Posts Tagged ‘Politicians’

MIC’s 4-point plan

May 14th, 2007
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perhaps MIC should have aimed a bit higher:
Economic Bureau should identify 20,000 micro entrepreneurs. Even my taman have 4 (2 selling flowers and 2 selling newspapers by the road side!)
Get 20,000 under-achieving youths – just drop by the places youths hang around – football field, rivers and mining pools (fishing), shopping complexes, carwash centers, Little Indias, etc.
by the way, congrats to Putera MIC!
Poobalan
MIC reveals four-point plan
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/14/nation/17719606&sec=nation
By A. LETCHUMANAN and PARVEEN GILL
KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC has formulated four activities to strengthen its political position as the sole representative of the Indian community in the country.
Its president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the activities included a major exercise to register every eligible Indian as a voter.
Divisions must organise voter registration campaigns and also make house-to-house visits, he said in his closing address at the MIC general assembly here yesterday.
Samy Vellu said that a bureau, to be headed by a Central Working Committee member, would undertake the campaign as well as make the necessary preparations for the forthcoming general election.
Elected representatives at Parliament and state assemblies must also ensure that they resolved problems of all communities in their constituencies and submit a report to him.
Samy Vellu said that a series of 17 seminars had been planned to chart the work and responsibilities of over 4,300 party branch leaders.
On the economic front, he said the party would follow up with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the establishment of a dedicated delivery mechanism to ensure effective delivery of the Ninth Malaysia Plan for the Indian community.
“Our economic bureau will also identify 5,000 micro Indian entrepreneurs by 2010, provide them basic training and enable them to have access to microbusiness loans,” he said.
On education, he said there would be a review of the performance of Indian students in the SPM and STPM before strategies and remedies to improve their overall performance are developed.
“We will also identify Indian youths with intelligence and academic excellence and help them to access world-class higher educational institutions,” he said.
Samy Vellu said the party would identify 5,000 under-achieving youths at the SPM level and channel them into skills and industrial training institutions yearly.
“We will also review the remove class system where there are currently 6,000 Indian students, the status of teachers in Tamil schools, and Indians employed as teachers, headmasters, lecturers and in other positions in the Education Ministry,” he said.
He said a paper would be submitted to the Chief Secretary to the Government, on the appeals from excellent students who failed to obtain scholarships to pursue their studies overseas.
Samy Vellu said the party would identify the poor families, especially single mothers and the elderly, and ensure they received help through the welfare department.
Earlier, the MIC unanimously passed an amendment to the party constitution to allow the creation of Putra MIC at state and division levels for those aged between 18 and 30.
The party’s constitution amendment committee chairman, Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, said that the wing’s division level leaders would be elected while the state leaders would be appointed.

Up to Pandithan to merge IPF with MIC

May 13th, 2007
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SAMY: Up to Pandithan to merge IPF with MIC BERNAMA
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/NewsBreak/20070513175236/Article/index_html
KUALA LUMPUR, SUN:
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said today it is up to Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president Datuk M.G. Pandithan to merge his party with the MIC.
Samy Vellu said he had told Pandithan that he was open to any proposal in the interest of the Indian community.
“It’s up to him to do…I told him earlier, no objection to any proposal,” he told reporters after the first session of the 61st MIC general assembly debate at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here today.
About 1,400 delegates attended the two-day assembly which ended today.
Yesterday, Pandithan attended the assembly after almost 20 years. The enmity between Samy Vellu and Pandithan began in 1988 when Pandithan, then MIC vice-president, was issued a show-cause letter for allegedly practising caste-oriented politics.
In August 1990, Pandithan formed the IPF. Previously, IPF applied to join Barisan Nasional (BN) but was unsuccessful due to MIC’s objection.
Both leaders met again at the Ijok by-election campaign last month after many years and they promised to work together in the larger interest of the Indian community.

Pandithan is back after two decades

May 13th, 2007
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Pandithan is back after two decades
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/13/nation/17715532&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The last time Datuk M.G. Pandithan attended the MIC general assembly was 20 years ago.
But it seems that much water has passed under the bridge for the 67-year-old Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president and his arch-enemy, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
Pandithan attended the MIC general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday and was accorded VIP status as he sat on the stage among leaders of Barisan Nasional component parties.
He later told reporters that he has a surprise announcement that he would make next month.
Pandithan said he attended the assembly at the invitation of Samy Vellu.
“I remember attending the MIC general assembly as a vice-president when it was held in Malacca and now I am here as an invited guest,” he said, adding that he felt “normal but happy” about attending the assembly.
In his speech, Samy Vellu acknowledged Pandithan’s presence saying “my good friend Pandithan is here”.
“His presence here has in fact made me younger. This heralds a new era,” he said.
Their relationship turned bitter after Pandithan was sacked for bringing a “coffin” to the MIC headquarters in 1981.

MIC Assembly – 28,000 microbusiness by Indians are blacklisted

May 13th, 2007
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61st MIC General Assembly: Party to help Indian traders By : Shamini Darshni, Ranjeetha Pakiam and R. Yasothai
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/20070513074901/Article/index_html
A WHOPPING 70 per cent or 28,000 of micro-businesses owned by Indians have been blacklisted.
MIC vice-president Tan Sri Dr K. S. Nijhar said there were 400,000 micro-businesses in the country and of this, 40,000 were run by Indians.
“Of the 12,000 who were not blacklisted, 4,000 do not have a single document — no registration, premises, licence or bank account. If I told the banks this, these businesses would not have got one sen,” he told delegates.
Nijhar was called up by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to explain how many did not settle outstanding loans, especially from a RM40 million loan that MIC signed for.
Nijhar seems to have an idea now because the party’s economic bureau, which he heads, is negotiating with several banks for a loan. “Although negotiations are still on-going, they (the banks) have agreed to set aside RM100 million to help 4,000 eligible businesses.”
“A total of RM2 million has been approved for micro-credit businesses located in Perlis, Penang, Subang and elsewhere,” he said.
The bureau, he added, was also discussing with the banks to set up “infancy accounts” for the “infant businesses”.
Nijhar said “infancy accounts” would be a method of solving the problem because even those who were not eligible for loans could be tested.

BN parties just doing their job

May 13th, 2007
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BN parties just doing their job
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/13/nation/17715895&sec=nation
By A. LETCHUMANAN, JANE RITIKOS and PARVEEN KAUR GILL newsdesk@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: There can be “friendly competition” among Barisan Nasional component parties in looking after the interests of their own communities as long as they consider the aspirations of others and are not selfish and extremists.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was sincerely happy that party leaders took care of their own race’s interests, as it was the Government’s aim to ensure that no race lagged behind.
“I believe they are afraid of lagging behind, that their interests are not considered and they are sidelined, so they take steps to strengthen their communities.
“It would appear as if there is a competition among us, as if we only want to develop our own race. There may be those who are worried and wonder what is going to happen if all are just interested in their own race, that may be the view of outsiders,” he told delegates at the MIC 61st general assembly here yesterday.
Abdullah, however, said that people should not be worried if leaders strived to look after the interests of their communities but were conscious they had a common destiny and struggle for the nation’s future.
“In my good relationship with the party leaders, listening to them and looking at their attitude when we discuss racial, inter-racial and religious matters in the Cabinet, I assure you that we all discuss them responsibly to ensure that harmony and mutual respect among the people are maintained,” he said.
He said Malaysia and its people had always been safe because all races advanced together in the pursuit for progress.
“It is a friendly competition to do the best and offer the best that we can, like what we wish for our children. This competition will bring good progress for everyone. But don’t be selfish or extremist in the ways we do things, in the policies we pursue and strategies we develop.
“Think of others too because we don’t live just for ourselves,” he said.
“We are all in the same ship and if the ship leaks, we will all sink,” he said, adding that this must be taught to the younger generation who are full of ideas and idealism.
“We don’t want people who are clever but extreme in their thinking, who act without considering others or have religious or racial extremism,” he added.
Abdullah said there was an important lesson to be drawn from the recent Ijok by-election. He said that while many of the electorates had complained about the past state assemblyman, they still voted for the MIC candidate.
This was because they were confident of the party, Barisan and the candidate’s capabilities.