by FT Minister, but I saw on TV PM launching it. We saw Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen turun padang as well.

From Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1
From Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1

First impression we got was that last year’s festival was better in terms of the flower attraction. Maybe since its the first day or because we have seen the same stuff last year. Noticed that the small amount of the roses were not fresh or starting to wilt. I think the weather in coming days will make it worse. There were platforms to walk this time, so can avoid the mud after rain.

From Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1
From Floria Putrajaya 2011 Day 1

We were interviewed by RTM but it didn’t appear on TV.

We spent about 3 hours visiting the flower booths and the stalls. The aircond pavillion was closed (supposed to open at 2pm only).  Will visit again to cover the pavillion and also the night floral parade.

The food stalls were similar to those last year.

This time around, we saw more activities lined up for families and children.

Crowd was about 100 cars by 9am, but by the time we left at 12pm, I estimate about 400 cars were in the parking bays.

Took about 80+ photos only this time.