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more on indian cultural centre

January 20th, 2008
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The Star reports on the delay of Indian Cultural Centre, offering another view compared to the MK report .

Interestingly the report names Kamala Ganapathy and NGOs while MK focused on Nadarajah of Batu Caves committee.

Indian Cultural Centre not delayed on purpose

source

KLANG: The Selangor government is not deliberately delaying the construction of the Indian Cultural Centre that it announced recently as claimed by some parties.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said the state government had already allocated the funds for the construction of the centre but was still waiting for the proposal on its design to be submitted.

“I do not have in-depth knowledge of Indian culture and therefore it would be unfair for me to decide on what the centre should feature. “That is why I handed the task to (state executive councillor) Kamala Ganapathy and various Indian-based non-governmental organisations to come up with the concept for the centre,” he said during the Selangor 2008 Budget and Business Opportunities Seminar here yesterday.

Dr Khir said the parties involved were still discussing the various aspects of the Indian culture that should be showcased at the centre and the state government therefore could not start the project. “As soon as they submit their proposal, we will study it and start its construction,” he said, adding that he was also aware that not all Indian-based NGOs got the chance to have a say in the project.

He said it was not possible to include every NGO as there was a large number of them but this did not mean that they could not present their views to the state government. The state government would consider any views it felt were valid and add them to the list of things needed at the centre even if the construction had begun.

Dr Khir said the state government had never ignored the needs of the Indian community and only recently approved a RM2mil allocation for Tamil vernacular schools. “Education is important to help the Indian community better itself and that is why this fund has been made available,” he said.

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selangor govt focus on indian children birth cert problem

January 20th, 2008
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Once more, Selangor govt gives attention to the Indian community. Toyo mentioned that number of Indian children with out BC is relatively quite high (TV3 Buletin Utama today). Does it mean that the sole party representing Indians for the last 62 years has failed?

KHIR: Selangor giving attention to Indian children without birth certs

BERNAMA

source

SHAH ALAM, SUN:

The Selangor government is stepping up efforts to gather information on Indian children without birth certificates, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said.

He said the state government would enlist the services of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to collect their personal details to care for the children’s welfare and they could go to school for a better future.

“NGOs have already started gathering information on the number of affected children and their place of birth. We have to verify they are Malaysians to avoid foreigners from taking advantage by claiming to be locals,” he said at a meeting with 15 Indian NGOs here last night.

Failure to trace the fathers was among reasons why the children did not have birth certificates, Dr Khir said. Nevertheless, he believed this problem can be overcome from the mothers’ personal identification documents or the child’s birth records in hospitals.

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PPP testing water only

January 20th, 2008
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Kayveas clarifies on PPP's entry into Sarawak. Testing water only….

PPP testing waters in Sarawak

source

KUCHING: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which launched its Sarawak pro tem committee here yesterday, is gauging its support before deciding whether to set up a full-fledged state branch. 

Its president Datuk M. Kayveas said this was why the party did not inform the state Barisan Nasional of its intention to enter Sarawak. “I will give the committee some time to see how big they can grow and how much support they can get. “Once we are ready we will inform the state. As of now I did not inform the state but there is no need to make a hoo-ha,” he told reporters after launching the committee. Kayveas was referring to comments made by several state Barisan leaders that they were in the dark about PPP’s intention to spread its wings to Sarawak. 

He said PPP would inform the state and federal Barisan of its plans to set up a Sarawak branch if the pro tem committee could get between 5,000 and 10,000 members.So far, it has received 1,200 membership applications in the state, 400 of which have been processed. 

On PPP becoming the first peninsula-based Barisan party to enter Sarawak, Kayveas said it should not be an issue since Opposition parties such as DAP, PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat were already in the state. 

Meanwhile, in TAIPING, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali said the PPP would not get more seats for the coming polls. However, Tajol Rosli who is also state Barisan Nasional chairman said the PPP’s request could be entertained in the following general election. “When the next redelineation exercise is carried out, the PPP will be given more seats,” he told reporters after convening a pre-election meeting involving Barisan MPs, state assemblymen and component representatives from northern Perak. 

Tajol Rosli also announced that the Barisan leadership had appointed Bukit Gantang MP Datuk Tan Lian Hoe as Barisan chairman for the parliamentary seat of Taiping. However, Tajol Rosli reiterated it did not mean that Kayveas would not be fielded for the Taiping seat. 

PPP enters Sarawak

source

KUCHING: The Peninsular Malaysia-based People's Progressive Party (PPP) unveiled its presence in Sarawak with the establishment of a state protem committee yesterday.

"This is only a soft launch of the protem committee of the party and we don't have any plans for a big launch now. "It is also to see the support, whether it comes from the voters, and how they will accept a peninsula-based party," PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas said.

Later, Kayveas, who is also a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said he was targeting between 5,000 and 10,000 members.

He said it was up to the protem committee and members to make PPP's presence felt.

The PPP's entry into Sarawak was at the urging of members and he added that the protem committee had so far received 1,200 membership applications.

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Khir Toyo blames community for delay of Indian Culture Centre

January 20th, 2008
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Hmmm…government giving 20 million, and these guys have not sent a proposal yet? I’m more than willing to step in if these guys have other better things to do. I’m sure the Indian community feels the same as well.

And Nadarajah’s response – “was unwell”.

Perhaps this is a chance for MHS to come back from death?

The so-called proposal was submitted during the meeting between Khir Toyo and Selangor temples representatives held on Jan 4. Extract from the article:

At yesterday’s dialogue, Malay- sian Hindu Council chairman Datuk R. Nadarajah also submitted to Dr Khir a proposal for the setting up of a Malaysian Indian Cultural Centre in Batu Caves. This is following an announcement by Dr Khir that there was a RM20 million state allocation for the purpose of building a cultural centre for the Indian community.

read it here.

to be fair, MHC can claim that it has only been 2 weeks since Toyo announced the allocation and they need more time to come out with comprehensive plan. But if I’m not mistaken, the plan for Hindu Cultural Centre was announced quite sometime back by Selangor govt.

Khir in dark over cultural centre proposal
http://malaysiakini.com/news/77213
Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Jan 19, 08 11:54am

The Selangor state government has blamed the Indian community’s lack of initiative for the delay in implementing the Hindu Cultural Centre project in Batu Caves.

Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said that his government has allocated RM20 million for the project but has yet to receive any feed back from community leaders or the Batu Caves temple committee, headed by R Nadarajah. “I have given them the freedom to decide on how they wish to conceive the cultural centre, according to their needs and the state government has allocated RM 20 million for the project. “If the state government is to implement the project without consulting the Indian-Malaysian community, they would say the government is unfair,” said Khir when contacted by Malaysiakini.

He was commenting to a recent protest by some 100 Indian-Malaysians from the Batu Caves area over the delay in the project. These protesters claimed that Khir and his government’s three-year-old promise to build the Hindu Cultural Centre (said to be built within the vicinity of the Batu Cave temple on a 20 acre land) has not been fulfilled.

Khir explained that the reason why the project was yet to be implemented was because he has not received any proposals regarding the cultural centre from the Indian-Malaysian community. He denied press reports which quoted Nadarajah as saying that the temple had submitted a blueprint and proposal to Khir on Jan 4.

Khir said he was shocked to discover that the proposal submitted by Nadarajah was actually a proposal of merely landscape alterations for the Batu Caves temple and not the blueprint for the cultural centre. “So why accuse me of lying? You ( Selangor Indian-Malaysian community) give the proposal, we will study it and if approved, it will be implemented immediately,” said Khir.

Nadarajah, when contacted, said that he was unwell and could not comment on the matter.

As for the 100 local residents who protested over the delay in the project, Khir believed the event did not reflect the opinions of majority of the Selangor residents. “Most of the protesters were PKR supporters. They are just desperately trying to manipulate the situation to gain support. I suggest they get their facts right,” he said.

To counter allegations that the delay in the project was racially motivated, Khir argued that his government has implemented the Chinese and Malay cultural centres respectively. Khir said both the Chinese and Malay cultural centres are currently undergoing development though he could not elaborate on the details.

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PPP nests in Sarawak

January 20th, 2008
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We can always trust PPP to cause headache for the rest of BN parties. Wonder if this will be the last straw for BN and kick out PPP from the coalition. If PM already knew about this move, then it should be OK, but if not…..

And Kayveas had the gall to say that "Those still sitting on the fence or partyless in Sarawak can join PPP", which is kind of badmouthing fellow coalition partners, in my view.

What other Sarawak BN members may fear is that this may encourage UMNO and MCA to spread their wings as well. Big headache indeed!

PPP launching Sarawak pro tem committee today
source

KUCHING: The PPP will launch its Sarawak pro tem working committee here today to become the first Peninsular Malaysia-based Barisan Nasional party to spread its wings to the state.

However, the state Barisan has not been informed of this, with Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan saying he was unaware of PPP’s intention to enter the state.

PPP president Datuk M. Kayveas will launch the pro tem committee at the Grand Continental Hotel here.

Its Sarawak’s pro tem liaison chief is Zamiran Ujang, 61, a former manager of the Pepper Marketing Board’s Sarikei branch, who is now self-employed. Others in the pro tem committee include businessman George Martin, former Sarawak National Party member Yunus Kalom and Dr Charles Liew as vice-chairmen, pensioner Sulaiman Julaihi as secretary and former Treasury officer Dayang Halimah Abang Fauzi as Wanita chief.

Dr Chan, who heads the Sarawak United People’s Party, said he only heard about the PPP's move yesterday. “I don’t think the state Barisan knows anything about it. We haven’t had a meeting,” he told reporters after launching Kolej Sunway Kuching here yesterday. He also said the PPP had not written to or informed the state Barisan that it was planning to come to Sarawak. 

PPP launches Sarawak wing
BERNAMA
source
KUCHING, Sat:

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), a peninsula-based Barisan Nasional (BN) component party, launched its Sarawak wing here today.

PPP President Datuk M. Kayveas said after the launch that the party had acceded to the request of about 300 of its associate members in the state to come to Sarawak. “We were invited to come here. Those still sitting on the fence or partyless in Sarawak can join PPP,” he told reporters.

Kavyeas said the PPP had not consulted the Sarawak BN component parties because it wanted to gauge its support in the state before officialy approaching their leaders, and was prepared to reconsider its decision if there was a lack of support for the party in the state. He said that if the Sarawak PPP could register between 5,000 and 10,000 members in the coming months, the party would be ready to set up permanent base here.

Earlier, speaking at the launch, Kavyeas, who is Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said 1,200 people had applied to join Sarawak PPP and the pro-tem committee would hold its first annual general meeting soon to formalise the formation of the party’s wing in the state. — BERNAMA

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