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Tamil schools with few pupils to be relocated

October 1st, 2007

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Its hard to evaluate. if MIC managed to do this now, then we can say that its due to the pressure and exposure of events like HINDRAF protests, SMS circulation, Kavyeas comment, etc. If MIC don't do anything, we say they are useless.

anyway, the keyword is "has agreed, in principle,". Everything in principle only. reality can be totally opposite.

On the other hand, in spite of calls for closure of Tamil schools, we have 52% of indians children enrolled in them! It means that one out of every two children aged between 7 and 12 you meet will be a tamil school student.

Tamil schools with few pupils to be relocated

source

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has agreed, in principle, to allow for the relocation of Tamil schools, especially those from estates to “Indian-majority” urban housing schemes in the urban areas. MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who disclosed this, said Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had given the green light following a request from the party.

The relocation would involve Tamil schools with few pupils, especially in estates where the numbers were between five and 15 , he told reporters after chairing the Tamil School Action Committee meeting here. Samy Vellu, who is the Works Minister, assured that no Tamil school would be closed down “even if they face a student shortage”. He said there were now 12 such Tamil schools; five in Perak, Johor (three) Negri Sembilan (two) and one each in Selangor and Pahang.

Samy Vellu said schools with a higher enrolment, such as the Kulim Tamil School which had about 1,000 students, would be divided into two and located side by side.

He said 52% of Indian pupils were studying in Tamil schools. “There are more than 105,000 Indian pupils studying in 523 Tamil schools nationwide,” Samy Vellu added.

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Posted in Tamil-Schools

Tags: Education Hindraf MIC NGO Perak Politicians Protest Selangor Tamil school

toll rate to increase in 2008

October 1st, 2007

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what a way to start the week. more price increase! KESAS and LDP recently increased prices, so this time is should be PLUS, ELITE, SILK, SPRINT, BESRAYA etc.'s turn, I guess.

New toll rates by eight concessionaires from Jan 1
source
By CHRISTINA KOH

IPOH: Malaysians can expect a 10% increase in toll rates, with eight concessionaires raising their charges from Jan 1 next year, said Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. However, he said the ministry was working on several proposals to spread part of the cost to the concessionaires and the Government. “Rather than burden the people, we want to divide the load so the companies carry a bit and the people a bit.

“I will ask the Government how it can help in this situation,” he told reporters after launching a book on the Yayasan Strategik Sosial’s Plus 8 project here yesterday. Asked how much would the toll hikes actually involve, Samy Vellu said the agreement had stated a 10% increase.

“I have submitted a preliminary proposal and explained to the Cabinet what it would actually cost, what the reaction of people will be, what we can do as a government, what the concessionaires can do as responsible companies and what else can be done,” he said.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: Politicians

Budget 2008 says listed companies must reveal employee composition by race

September 14th, 2007

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heard the budget speech live over the radio that friday evening. At the part where PM read "merangkumi komposisi guna tenaga syarikat dari segi kaum" (refer below) he coughed and paused for a few second. After that he just continued, without repeating. Either he wanted to just skim over it or he was surprised.

105. Dalam Bajet 2007, Kerajaan telah mengumumkan bahawa semua syarikat PLC perlu menzahirkan aktiviti CSR sebagai sebahagian daripada laporan kewangan tahunan syarikat. Mulai tahun kewangan 2008, penzahiran penyata CSR perlu juga merangkumi komposisi guna tenaga syarikat dari segi kaum dan gender, serta program untuk membangunkan vendor tempatan dan Bumiputera. Kelebihan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara berbilang kaum harus dimanfaatkan oleh syarikat swasta dengan mengambil kakitangan dari semua lapisan masyarakat.

source: PM Budget speech available on www.treasury.gov.my in PDF format.

The folllowing piece by AP was picked up by many players – IHT, AOL, MSNBC, Sin Chew, etc.

Malaysia orders companies to reveal recruitment figures by race

source

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysian executives urged the government Tuesday not to make race a criterion for hiring, reflecting fears that some companies will have to employ more ethnic Malays at the expense of minority Chinese and Indians

Companies listed on Malaysia's stock exchange are generally expected to have a significant number of employees from the Malay majority. The rule — part of affirmative action policies to help Malays — has not been strictly enforced, but most large firms mix Malay staff with Chinese and Indians.

Though Malays are in a majority in the population, ethnic Chinese have long dominated the country's commercial sector..

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Friday that starting next year, publicly listed firms must disclose their employment composition by race as part of efforts to boost corporate social responsibility.

The directive has prompted debate about whether the government might pressure companies to ensure that their racial mix mirrors Malaysia's ethnic makeup more closely.

Puan Chan Cheong, managing director of broadband technology provider Green Packet Bhd., said firms need to hire people who are "the best fit for the job, regardless of race," in order to compete internationally.

"We employ according to merits," Puan told The Associated Press. "Competency is the key consideration, not racial composition."

Gooi Seong Lim, managing director of investment holding company Crescendo Corp. Bhd., said the company sometimes has no choice but to recruit mostly Chinese and Indians for civil engineering works because there are too few Malay candidates.

"I believe the government will be reasonable," he told the AP. "It would be very difficult to conform to a strict racial breakdown."

Malays comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people. Chinese form some 25 percent, Indians nearly 10 percent and the rest belong to other minorities. The ethnic communities have coexisted peacefully since racial riots left at least 200 dead in 1969. They were sparked by Malay frustration over Chinese wealth.

The New Straits Times newspaper quoted Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop as saying the government will not necessarily penalize companies that fail to have employees from all races after the new directive takes effect next year.

"We are not saying we will take action," the Times quoted him as saying. It was not immediately clear how the new directive would be enforced.

Decades-old affirmative action policies — geared toward helping Malays catch up with the Chinese by giving them privileges in areas like education, housing, bank loans and government contracts — are one of Malaysia's most politically sensitive subjects.

This is what MCA Economic Bureau have to say:

MCA unit: Drop race disclosure rule for listed firms
source

PETALING JAYA: The MCA Youth Economic Bureau supports the statement made by Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee that corporate social responsibility in public-listed companies should not be based along racial lines as proposed in the recent Budget 2008.

In a press statement issued here, the bureau chief Datuk Henry Wong Tat Chee said the business community was unhappy with the proposal that the companies disclose employment composition by race.

He said programmes undertaken to develop domestic and bumiputra vendors might result in a form of micro-restructuring that could result in loss of income and employment opportunities for non-bumiputras.

“If such a racially-based quota is imposed, it will affect growth opportunities for fully qualified and merit-based non-bumiputra job applicants or vendors, who will be sidelined in favour of bumiputra recruits and suppliers for (public-listed companies),” he added.

Nai Chee had said the very idea of corporate social responsibility based along racial lines would run against the spirit and responsibility of contributing towards the betterment of society regardless of ethnicity.

Tat Chee said the commercial sector had expressed their unhappiness before..

Two years ago, the Economic Planning Unit hired a foreign consultancy firm to audit all private companies about their racial composition and corporate plans to increase bumiputra composition in the employment and vendor programmes, he added.

“The private corporations refused to cooperate in this exercise. This itself was a clear indication that the commercial entities were not in favour of such a practice,” said Tat Chee.

“The private sector relies solely on its own resources to hire personnel who can work most efficiently and productively for the company.

“This is opposed to the public sector that uses public funds, that should be distributed equally to all races especially for recruitment into the civil service and government procurement and tenders,” he said.

So under the guise of CSR, the companies are now forced to complement and supplement govt's racial discrimination policy. Since govt can't find create more employments in the public sector to satisfy the evergrowing population, it is now imposing rules on the private sector to hire more malays. Sounds a bit like lop-sided socialism where the profit indirectly becomes fund of the states and is seen fit to be used as it likes.

On another hand, when deprived and discriminated citizens turn to private sector for education, medical, cultural, and religious funding among others, they will be turned away since the private sector have to comply with the rules. Looks like the govt won't help and won't let others help as well.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: discrimination Education Funds ISA MCA MIC Politicians

independence day parade experience

September 13th, 2007

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It’s finally here! my first ever experience taking part in the independence day parade, at Dataran Merdeka. After many days of practising, we woke up around 5.45am on the 31st, still tired from last night’s trip to thefirework competition.

We reached kl sentral at about 6.15am and took the KTM Komuter to KL railway station. From there we walked to the Dataran. It was all fine, until Then said that she left her handphone at home! Hmmâ€¦happened a few times already, but this is really bad timing. That put a spanner into our plans. How are we going to meet up after the parade? So we decided that if we canâ€™t find each other, then just return back to KL Sentral and wait at the our car.

Anyhow, I left her at the Dataran for her to find a good location, while I made my way to my contigent. We waited and waited till about 8.15am and the helicopters flew by. That was the sign that the program has started. At about 8.40am, we started our march. I was lucky to be positioned at the side and was given one of the placards as well. We marched through the tunnel and the sight that greeted us near the Dataran was awesome. The noise was tremendous and the whole are was brimming with people. There was an air of excitement and energy all around. This was nothing like the rehearsal we had for the last 3 days. This is the real thing.

Due to the noise, we had problem listening to the music and synchronise our march. So, the contigent had to shout â€œkiriâ€ â€œkananâ€ (â€œleft rightâ€) all the time. As we marched past the VIP podium, I could see Tun Mahathir, Tun Siti Hasmah, PM Badawi, Prince Andrew, and President Gloria Arroyo among others waving or acknowledging us. I also thought I saw Ms Jeanne yawning as well. It was a short walk past the podium, but meaningful indeed!

The heat was quite strong. We continued marching. Cheered by the crowd who lined up along the roads all the way till Jln Sultan Ismail junction. It was blistering hot, and many came with umbrellas and caps. We made our way past Medan Mara, Quality hotel etc., and dispersed at about 9.15am.

I rushed back to the Dataran to search for Then, but obviously it is a futile attempt. There were easily 20,000 people at the dataran. I found a spot near the TV3 crew station and saw the last 20 minutes or so of the parade. Among the interesting ones was parade by the K-9 unit which was well received by the crowd.

Towards the end, jet fighters made their entrance and gave a thunderous performance. The latest Suhkoi jets were also on show.

At the end, I witnessed the VIP leaving, starting with the Agong and his consort. And Iâ€™m pretty sure that while one of the ministers were leaving, a lady (who looked mentally unstable) ran across the road. None of the papers mentioned this. The secutity was quite lax and the guards were slow to react. Anyway, I couldnâ€™t see what happened to her. By the way, Tun Mahathir received the loudest cheer when he took leave. Others must be envious of the support he has 🙂 Samy Vellu was alone as usual. Talking about Samy Vellu, MICâ€™s contigent were the only one who carried a banner claiming that they were the â€œpembela masyarakat Indiaâ€ (defenders of the India communityâ€ for the last 6 decades. Looks a bit out of place right?

Anyway, the ladies looked wonderful in the green sarees.

Well, the whole thing came to an end at about 10.30am, and I was walking towards the Bank Negaraâ€™s Komuter station when Then called from a telephone booth and said that she was at the Masjid Jamek LRT station. We decided to just meet back at Brickfields. I was thanking my lucky stars that nothing went wrong.

That’s when my nightmare started. I entered the Komuter station and waited for the train to KL Sentral. After 10 minutes the announcement came that there were some problems and delays are expected for trains towards Seremban. The crowd started to grow. After 20 minutes, the delays were extended to all trains. No idea when it will be resolved. Damn! KTM sure knows how to spoil a great event! The people there were cursing and many started to leave the station. There were about 150 people at that time. So, after waiting nearly 45 minutes, I decided to walk to Masjid Jamek LRT station, which took another 15 minutes. Finally reached KL Sentral at 12.30pm. A trip that was to end by 11am, took extra 90 minutes due to the stupid KTM service!

Met up with a tired and angry Then :), and left for a good lunch before hitting the sack. It was indeed a tiring a day, but a meaningful one as I took part in the 50th Independence Day parade. Oh ya..did I mention that Thenâ€™s handphone was in her backpack all the while? That was like rubbing salt on the wound!

For her version of the events on that day, visit her blog la…

By the way, photos were taken by Then. She managed to get a location at the front of the crowd, facing the parade near the VIP area. Bigger images at Picasa.

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Posted in I Was Here

Tags: BN MIC Politicians

UUM Indian Cultural Club creates largest veenai

September 13th, 2007

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The country's largest handmade veenai, an Indian classical instrument, is now on display at Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok, Kedah.

GIANT FEAT: Three of the team members involved in the veenai project Lokeswari Gurumoorthy (right), Valarmathy Vellu (centre) and Jeniffer Sandrasegaran with a kolam and the giant musical instrument in the background.

Giant veenai on show

source

ALOR STAR: The country’s largest handmade veenai, an Indian classical instrument, is now on display at Universiti Utara Malaysia in Sintok, Kedah.

Costing about RM25,000, the giant veenai is the work of 200 members of the Indian Cultural Club of the university’s Kolej Yayasan Al-Bukhary

The veenai measuring 10.3m long and 1.8m high with a 2.4m-wide base would be submitted as an entry in the Malaysia Book of Records, said programme adviser Suresh David.

Veenai is associated with the Hindu goddess of education.

“We have worked hard for more than a week to complete this project. We have to travel more than 100km back and forth from the campus in Sintok to a temple in Alor Star to build this wooden veenai.”

Suresh, who is a third-year finance student, said the fund-raising campaign was initiated five months ago to source for funding for the project. “We managed to raise RM29,000.”

The beautifully-decorated veenai was unveiled during the club launching ceremony at UUM last Sunday night.

Youth and Sports Ministry Parliamentary Secretary S.A. Vigneswaran contributed RM8,000 while the UUM treasury gave RM2,000.

Indian fine art experts R. Karunagaran and S. Sarawana were the designers. Karunagaran said veenai was a sacred musical instrument as the Goddess of Education was often portrayed holding it.