Posts Tagged ‘discrimination’

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Manoharan unhappy

November 13th, 2009
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Interesting to read the article below. While some may choose to brand Manoharan as being racist or narrow-minded, I have to say one thing – when issues involving Indians arise, there seems to be very little noise from the PR side (only Manikavasagam always create some ruckus). So, can the public be blamed if they think the PR coalition doesn’t care that much?

DAP assemblyperson M Manoharan today described Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor as no different than the previous government run by Barisan Nasional.

In his 20-minute Selangor 2010 debate debut, the former ISA detainee and Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson said the Pakatan government should have rewarded the Indians the most. His reasoning was that ‘they are the ones who contributed to the coalition’s huge win in the last general elections’.

Manoharan also chided Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for only having one Indian exco in the government leadership lineup.

“The government is supposed to appoint two Indian excos. Instead, they only gave one (to Dr Xavier Jayakumar). [so, who made the agreement to have two EXCOs and why only got one now?]

He asked why Bukit Melawati assemblyperson M Muthiah wasn’t appointed as well. Manoharan said that as Muthiah is an engineer, he would be qualified to be an exco. [Good question. How many others are equally or more qualified than Muthiah in terms of academic/professional qualification?]

Manoharan also attacked the menteri besar for giving a ‘less-important’ porfolio to Jayakumar, a dentist. The latter was tasked with the health, estate workers, poverty and caring government portfolio. [it also depends on the person on the seat to make use of his portfolio and help people. What are the things being done for estate people? What are the funds available for poor people? All these come under Xavier.]

“If a dentist from Umno (Dr Mohd Khir Toyo) could be made a menteri besar, why isn’t a dentist in Pakatan given a more important portfolio?” said Manoharan.

Manoharan said the menteri besar should not have commented on a case sub judice (under judgement) when Khalid rebutted the accusation that Umno was involved in the infamous ‘cow-head’ protest last August.

Last Tuesday, Khalid defended Umno over the recent protests against the relocation of a Hindu temple in Section 23. Though he admitted that the protestors were from Umno, he stopped short of accusing the party of orchestrating the protest.

Continuing his tirade, Manoharan said the budget presented by the state government should have addressed more plights among the Indian community.

“Selangor still does not make Indians as its priority. I hope they will come up with their own think-tank so that they would not lose the Indian support in the next election,” he said. He cited Hindraf’s think-tank as a deciding factor in Pakatan’s win in the last election.

At this juncture, PKR rep Azmin Ali (Bukit Antarabangsa) interjected, saying that any Pakatan assemblyperson should champion every race, rather than focusing only on one race.

“I am a Malay, but I don’t champion my own race. I am concerned about the Indians and the Chinese too,” said Azmin (left). [But I can’t remember him commenting on any issues related to Indians so far. Anyone can help out here?]

He also said that the menteri besar, although he did not come out with specific programmes for the Indian community in the budget, still allocated RM4 million to Indian vernacular schools. [Yeah, this is one good thing, but the other schools (chinese, missionary, and agama) also got RM4 million each. But more importantly, how many schools have received their own lands?]

Azmin also said that Khalid had allocated RM2 million to estate workers’ children who were mostly from Indian families. [this is a good thing too, hope its an annual thing, and similar help should be given to the pribumis as well]

“I can assure you that throughout the time we have governed the state, the state government is always concerned about the Indian community and other races as well,” added Azmin.

However, Manoharan remained unconvinced, saying that such arguments were also made by BN previously.

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SJKT Ladang Bukit Jalil still waiting for building

November 10th, 2009
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DPM Muhyidin came and went. 2 million promised (and reported by all major newspapers). Building to be ready in time for 2011 intake (another 13 months left). And forget to mention that there’s no field, no place for expansion.

Last cabinet committee on Indian community saw news that funds allocated were not enough, and the MIC requested for extra RM85 million or so. So, what’s the fate of this school?

Uthayakumar’s Human Rights Party organised a protest at the site:

One of the PIBG committee members, V.Shanthi, said that the committee were kept is dark by the Education Ministry, DBKL and the Wilayah Minister on the supposed extension building to be build at present school site.

At the proposed new site:-

1) With One acre only it is insufficient for future expansion.[this is normal. No thought is even given for future use. Typical planning (in)capability]

2) The classrooms are much smaller then the standard size. [this is serious accusation!]

3) There is no space for school field.

4) There is a future plan to build a LRT station nearby. This will cause a massive traffic jam and it is unsafe for the children.

5) There is no proper planning by DBKL because it involves a Tamil School. But when come to Malay and Chinese schools they will take into consideration the future expansion. These are the injustices that we are against.

Meanwhile at the present site, there is around 26 acres of reserved land and it is in a safe place for children away from main roads. Why can’t the UMNO government give 6 acres out of the 26 acres land to this Bukit Jalil Tamil School? They will have enough places to build a school field, an assembly hall for children and for future expansion.

Going back to history, when Bukit Jalil was slated to build a mega Sports Complex there RM Billions was for Commonwealth Games in 1998. During that time the UMNO government spent Billions building the Stadium, sports complexes, apartments, schools and etc but when it comes to this 80 year old Tamil school UMNO did not bother to upgrade as they had done for the Malay schools.

The Indian settlement in Kg Pandan KL will also be developed and majority of the residents are to be shifted to Puchong. Another big load of students will be coming in. How is SJKT Bukit Jalil going to cope with the sudden increase? Or would the students be pushed into national type schools?

The school was embroiled in controversies since last 2 years – flooding, relocation to cemetery plot, etc. (Just search in this blog). The parents and PIBG have done alot, putting to shame those in power. Even hired own contractors to fix proper drainage!

Today, The Star reported that the school is in the dark and no communication from the relevant government agencies.

THE SJK (Tamil) Bukit Jalil Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), School Board and Residents Committee members are in the dark over a proposed new Tamil school.

School Board chairman K. Venkata Ramani said when Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhiyiddin Yassin visited the school in April, he gave an assurance of an allocation of RM2 million for the new school, which would have additional facilities.

“Tan Sri Muhiyiddin added that the proposed new school would be ready by 2011. There is now a signboard for a proposed SJK (Tamil) Bukit Jalil Tambahan about 1.1km from the existing school.

“We want the new school to have a field and more classrooms.

“We also want the existing school to remain here as it has been here for the last 80 years and has rich history,” said Venkata, who queried why the Education Ministry had not informed the PTA nor sought its suggestions on the project, although they had sent a letter to Muhiyiddin, the Education Ministry and Public Works Department last month. [because of inaction from the officers, the Minister is in a tight spot.]

“Our present committee wants to settle this before the next committee takes over,” he said.

SJK (Tamil) Bukit Jalil school board treasurer Gunasingam Veerasingam said that the school had 114 pupils and 15 small classrooms which could accommodate 10 to 15 pupils each. It has only a badminton court for the pupils to play sports and the grounds are hit by frequent flash floods.

SJK (Tamil) Bukit Jalil PTA chairman Balakrishnan Sadaian added that Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan had said 200 Indian families from the Kampung Pandan Indian settlement would be shifting to Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s People’s Housing Project (PPR) Kampung Muhibbah flats next to school soon.

“The existing school won’t be able to cope with the influx,” he said.

The SJK (Tamil) Bukit Jalil PTA, School Board and Residents Committee members want a detailed report on the proposed new school.

So, who is going to do the fire-fighting this time? The Deputy Minister for KL, Saravanan? Maybe ask the parents and schools to look at the “bigger picture!”  🙂

Its this kind of news that erodes the faith of the community on the government and its leaders. Promises not fulfilled. Or promise something that is stop-gap measure. No long-term solution. Regardless of which coalition, the problem still remains.

Anyway, I did suggest that in 10MP, a project is created to convert about 30 schools a year from partially-aided to fully-aided status. Within 5 years, at least 150 schools will be converted, which is nearly  half of the total number of partially-aided schools. Let’s see if any action is take this time, or more empty talks only.

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RM12 million books allocation not used

November 6th, 2009
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This is an interesting news (if its true). Using funds allocation for one purpose for another needs approval. Who gave it? What is the reason? Is the reason acceptable? Which non-Malay officers were involved in the decision- making (have to ask this question because it would be interesting to know)? Whose head is going to roll if this was a wrong decision? Forgive and forget?

Perhaps 1Malaysia campaign is being targeted at the wrong group?

THE Education Ministry has not purchased any Tamil or Chinese books despite a RM12mil allocation available for the purpose, Tamil Nesan reported on its front page.

It said the ministry had bought English and Bahasa Malaysia books but there was no circular on the purchase of Tamil and Chinese books for pupils.

The paper said pupils and teachers were disappointed as the books would have assisted them.

The report added that publishers were also in a quandary as they had printed the books in anticipation of the ministry’s order.

The ministry had asked publishers to submit a list of their books in various languages for a decision to be made on Oct 28.

However, on that day, publishers were informed that the ministry had decided to purchase Bahasa Malaysia and English books, with no mention made of Tamil and Chinese books.

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National Deepavali open house speech

November 3rd, 2009
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As we all know, national level Deepavali Open House was held in Siliau Estate, Port Dickson last Sunday. Nope, I didn’t attend.

Anyway, the interesting thing (besides food and show) is the speech. Below is excerpts from DPM Muhyiddin’s speech taken from The Star and NST:

“That is what we have been promoting under the 1Malaysia concept. We will continue to ensure that everyone gets treated justly and his or her rights will always be protected as provided for under the Constitution and the principles of the Rukunegara,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin said the Government would use “unity in diversity” as an asset and be an example to other nations on how people in a multi-racial country could live peacefully and progress as a nation.

“There is and will never be a first or second or third class society as is prevalent in some countries. This won’t ever happen in Malaysia,” Muhyiddin said at the national-level Deepavali open house celebrations held at the Siliau Estate here. Some 10,000 people attended the event.

As such, he said 15% of the 1Malaysia unit trust scheme was reserved for the Indian community.

Other measures include a RM15mil allocation so Indian youths can apply for business loans, an increase in the number of Indians in the civil service and the training of 2,635 Indian youths to become entrepreneur.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday reiterated that there is no such thing as a first or second-class citizen in the country and that all citizens have equal rights.

He stressed that the government would continue to ensure fairness and equality for all as stated in the Federal Constitution and uphold all the principles of the Rukun Negara.

“No Malaysian should feel neglected as every individual, regardless of race or religion and whether he lives in town or the outskirts, enjoys the same rights and privileges.

“There is no segregation of race or status here and there is certainly no such thing as a first or second-class citizen,” he said at the national-level Deepavali open house at Ladang Siliau near here.

Muhyiddin called on all people to set aside their differences and heed the prime minister’s call to unite as one under the spirit of 1Malaysia.

“We admit that there are some differences among us, but these should not at any point affect our relationships with each other.

“It is time for us to forget our differences and be more understanding towards one another and help each other to further enhance unity and development.”

He hoped that one day, Malaysia would become known as a country that had successfully united people of races under one roof.

Well, I’ll leave you to your own conclusions!

The Star’s article on 5/11 quoted as below:

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the Indian community would not be marginalised and all races would benefit from government initiatives including education.

“As part of our efforts to assist the Indian community, we will also ensure more jobs for them in the public sector besides implementing other measures to improve the community’s socio-economic standing.

“Co-operation between races is essential. Differences must be set aside in order for us to progress as a nation.

We are blessed to live in a multi-racial society such as ours. There will not be first-, second- or third-class citizens here. No one will be left behind no matter if they are from the city or the most remote place in the country,” he said.

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got smoke no promotion

October 21st, 2009
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PAS is really going for the jugular here. Denying promotion on basis of smoking habit? While I’m all for anti-smoking campaign, I think this may infringe of personal rights and can be considered discrimination. A better option (or workaround) would be to ask those civil servants to undergo regular health checks and make the results as part of the promotion requirements. Maybe add in compulsory insurance coverage will also serve as a reminder (since smokers pay more premium). Instead of all the “nice” campaigns, the authorities should go in hard – put up giant sized posters of damaged organs instead of pictures of leaders. Play anti-smoking video clips at in every cinema, between TV shows, take up full page ads in newspaper, buy adspace in Facebook, Utusan, The Star, Gmail, Yahoo, etc.

Oh ya, instead of hiring snoop squads to follow couples around, why not station them at public spaces to immediately fine those who smoke in the public? Hire some ladies too – can improve employment rates and at the same time increase revenue for the state coffers.

PAS is studying the possibility of penalising the state’s government servants by not giving them any promotion if they are smokers, in an all-out effort to discourage the habit.

State Women’s Development, Family and Health committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Omar said the government was serious in getting people to kick the smoking habit.

“The Federal and state governments have done everything possible to discourage people from smoking, and perhaps punitive measures could be considered to get some results,” she said during the question-and-answer time at the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly meeting at Kota Darul Naim on Wednesday.

Wan Ubaidah (PAS-Kijang) said this in response to a supplementary question by Abdul Fattah Harun (PAS-Bukit Tuku), who suggested penalising government servants in line with the proposal by Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat that PAS leaders who smoked would not be given a chance to contest in any general election.

“I notice that anti-smoking campaigns are not getting anywhere and I would like to suggest that state leaders set conditions that any state assemblymen or civil servant who smokes will not be considered for promotion,” he said.

Earlier, Wan Ubaidah replied to an original question by Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad (PAS-Gaal) on efforts by the government to educate the public on the dangers of smoking and on follow-up measures taken to get smokers to kick the habit.

She said that the Kelantan government recently organised a state-level workshop for 90 imams (prayer leaders) to disseminate information on the dangers of smoking in their respective areas.

“We want the masses to know of the government’s aspiration to bring down the number of smokers in the state and hope that it would have the necessary impact in the long-run,” she said.

“I am very disappointed that anti-smoking campaigns have not worked — based on studies, almost half of the male population in Kelantan are smokers and this is a worrying trend which could get worse,” she added.

She said that the state government had even issued a fatwa (official ruling on a point of Islamic law) at hospitals, clinics, business premises and public areas that it is forbidden to smoke cigarettes because they were harmful not only to smokers but also passive smokers.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

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