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Give single mums more pocket money says Samy

September 11th, 2007
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MIC: Give single mums more pocket money
source

THE MIC will recommend that the Government give single mothers an allowance of between RM500 and RM600 to help them lessen their financial burden, Tamil Nesan reported.

Its president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the present allowance of as low as RM90 a month was not sufficient, especially if the single mothers were residing in urban areas like Kuala Lumpur.

He said the party, through its social arm, the Social Strategic Foundation, had made several recommendations to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to assist single mothers.  

He said there were between 7,000 and 8,000 Indian single mothers in the country.  

He was speaking to reporters after opening a Tamil speech competition organised by the Malaysia Hindu Sangam in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Samy Vellu also welcomed the increased allocation of RM782mil for the ministry under Budget 2008 which was unveiled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last Friday.

He added that MIC had embarked on several programmes to train single mothers so that they can become independent and earn a good salary.

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UMIC’s Merdeka Treasure Hunt 2007

September 3rd, 2007
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25th August was a memorable day indeed since it was the first time I took part in a motorized treasure hunt. The hunt was organized by UMIC (or try http://www.umic.com.my) as part of its recreational activity. The event had a noble cause of channeling the proceeds to its community projects to help single mothers.

Well, back to the event. Our team consisted of myself, Then, Ananthi, and Guru. Only Ananthi had experience as a hunter before, so you can pretty much estimate our expectation and confidence level. Anyway, we took part more as support for the event rather than gunning for glory. I missed the briefing by the organizers, so had no idea what a tulip had to do with a treasure hunt, until it was duly clarified. Good thing I did not bring a bunch of tulips on that morning 🙂

Guru took on the driver role (it was his car anyway), myself the navigator, and the two ladies as the crew.

We flagged off from Safety Driving School, near Armada Hotel/Asiajaya, PJ at 8am, wearing our “bright” yellow competition t-shirts. It was a sight ripped off from Batu Caves during Thaipusam 🙂 By the way, we also got a bagful of goodies courtesy of various sponsors.

The hunt was confusing since it had many segments – solving the clues (riddles more likely!), collecting treasures, road safety questions, challenges (like shopping in a hypermarket for the items or acting out weird characters), and they even had apair of 3-piece jigsaw puzzle pictorials! It was a steep learning curve for the 3 of us and Ananthi tried her best to expose us to the complicated world of treasure hunters.

The first clue led us to Cyberjaya, where we had to use our acting skills to obtain the tulips and questions. From Cyberjaya it was a hectic 8 hour (YES, 8 hour) trip along Dengkil, Bandar Salak Tinggi, Bandar Baru Nilai, PLUS highway, Tampin, and then towards Alor Gajah and finally ending at Straits Meridian Hotel, Malacca.

We practically had to keep our eyes peeled open and try to process the information we saw along the roads all the time. We tried to answer as much as questions as possible, but ended up completing about 26 out of 40 questions only. Probably got half of that correct 🙁

We did not manage the time properly and had to rush to reach in time. Managed to reach the hotel about 5.05pm and handed in our answers and the treasures. After that, we checked in and relaxed until dinner time. The organizers then presented the answers. From what I saw and heard, I believe this was quite a tough hunt for beginners like me. Anyway, I was glad we got some of the answers correct. The winners were announced (top 10 places) as below:

1st place: Awesome Foursome (Capt Sundar, Rajes, Deepa, Rajiv) – 119 pts

2nd place: Riddle Raiders (Chew Seng Cheong, Lim Gin Lee, Chin Siow Chin, Loh Chee Kwan) – 114 pts

3rd place: Little Ferrari (Manivannan Velayuthan, Prabaharan Sukumaran, Liana Jacinta Gaganathan, Shobna Nair Kunjoo Nair) – 89 pts

4th place: Sivaji – The Boss (Kannan Ramasamy, Krishna Moorthy Ayadurai, Murali Puncharatnam, Tharmen) – 87 pts

5th place: Lanun Merdeka (Perumal Naidu Ramiah, Siva Kumar Ramayah, Malar Supramaniam, Lim Chuan Leng) – 85 pts

6th place: WD Hunters (Edward Raj Selvarajoo, Sanmugam Subramaniam, Theva Kumar Kailasapathy, Selveratinam Manickam) – 82 pts

7th place: Charlie’s Angels (Saravanan Arumugam, Kavita Branavasoruban, Subanandini Thuraisingam, Vanaja Pamela Arumugam) – 81 pts

8th place: Flying Dutchman (Thavaselvam Tesanggu, Premala Naidu Haridas, Sumitera Sena, Sheiila Rajj) – 78 pts

9th place: Info (Ong Jen Jen, Andy Yap Woei Wen, Irma Malyana, Lee Choon Ping) – 76 pts

10th place: Die Hard 5.0 (Nilamegam Maniam, Omantaram Kangarajoo, Sadishwara Rau Narayanasamy, Paramasivam Perumal) – 74 pts

The winners received RM5000 worth of Star Cruises voucher plus other goodies! Not bad for a days’ effort. Even though we did not win anything, I really enjoyed the hunt and we are thinking of participating in upcoming hunts in the future. It’s a good way to explore places and improve on your knowledge.

**update – Then has written on the hunt as well on her blog

As usual, the pictures can be found at Picasa, or just click on the slideshow below.

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Together as a couple for 50 years

September 3rd, 2007
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By STUART MICHAEL

Photos by LOW LAY PHON and courtesy of K. Parameswaran Nair 

TO K. Parameswaran Nair and his wife Priyamvada M.K Pillai, their golden wedding anniversary is a very special occasion, and making the event even more memorable is the fact that it coincides with the 50th anniversary of Merdeka. 

The 80-year-old Parameswaran recalls vividly the day he married Priyamvada at Subramaniam Temple in Seremban. It was Sept 5 1957, just days after Merdeka.  

“I was an Indian national working in Kuala Pilah and married Priyamvada, who was a Malayan, in an arranged marriage. At that time, many people discouraged me from applying to be a Malayan citizen but I went ahead, anyway.  

Recalling the days of yore: Parameswaran (left) and Priyamvada sharing a light moment as they look though an album of old photographs in their house in Petaling Jaya.

“It was not too difficult to apply for citizenship in 1957. People used to gather in groups and the authorities would process their applications and issue them citizenship if they met the requirements.  

“I never turned back after I obtained citizenship, and to this day, I am glad to be a Malaysian. Most of us were very much focused on working and leading a happy life,” said Parameswaran, who now lives in SS3, Petaling Jaya. 

Parameswaran and Priyamvada, 72, are set to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on a big scale at their home on Sept 5, and they have invited many family friends and relatives for this auspicious occasion. 

“Our three children are well off and have families of their own. Our daughter Deepa Kumari, the eldest in the family, is a senior lecturer in Inti College Subang Jaya. 

“Our elder son Dinesh Kumar is a director of operations in British Plaster Boards while our other son Rajesh Kumar is a senior lecturer in the Open University of Malaysia. They are very happy and so are we,” he said, as he interacted with grandchildren Divya, 11, and Dashana, seven.  

Just married: Parameswaran (left) and Priyamvada just after they had tied the knot at Subramaniam Temple in Seremban.

Parameswaran was among the founder members of the Malayalee Association of Negri Sembilan, which was formed in 1957. 

“We used to organise sketches and act in plays to raise funds for the Malayalee Association of Negri Sembilan building. By 1962, we managed to raise enough money and bought the Malayalee Association of Negri Sembilan building in Seremban for RM32,000. 

Parameswaran, who had started work in Dunlop Rubber Research as an assistant clerk, retired from Guthrie Research as a supervisor in 1984. 

During those days, Parameswaran remembers, the easiest food to get was bread and milk. It was difficult to get any other food as there were no small towns near the estates where he worked.  

In 1988, Parameswaran and Priyamvada shifted to SS3 in Petaling Jaya as Parameswaran is a dialysis patient and goes for regular check-ups.  

As his health does not permit him to walk, the couple decided to celebrate their anniversary by hosting a dinner for family and friends at home.  

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MIC Youth says at least 20000 Indians without birth certificate

August 27th, 2007
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SpotLight: Sorry plight of the stateless

By : Suganthi Suparmaniam

(right)B. Rani's parents and siblings all have MyKad but she is yet to obtain hers.(left)T. Mohan says there are no less than 20,000 Indians in Malaysia who do not have birth certificates
(right)B. Rani’s parents and siblings all have MyKad but she is yet to obtain hers.(left)T. Mohan says there are no less than 20,000 Indians in Malaysia who do not have birth certificates

KUALA LUMPUR: For seven years, stateless B. Rani was sent from pillar to post as she tried to secure documents to prove that she was born here.

She finally managed to obtain, among others, her birth certificate and record of birth at a hospital here to be submitted with her application for citizenship.

What she did not know was that her efforts would prove futile for reasons beyond her control.

At the point of submission to the National Registration Department (NRD), she was told that there were mistakes in the form that had been issued to her by the department.

The columns were wrongly filled: Rani’s name was typed where her father’s name should have been, his name was typed where her mother’s name should have been and her mother’s name was typed in the date of birth column.
Here is the shocker: The errors were made by the department.

Rani said the officer proceeded to give her a new set of documents for re-submission.

She was back to square one — seven years of hard work had come to nought in five minutes.

Although both her parents and all her siblings have birth certificates and MyKad, she has yet to obtain hers.

"I don’t know why it is so difficult for me. Maybe I’m fated to die as a stateless person," she said.

Hers is not an isolated case.

Klang Consumer Association president A. Devadass said he had come across 50 people without birth certificates in the Klang Valley over the past three months.

"We urge the government to view the matter seriously and take action to solve it. For example, these stateless people can be given temporary amnesty while their papers are being processed."

He said the process of obtaining birth certificates and MyKad took very long and was complicated by endless red tape.

Malaysian Tamil Youth Bell Club former national vice-president M. Gnanasegaran said while foreigners born abroad were easily awarded permanent resident status, he knew of at least 50 families who have lived here for three generations who were stateless.

"It is embarrassing for a country to celebrate 50 years’ of independence while there are still a large number of residents who have been stateless for generations," he said.

He chided non-governmental organisations and elected Indian representatives for not addressing the matter.

"They must take action and not simply sit and watch while the problems persist," he said, adding that rude and unhelpful officers further complicated matters.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam estimated that four children in every estate were without birth certificates.

He said those who went to the NRD were often pushed around as they were mostly illiterate and poor.

"It takes years to get the documents from the NRD. I don’t understand why it takes so long for them to solve such a simple problem," he said, adding that this year alone, he had received 12 such cases.

He said the NRD could help solve the problem by going to the estates and registering stateless people.

MIC Youth Social and Welfare Bureau chief T. Mohan said he had come across 1,000 such cases over the past three years.

However, only 30 per cent of those whom he had helped managed to get their birth certificates.

"Sometimes, the person cannot understand the officer. There should be special counters and officers who can speak the native tongue of the person to speed up the process," he said..

"We conducted surveys in four Tamil schools in Puchong and found 50 pupils without birth certificates. What about those who left school and those who have yet to go to school?"

He estimated that there were no less than 20,000 Indians in the country who did not have birth certificates.

Mohan plans to form a special team to go to every state nationwide to help register people without birth certificates.

Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said the process of obtaining birth certificates was faster for applicants with sufficient evidence.

He said problems began when they could not produce the documents needed, as it made it difficult to determine if the applicants were Malaysians.

"In some cases, finding the birth certificate becomes even more difficult when a clinic has closed down.

"My men have to go and talk to the village head or the community head to verify if the child was indeed born there. It takes time," he said.

As for technical errors, he said officers could amend them as long as the document had the right identity card numbers

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Makkal Osai under fire for insulting picture of Jesus and PM disappointed

August 24th, 2007
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I'm sure most would have known about this issue already, and the zealousness of MIC and MCCBCHST to condemn fiercely. MIC Youth even had time to prepare a four-page memorandum. Kudos to them 🙂
 
This is one of the few moments where MIC can get some coverage in the papers. The Star, NST and The Sun (all reproduced below) all carried news on comments by various parties. Two of them accepted the apology – Council of Churces and Archbishop of KL.
 
Our PM also mentioned his dissapointment today in Star :
 

Do not mock any religion or its teachings as these are sensitive issues, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has reminded all Malaysians. "Do not do things which may offend the believers of other religions … this is not good,” he said. … “This can make the Christians unhappy. Muslims too cannot tolerate such things.” 

 
and he took task Makkal Osai in the NST :
 

Abdullah, who also heads the Internal Security Ministry, said publishers had a professional and moral duty to be more sensitive towards religious beliefs and issues. Abdullah was clearly upset over the matter, saying the blunder should not have occurred in a multi-religious society like Malaysia’s.

"I am sure the Christians, as we Muslims, cannot accept this," he said. "Do not do anything to upset religious followers," he said.

The prime minister did not say whether action would be taken against Makkal Osai. But he stressed that the government had always reminded publishers to treat religious matters with caution.

 
 
Worst may yet come, since drawing of prophet's images/caricatures are forbidden in Islam.  This applies to all their prophets, including Nabi Isa (Jesus) (from what I understand).. Hope there's no complaint from UMNO or some other muslim persons/organisations or Makkal Osai may find themselves in hot soup.

Anyway, I suppose the burning question among most Indians is where was MIC/MCCBCHST when all those conversion, illegal kidnapping and separation, and otehr religious issues were happening? Conveniently missing?

 

THE STAR: source

Tamil daily says sorry over Jesus pic

KUALA LUMPUR: A Tamil daily has apologised for using a picture of Jesus Christ, downloaded from the Internet, to highlight the sayings of great sages and leaders. Makkal Osai expressed regret for using the picture to depict the sayings under “Today’s Thoughts” on the top left hand corner of the front page on Tuesday. “We apologise for the grave mistake. We also want to apologise if we have hurt anyone’s feelings,” the paper said in page two. On the front page on Tuesday, the daily printed a picture of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a canned drink (which looked like beer) in the other with the quote: “If a person repents his mistakes, heaven awaits him.”  

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism has urged the authorities to take action against the paper for hurting the feelings of the Christian community in the country. Its president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the Home Affairs Ministry should investigate Makkal Osai and take necessary action against those responsible for publishing the “shameful” picture.  

In Putrajaya, the MIC Youth handed over a four-page memorandum on the matter to Ravin Ponniah, special officer (policy) to the Prime Minister, at the premier’s office. A police report has also been lodged.

NST: source

Uproar over picture of Jesus holding beer

KUALA LUMPUR: A police report was lodged yesterday against a Tamil newspaper for publishing a front-page picture of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a can of beer in the other. The report, lodged by a Puchong MIC member at the Tun H.S. Lee police station, alleged that the picture was a "threat to national harmony".

Makkal Osai, a Tamil daily, printed the picture in its Tuesday’s edition with a caption quoting Christ as saying: "If someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits them." The daily apologised for the publication, but the MIC is not letting the matter rest. Deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel urged the Internal Security Ministry to act against the newspaper for hurting the feelings of Christians in the country.

The MIC Youth submitted a four-page memorandum to the prime minister’s office asking the government to revoke Makkal Osai’s publication permit.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS) also called for action against the newspaper. MCCBCHS president Datuk A. Vaithilingam expressed surprise that the newspaper could commit such a grave mistake.

The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Murphy Pakiam, said the picture of the sacred heart of Jesus depicts his burning love for all people. "It is very sacred to Catholics. As such, this caricature of Jesus is a desecration and therefore hurtful to the religious sentiments of Catholics," Pakiam said. Pakiam said he had received an explanation and apology from Makkal Osai and he was satisfied with it and considered the matter closed.

Meanwhile, Makkal Osai general manager S. M. Periasamy said the offending picture published on its front page was "a mistake". "We admit that we made a mistake by publishing the picture. This was not intentionally done. We would never want to hurt the feelings of Christians in this country. We really regret this," he said. He explained that the paper carried daily quotes from great world leaders on its front page. The quote for that day was from Jesus Christ, and the picture accompanying the words was sourced from the Internet.

The Sun: source

MCCBCHS wants action against Tamil daily for Jesus Christ pic
PUTRAJAYA (Aug 22, 2007): The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS) wants the authorities to investigate a Tamil newspaper which published on its front page a picture of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and what looks like a beer can in the other.

Its president Datuk A. Vaithilingam wants the Internal Ministry to act against those responsible for the publication of the picture. Makkal Osai, a Tamil daily, printed the picture on yesterday with a caption quoting Jesus Christ roughly as saying "if someone repents for his mistakes, then heaven awaits them". The daily apologised today for the publication. "Firstly, I'm surprised as to how they could make that mistake … it is a grave mistake. Newspapers should avoid publishing this kind of pictures as it causes hurt to people of that religion," Vaithilingam said.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malaysia took a harder stance calling for a ban on Makkal Osai, saying that a precedent had been set. "When two newspapers published a caricature of Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban early last year, the government took immediate action banning the two newspapers. Now we have this and they, too, should be served the same punishment as a lesson to others," Bishop Julious Paul said. He said the newspaper's apology was not enough as the publication of the picture "looked deliberate and unacceptable". Terming the publication of the picture as mischievous, he also wanted the newspaper to publish an apology in all the major newspapers, Malaysia's national news agency Bernama reported today.

MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel wanted the ministry to act against the paper "to drive home a clear message as religion is something which cannot be made fun of".

MIC Youth submitted a four-page memorandum to the Prime Minister's office asking the government to revoke Makkal Osai's publication permit. Puchong MIC member Peter Sinnappan, 37, lodged a police report at the Tun H.S. Lee police station in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Datuk Murphy Pakiam said the picture of the sacred heart of Jesus was very sacred to Catholics as it depicts the heart of Jesus burning with love and tenderness for all people. He said the Makkal Osai picture is a desecration and, therefore, hurtful to the religious sentiments of Catholics. "It is certainly in bad taste for the editor of Makkal Osai to publish such a picture, although the message in the accompanying words is an attempt to call repentant sinners to hope and salvation," he said in a statement here.

Council of Churches Malaysia secretary-general Rev Herman Shastli said they accepted the Tamil daily's public apology and consider the case closed.

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