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16 years and still no home

December 29th, 2007
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Seeking a decent place to call home

By : Azira Shaharuddin

It has been more than 16 years, but some 1,200 families still call these Kawasan Perumahan Awam Jinjang Utara longhouse units in Kuala Lumpur home. — NST pictures by Syaharim Abidin Syaharim Abidin

KUALA LUMPUR: Manikam Raman, 58, longs for the day when he and his family will be able to move into a decent — and permanent — home.

For 15 years, home has been a 4m by 5m room in a Kawasan Perumahan Awam Jinjang Utara longhouse.

"We moved into the longhouse in 1992 and were promised a house by Kuala Lumpur City Hall within five years, but we are still here," he said.

Manikam and his family of 15 were relocated to the area from Kampung Kasipillai, Sentul, to make way for development.

Even after more than a decade, he has not given up hope that the promise will materialise as he cannot afford to buy a house.

"I don't know how long we have to live here," he said.

Manikam's despair is shared by Tan Heik Hock, who has also lived in the longhouse for more than 10 years.

"It is hard here as fights and thefts are common," said the 40-year old contractor.

The longhouse complex where 1,200 families live received its first resident in November 1991.

The 27-acre plot is divided into three areas, A, B and C, and there are a total of 1,648 units. The residents pay City Hall a monthly rent of RM45.

It is a temporary relocation site for squatters from places outside Jinjang, such as Kepong, Segambut and Sentul, but after 16 years, residents are still waiting for the permanent homes they were promised.

Mary Ramamoorthy, 30, who works for Acts Global Network, a non-governmental organisation, helps to oversee the welfare of the community.

"Gangsterism is the main problem here. Fights occur everyday," she said. Fifty per cent of the residents live in poverty and 70 per cent are alcoholics while one in five is a drug addict.

"Children as young as 11 become drug pushers as they say it is the easiest way to get money," she added.

Acts Global is helping residents with funds and holding classes, including lessons on moral values.

"But our focus is the children. We have various activities for the young so that they will be able to lead a better life and hopefully be an example to their peers," Mary said.

"I want to see the place transformed so that they can improve their lifestyle as the place is not conducive to bringing up a family." she said.

City Hall said the families were still living in the longhouses as no low-cost houses had been built in the area.

Director-general Datuk Salleh Yusop said City Hall was redeveloping the area in stages.

"All the approvals have been given for public housing to be built in the area and they will have a chance to buy the low-cost houses," he said.

The three-room units will cost RM42,000. "Those who cannot afford them can move into rented low-cost houses."

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Panasonic employees help to set up libraries

December 25th, 2007
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Set up libraries, Tamil schools urged

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TAMIL schools have been urged to set up libraries stocked with books on culture, religion and literature to generate the interest among the young to learn about their own mother tongue, reported Makkal Osai. 

Schools should also instil the importance of reading habits among the school children.  

Panasonic Indian Employees coordinator S. Yathirajan made this call when launching the company's annual cultural show. 

He said funds raised from the shows had been used to set up air-conditioned libraries in some Tamil schools in Selangor. 

He said that since 2003, air-conditioned libraries had been set up at Hicom Tamil School, Glen Marie Tamil School, Emerald Tamil School, Midlands Tamil School and Highland Tamil School. 

He said that funds collected for this year would be channelled to Sungai Renggam Tamil School. 

He said that parents realised the role played by Tamil schools which have seen an increase in enrolment.  

 

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SJKT Tepi Sungai classes in storerooms

December 24th, 2007
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Bravo! Another entry for Book of Records! Maybe can give broom award as well for the relevant officers.

Since May 2003, classes running in MPK's (municipal council) storerooms and under trees??? 4 and a half years!!! This is indeed a shameful matter.

Post-Hindraf Rally, I think this issue will be settled soon since new building is slated to have ground breaking ceremony next month.

My twisted mind seems to say that the fire may be on purpose to facilitate building of new blocks or the urgent need for the piece land which houses the school! 🙂


NST

Storerooms serve as classes

By : V. Shankar Ganesh


A fire on Saturday night rendered the remaining functional classrooms of SRK (T) Tepi Sungai useless. — NST picture by Che Rani Che Din

KLANG: It is a first that no school wanted to achieve.

But SRK (T) Tepi Sungai has become the first school to operate fully in a local council's storerooms after an 11pm fire on Saturday.

The fire destroyed a classroom in the only functional block in the school. This has prompted the authorities to declare the block out of bounds.  With this, all six classes, the office and the staff room will now be located in the Klang Municipal Council's storage building.

A section of the school had collapsed in 2003 because of termite infestation and other buildings were subsequently declared unsafe.
 

The two-classroom block, housing Years Five and Six classes, and the canteen are the only structures still functional. Following the termite infestation, four classrooms, the office and the staff room were moved to the council's storerooms.

Education Ministry parliamentary secretary Datin Paduka P. Komala Devi said the ministry would be providing the furniture for the classrooms, using funds allocated for emergencies.

A new three-storey block would be built later. Komala Devi, MP for the area, said the ministry had allocated RM1 million for the new block. She said a ground-breaking ceremony for the new block would be held on Jan 21 and MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu would be present. Samy Vellu had also ordered contractors to set up temporary classrooms for the pupils.

Parent-Teacher Association chairman M. Valiyedam, 58, said the earlier move to the storerooms was supposed to be a temporary solution but they had been there for more than four years now.

On the fire, district police chief ACP Mohamad Mat Yusop said police were investigating the incident.

The STAR:

Fire razes Tamil school's last building

By WANI MUTHIAH

KLANG: Until Saturday, there was only one building standing at the SJK (T) Tepi Sungai, a ramshackle structure housing two classrooms. Today, even that is no more.  The building was razed by fire that night. 

Tables and chairs as well as the ceiling of a classroom were destroyed in the fire, which is believed to have occurred at about 11.30pm. In May 2003, part of the 100-year-old school building collapsed, and was demolished later after being declared unsafe. 

Besides the two classrooms that were razed, the pupils have been having their classes at the nearby Klang Municipal Council (MPK) store as well as under several big trees in the school premises. 

According to Education Ministry parliamentary secretary Komala Krishnamoorthy who went to the school yesterday morning, a security guard stationed there claimed two men had questioned him about the school at about 9pm on Saturday night. She added that the school's back fencing had also been cut. "The Fire and Rescue Department will be sending a team over on Monday to find out how the fire started and if it was arson," Komala said. 

She added that MPK had agreed to clear more rooms in its store to be used as classrooms until the school's new building is ready. 

"The ground-breaking ceremony for the new building will take place at 9.30am on Jan 21," Komala said, adding that the Government had already allocated the necessary funds for the construction of the new school building. The school's parent-teacher association (PTA) had requested a three-storey building with 16 classrooms, a computer lab, staff room, resource centre, library, canteen and a kindergarten on the 0.4ha site. 

Meanwhile, an official from the South Klang Fire and Rescue Department said one fire engine and four personnel were despatched to the scene of the fire. He said the fire was brought under control in less than an hour. 

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samy wonders why temple was demolished

December 23rd, 2007
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He said Indians had taken part in the illegal demonstration recently to register their anger over the inadequacy in the implementation of projects by the Government.”Their anger is not because I had not raised questions about or fought for the plight of the community. We have done this many times and I have the documents to prove this if anyone says I did not raise these in the Cabinet,” he said.
[ so problem is whatever raised not taken into consideration? He admits that the Indians march for a correct reason?]

“I was angry because there was no order to demolish the houses, temples and mosques. They did not give orders for the temples and mosques. They only had an order to get the occupants to vacate the houses. “But I am still wondering why they wanted to demolish the temple first. I think there must be a personal reason or someone could have hated the temple,” Samy Vellu said. He said he would raise funds to construct a temple at a new site in Padang Jawa and hand it over to the people.
[looks like he is unhappy with the immigrant MB. Now, which one is lying, Selangor MB or SV? Why need to raise funds? Selangor govt said will pay for the cost already. Developer also agreed to provide land help shift. What is this…miscommunication or lying at the highest level?]

Below is excerpt from the Star today:

He said Indians had taken part in the illegal demonstration recently to register their anger over the inadequacy in the implementation of projects by the Government. “Their anger is not because I had not raised questions about or fought for the plight of the community. We have done this many times and I have the documents to prove this if anyone says I did not raise these in the Cabinet,” he said. 

Samy Vellu said he was not the kind of representative who would ignore the people's problems and “have fun” instead. “I work from the time I wake up in the morningtill 1am. Why? I do so for the betterment of the community. 

“Many say the community has not improved. I can’t believe this. If they say what we have got is not enough, I’ll agree and I’ll request more. I have demanded for opportunities according to our population size, not only with the current Prime Minister but also with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Hussein Onn,” he said. 

On Tamil schools, Samy Vellu said that he and MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting have been fighting in the Cabinet for a long time for all vernacular schools to be turned into government-aided schools.  

He said there are 522 Tamil schools in the country, of which 180 are government-aided and the rest are partially-aided. “From 1983 till today, we have rebuilt 76 Tamil schools. I don’t know whether some people have eyesight problems or those schools are 'magical' schools. I can see them but others can’t. At all times, Tamil schools are being built,” he said. 

Samy Vellu said he had asked Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not to allow any quarters to demolish any temples in the future. 

“Whichever temple it may be, no one should go to the extent of demolishing it. If a temple has a problem, it should be brought to my attention. I’ll visit the place and I’ll get the appropriate allocation from the Government and make the necessary arrangements to rebuild the temple. I’ve said firmly that only then can a temple be relocated,” he said. 

He said the temple in Padang Jawa was built on private land and the land owners had obtained a court order two years ago to get the people staying there to vacate. 

“I was angry because there was no order to demolish the houses, temples and mosques. They did not give orders for the temples and mosques. They only had an order to get the occupants to vacate the houses. 

“But I am still wondering why they wanted to demolish the temple first. I think there must be a personal reason or someone could have hated the temple,” Samy Vellu said. 

He said he would raise funds to construct a temple at a new site in Padang Jawa and hand it over to the people. 

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samy vellu to fight on

December 21st, 2007
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Samy Vellu Vows To Fight On For Indian Community

source

By S. Retna

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 21 (Bernama) — "I will continue to fight for the betterment of the (Indian) community. The question of the MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) being dented from recent incidents does not arise," said Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, the MIC supremo.

Referring to recent street protests by some members of the Indian community and those from the so-called Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), he said the MIC's spirit and strength had not been weakened by those incidents.

"I have always stood by the MIC and will continue to stand by the party. I will continue to fight for the community to ensure that Indians in the country continue to rise socially and economically," he told Bernama in an interview.

But the MIC president, who has led the largest Indian-based political party in the country for the last 28 years, reminded the Indian community that Malaysia is a multiracial country and that the nation's wealth must be shared in a reasonable manner.

"This is important. We cannot get whatever we have asked for and the same applies to the other races. The sharing of the country's economic wealth must be addressed in a reasonable manner," he said in a frank interview which covered a wide range of subjects involving the Indian community.

Touching on Hindraf, Samy Vellu, who is Works Minister, said that when the group initially censured the government, it did not ask for anything for Malaysian Indians but was more inclined to criticise the authorities and in particular, Umno, the main partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

"But they failed to realise that fighting Umno is equivalent to fighting the Malays, who are the majority in the country. This is not the approach to make changes for the (Indian) community. We have always worked with the government, which is backed by Umno, to bring changes to the (Indian) community," he said.

Hindraf, on Nov 25, held a rally in Kuala Lumpur claiming that the government had failed to help the Indians over the last 50 years.

Five Hindraf leaders are now held under the Internal Security Act at the Kamunting detention centre for being a threat to national security.

Samy Vellu, who is often noted for his outspoken nature, said although Hindraf did not discredit the MIC or its leadership, the MIC could not stand and watch "any attack on Umno".

"I know the weaknesses in the implementation and delivery system at several stages of the government. In spite of this, I have continued to raise issues concerning the Malaysian Indian community.

"Being a minister, I'm privileged to have this information and whatever we discuss at the Cabinet is classified. As such, I'm unable to divulge certain information to the public, espicially to the community.

"I have openly made constructive criticism of the government's recruitment and promotion of Indians in the public sector. I have also brought to the attention of the Cabinet the sufferings of estate workers, who are now enjoying a fixed monthly salary…we in the MIC have raised various matters to the government as we represent 1.8 million Indians in the country," he said.

Speaking on Hindu temples, the minister said MIC had always been a "shield" for these temples although some of these places of worship were built illegally.

"As for the Kampung Jawa temple (which was demolished by the authorities in October because it was built on private land after the land owner obtained a court ruling), we did our best and even the prime minister did his best but the court order stood in our way. I have personally handled thousands of temples," he said. For the record, there are more than 25,000 Hindu temples nationwide.

"I did this because I'm a staunch Hindu but I'm not a Hindu extremist. I know for a fact that extremism can never achieve anything," Samy Vellu stressed.

The MIC president also said that he had been constantly "fighting" with the government to get what Malaysian Indians were entitled to and that he had records to prove this.

"On Tamil schools, I have looked after these schools because I myself am a son of a rubber tapper, who had lived in estates and I was one of the first to go to a Tamil school…Tamil is my language…my mother tongue.

"Now elements who do not know about Tamil schools and their problems are making blind accusations that the MIC did not protect these schools. The government and the prime minister gave RM1 million to temples annually.

"Some quarters have asked for the acounts of this money. I only make recommendations to the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) (under the Prime Minister's Department) on the allocations needed and it channels the funds directly.

"Some ignorant people have been asking what has happened to the money. My question is, "What money? Who gave what money to the MIC?", he said.

On the economic front, Samy Vellu said the MIC, through its economic bureau, had created some 50,000 active Indian businessmen, from small to big. He said these businessmen had also asked the government to allow them to bring in workers from India. This matter was raised by him in the Cabinet and approval was given to bring in 40,000 Indian workers.

Following the MIC's request, the government also allocated some RM40 million for micro-credit schemes and this scheme too had been successful.

"However we face problems of repayment of these loans. Despite that, the MIC through Nijhar (Tan Sri K.S. Nijhar, MIC vice-president and party economic bureau chief) has now proposed for further financial aid for Malaysian Indians," he said.

Samy Vellu also claimed that "some unscrupulous elements" were taking advantage of the current situation to hit out at the MIC and its leadership by spreading lies via the short messaging service (SMS).

He alleged that these people had actually failed the Malaysian Indian community.

"I have made it a point to have direct contact with the grassroots…we must hear and listen to the grouses of the people.

"At no time will I give up the Malaysian Indian community. I'm always subservient to them and nobody can stop me from fighting for the community," he said.

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