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Little India name to remain?

March 22nd, 2009
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First, it was “confirmed” that the name will be changed (“Klang municipal councillor Ho San Sang confirmed the name change, saying it was part of a “rebranding exercise.” The district tourism committee member did not elaborate.”)

Then two other MPK councilors said this:

This was said by the Klang municipal councillor L. Segaran, who admitted that a proposal to rename Little India in Klang was made but it did not get the council’s support.

“After that the matter was not even raised at the recent full board meeting.

However, he added that in the event the suggestion was given consideration and a name change was on the cards, he would be one of those to strongly reject the move.

Fellow MPK councilor Azmizam Zaman Huri said Little India would never be given a name change.

“We have not even thought about it. Little India will remain Little India as this is the name used to promote the place as a tourist destination,’’ Azmizam said.

He said Kuala Lumpur had its Chinatown and Selangor had its Little India.

The MPK Secretary said this:

When contacted, Klang Municipal Council (MPK) secretary Mohd Jaid Ehsan said the district tourism council proposed the change of Little India to Medan Kelana last year.

“It is only a proposal and still at a preliminary stage, the council has not made a decision on the change of name.

“We are collecting feedback from the public and do not want to rush into any decision,” he said.

Mohd Jaid added that the proposal was made on the grounds that Little India made it sound like the area was only for one race.

Klang MP Charles Santiago? Well, his comments:

Klang MP Charles Santiago disagreed with the change and said that one should respect the uniqueness among the people in Malaysia.

“It is a well-known cultural and business centre, which has existed for many years,” he said.

Santiago added that Little India was not something unique to Malaysia as there were similar enclaves the world over.

“The change of name will destroy the uniqueness and businesses in this area,” he said.

Views of two groups:

Meanwhile, the Klang Little India Traders Association are puzzled as to why the authorities had not consulted their association when proposing to change the name of the shopping enclave.

“Aren’t they supposed to at least hear us out before putting forward the proposal?’’ the association president T. Muthusamy said.

“The traders in Little India, which is located along the Jalan Tengku Kelana stretch, had invested a lot of money and effort to turn the area into what it is today.

“Therefore it is only fair that we are consulted as well as informed of the proposed name change,’’ said Muthusamy, adding that the proposal to rename Little India as Medan Kelana was uncalled for.”

Muthusamy said Little India was now known internationally due to the hard work done by the traders there to promote the area as a tourist destination.

He said renaming Little India would also deny the area its sense of identity, which was an important and sensitive matter to many Klang residents.

According to Muthusamy, the local authorities informed the association in 2007 that the name Little India had already been gazetted.

“We were told that the name has been gazetted when the sign board was put up, so why the proposal to change now?’’ he added.

Muthusamy said the association also wanted a clarification from MPK whether or not the name Little India has been gazetted.

“If it is not gazetted yet, we wanted it to be gazetted immediately.

“The area has all the necessary qualifications to be gazetted as Little India,’’ he added.

Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGOs secretary Gunaraj George concurred and added that Little India must remain Little India because of the many Indian businesses in the area.

He said the proposed name change also contradicted the government’s efforts in propagating a multi-racial and multi-cultural identity for the nation.

“The relevant authorities must also realise that even the mere suggestion of such a move will create unhappiness and dissatisfaction among certain communities,’’ Gunaraj said.

I agree with Gunaraj. We are talking about our unique multi-racial cultures in the international arena, but now want to erase one such identity. The tourism council is being blamed for this near disaster.

MPK better do a good job of collecting the feedback because no one is aware of any proposal of name changing. I think the backlash in media is already a good indicator of the seriousness of the issue.

So, looks like Klangites can breathe easier for the moment, until the next incompetent fella comes up with another ridiculuous idea.

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Stand Up for Little India

March 19th, 2009
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I’m from Klang. My family lived there for 30++ years. I practically grew up in the Tengku Kelana neighborhood. Having bak kut teh with kickapoo (is that how you spell it?) or 7-up once in a blue moon. Buying mee goreng at saraswathy villas. Groceries at Muthupalaniandy Pillai shop. Looking at “game watch” at VGP stores. Bought my one and only bicyle in chinese shop near bus station. Those days, quite a number of shops were owned by the Chinese – cicyle, market, photo studio, restaurant etc. But still known as Little India. Can smell the spices (both raw and cooked) in the air.

Has the words Little India bought any shame to anyone? Is it a despicable disease? A bad word? Something that needs cleansing? Or is it out of fashion?

Just days ago, we read how Klang was hit with flash floods due to garbage in the drains blocking the flow of rain water.

Is name more important than flash floods? Which is more beneficial – changing names or stopping flash floods?

If one can’t make a proper decision, what do we call them? If one is incapable of doing things properly, its not wrong to admit it and ask for help.

If there’s nothing to talk at the meeting, better not have any meeting. It will save the tax payers’ money.

The illogical reason given by a councillor really makes ones’ blood boil.

From what I gather in the papers, the lack of thinking capability and prioritisation seems to point to the Majlis Perbandaran Klang. EXCO Xavier says no to the plan, so it seems he doesn’t know about it.

State exco member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar told The Star the name change would defeat all the hard work that had gone into building Little India into a tourist icon, and that the move would also erase the identity of the area.

The new name, you ask? A brilliant and extremely well thought name – Medan Kelana. The reason? The name was chosen as the main road in Little India is called Jalan Tengku Kelana. Wah.. . we really have geniuses in MPK. Those guys must be top scorers in SPM and in universities. We Klangites must be proud to have such great minds minding the Royal Town.

Klang municipal councillor Ho San Sang confirmed the name change, saying it was part of a “rebranding exercise.” The district tourism committee member did not elaborate.

Rebranding? That’s reserved for political parties lah, you genius! Unless rebranding means to “cleanse” the place.  Makes me think about the “ethnic cleansing” claim by HINDRAF. As one may recall, the word caused an uproar, but the definition of such cleansing is very wide. Simple acts like removing the identity of a community in a place can be easily misconstrued as one such definition. So, one wonders why MPK is giving ammunition for groups like HINDRAF.

Show me one person in Klang who agrees to the name change (let’s leave out political parties and their affiliated NGOs’ members). Those disagreeing are clear:

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Klang District) chairman N.P. Raman said changing the name would also erase the identity of Klang’s Little India – which had been built into a household brand known all over the world after 50 years of hard work.

American tourist Michelle Smith, 25, and her friend Miyoko Takagi, 23, said it would be a shame to change the name of a place so easily recalled by tourists.

Klang resident Wong Wei Yin, 63, said many people were unhappy with the name change because folks here had fond memories of the area linked to the Indian community.

What’s next? It won’t be long before a online petition appears, Facebook group is created and hate/anger against MPK elevates. “Save Little India” campaign anyone? Those not able to wait till such campaigns start, can voice your dissatisfaction and disproval via email/tel/fax to the council members (their e-aduan is not working, so the councilors have to bear with emails):

List of ahli majlis in MPK (available on MPK website, so its not private data):

Tuan Mislan Bin Tugiu
mislan@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 210 2233
03 – 3371 5882

Y.D.H. Dato’ Setia Diraja Dato’ Haji Abdul Ghani Bin Pateh Akhir
datoghani@mpklang.gov.my
012 – 381 1381
03 – 3372 8481
03 – 3372 3079 (F)

Encik Tee Boon Hock
teeboonhock@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 332 9092
03 – 3166 8706
03 – 3167 8880 (F)

Encik Ismail bin Arsat
hjismail@mpklang.gov.my
012 – 313 3536

Encik Azmizam Zaman Huri
azmizam@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 221 0278
03 – 3166 8642

Encik Tai Teck Chuan
taiteckchuan@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 333 5468
03 – 3344 4872
03 – 3342 2176 (F)

Encik Selvadurai a/l Subramaniam
selvadurai@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 223 9053
03 – 3168 2743
03 – 3166 4194 (F)

Haji Razali bin Hassan
hjrazali@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 221 6417
03 – 3342 6473 (F)

Encik Ho Sang San
hoss@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 216 2622
03 – 2078 9271 (F)

Encik Ang Mah Chye
angmahchye@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 662 9146
03 – 3168 2978
03 – 3168 2978 (F)

Encik Haidar bin Taslin
haidar@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 239 1141
03 – 3393 4877
03 – 3393 5877 (F)

Encik Jamuliddin bin Elias
jamuliddin@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 664 4796
017 – 241 3006

Encik Ganasan a/l Macholai
ganasan@mpklang.gov.my
012 – 694 1548
03 – 3371 5888
03 – 3371 5888 (F)

Encik M. Sunthararajoo a/l Murugan
sunthararajoo@mpklang.gov.my
016 – 284 4557
03 – 5162 4890
03 – 5162 4890 (F)

Encik Lim Lip Suan
limlipsuan@mpklang.gov.my
016 – 380 8493
03 – 3341 7368

Encik Mohd Termizi bin Ismail
hjmizi@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 260 9273
03 – 3393 4877
03 – 3393 5877 (F)

Encik Maneyvannan a/l Velue
maney@mpklang.gov.my
016 – 286 0615
014 – 608 1257
03 – 3290 6690
03 – 3341 2709 (F)

Puan Hamidah binti Mat Som
hamidah@mpklang.gov.my
013 – 364 3492
03 – 3392 1902

Puan Noriah binti Abdul Rahman
noriah@mpklang.gov.my
019 – 355 5555
03 – 5638 2288
03 – 5621 1516 (F)

Encik Segaran a/l Ladasamy
segaran@mpklang.gov.my
016 – 251 0752
03 – 3324 0752

Puan Wong Siah Ping
wongsiahping@mpklang.gov.my
017 – 212 9020

Puan Nor’ain binti Eusoff
norain@mpklang.gov.my
012 – 217 2024
03 – 3169 5513

Encik Raju a/l Veerasamy
raju@mpklang.gov.my
012 – 310 1958
03 – 3343 7433
03 – 3343 9433 (F)

Encik Tee Beng Lee
bltee@mpklang.gov.my
017 – 395 8201

source:
http://www.mpklang.gov.my/main.php?Content=sections&SectionID=249

I can only think of few reasons why the name change is planned – MPK has lots of money but lacking the ideas to use it properly OR they want to highlight the “malayness” (Tengku Kelana is a historic figure – go read your Form two/three sejarah books) in the name of “malaysianess”.

I also wonder if it got anything to do with the absence of Kota Alam Shah ADUN – YB Manoharan who is in ISA detention. Perhaps to force another by-election here?

I wonder if the councillors are aware of the plans to change the name in the first. if they are aware, then the state govt MUST take blame for it because they are the ones who picked the councillors. They must apologise publicly, sack the councillors, reprimand the MPK president and staff, and compensate for indian community for the mental/emotional stress. The MP for Klang (Charles Santiago) must resign. As for the ADUN, can’t do much as he is in ISA. Ronnie Liu (ADUN-Pandamaran) who is helping to look after Manoharan’s constituency also must resign. The Indian community cannot simply forgive all the time. Someone must pay for this.

However if this was done without the knowledge of councillors and ADUN/MP (as in the Ampang temple case), then the YDP of MPK’s head must roll. Public don’t want to hear another “internal inquiry” and after that semua senyap. Until today, i never get reply from Xavier, Teresa, or Ronnie on the outcome of the investigation on the MPAJ deputy president.

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Muthu qualifies?

March 19th, 2009
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Been busy with post-SPM/STPM activities updates, so apologies for not updating the blog. Let’s see what happened the last few days. One story that caught my eye was the statement by MIC’s presidential hopeful Muthupalaniappan. He was complaining of all kinds of campaigns or irregularities happening at branch level such as:

– branch chairmen being intimidated not to nominate him

– nomination forms came preprinted with the incumbent’s name

– lack of forms for him to distribute easily

Well, imagine our surprise when despite all the hurdles Muthu claims, he managed to get the minimum 50 nominations! In fact, he says 51 is in the bag.

The 66-year-old challenger said: “I’m happy to say I have 51 nominations.

“Many branches nationwide, wishing for a leadership change, have invited me to visit them and collect their nominations.”

Saying he did not have enough nomination forms to distribute to all branches, Muthupalaniappan added: “I need to supply new forms as most of those sent to the branches have Samy Vellu’s name printed on them.”

Muthupaniappan, however, refused to reveal the source of his nominations saying the branches feared repercussions.

He said he would collect the remaining nominations, in time to file them with the presidential election committee for its approval on Saturday.

Well, one can only wish him all the best. Hopefully he is able to collect and submit the forms in time, and the forms are not rendered invalid due to various technical reasons.

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Sivakumar can’t defend himself

March 12th, 2009
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Earlier, Sivakumar, who was waiting for his case to be called, was seen approaching assistant state legal adviser Zulkarnain Hassan, who had entered the courtroom at about 9.50am, but Zulkarnain avoided speaking to him and was later seen sitting with lawyers acting for the three independents.

A frustrated Sivakumar claimed that he tried to speak with Zulkarnain after friends identified him as his representative.

“But when he (Zulkarnain) came in, he refused to talk to me. I wanted to ask him so many things.

“I don’t even know his name or who he is. I don’t know who is (to be) my lawyer,” said Sivakumar.

Imagine your lawyer not interested to speak with you. It is weird actually. The State Assembly speaker is deemed to be part of state government by the Judicial Commissioner, while some say he is not since its explicitly stated that members of state assembly are not part of public service. Refering to NH Chan (former Court of Appeal judge):

I shall start with section 24 of the Government Proceedings Act 1956. I have highlighted the important words for easier reading. Sub-sections (1) reads:

“(1) Notwithstanding any written law –

(a) in civil proceedings by or against the Federal Government…

(b) in civil proceedings by or against the Government of a State, a law officer … authorised by the Legal Adviser of such State … may appear as advocate on behalf of such Government…”.

As you can see, this sub-section is not relevant as it only applies to civil suits brought by or against the state government, not a public officer.

And sub-section (2), which is relevant on the subject of discussion, reads:

“(2) Notwithstanding any written law in civil proceedings to which a public officer is a party –

(a) by virtue of his office; or

(b) in his personal capacity, if the Attorney-General certifies in writing that it is in the public interest that such officer should be represented by a legal officer; a legal officer may appear as advocate on behalf of such officer…”.

This sub-section only applies to civil suits brought by or against a public officer. In such a case, a public officer may (the word is ‘may’ not ‘must’) be represented by a legal officer which could include the legal adviser of the state.

Therefore, there is nothing in section 24 (2) of the Government Proceedings Act to suggest that a public officer if he sues or if he is sued must be represented by a legal officer such as the state legal officer.

In any case, section 24 (2) of the Government Proceedings Act only applies to civil proceedings to which a public officer is a party. Therefore, the question is, does the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state hold office as a member of the public service? If he does, then he is a public officer.

Article 132, Clause (3) of the Federal Constitution states that:

“(3) The public service shall not be taken to comprise –

(b) the office of President, Speaker, Deputy President, Deputy Speaker or member of either House of Parliament or of the Legislative Assembly of a State.”

So now you know that the speaker and the members of the Legislative Assembly of a state are not part of the public service as they do not hold office as public officers. Therefore, section 24 (2) of the Government Proceedings Act does not apply to them.

The whole article seems to question the competency of the “novice” Judicial Commissioner, but that’s another story. Well, that’s NH Chan’s version, you may say. I guess we have to see what articles exists in the law to negate Chan’s arguments. Perhaps the JC’s ruling had such details.

If Speaker Sivakumar is considered government staff, then he must use the state attorney to represent him in court. Problem is, the state attorney also represents new MB Zambry against the State Assembly Speaker in another suit. So, question arises if the office of state attorney can discharge its duties well or fairly, because its responsibilities lies to the state, not to the individuals it may represent. Thus, one can’t be blamed for thinking that the state legal advisors will lean towards the new MB and penalise the Speaker.

Further more, I think the notion that one is forced to use a particular legal service flies in the face of our basic rights to justice. How can a person expect to have his fair day in court when he can’t even represent himself, or worse still is represented by someone he has no faith in? I might as give up and concede to the opponents.

Sivakumar is in deep trouble. The feeling is that he has “musuh dalam selimut” (enemy within) and surely will lose his cases.

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Prabakar’s torturers to be charged

March 3rd, 2009
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Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar today revealed that investigation papers on the 27-year-old carpark attendant, B Prabakar, who was allegedly tortured by seven police officers have been referred to the attorney-general.

In a written response to M Manogaran (DAP-Telok Intan), the home minister said the A-G had also instructed that seven police officers involved, to be charged under Section 506 and Section 304 of the Penal Code.

In December 2008, Prabakar had alleged that he was tortured during interrogation by police who beat him with a rubber hose and splashed boiling hot water on his body.

– From the parliament

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