Same excuse: “cleaning up the mess of 50 years can’t be done in 3 years”. I think some of the mess can be cleared in short time, provided got willpower. It will be good for the state government to come out with its report card to show what difference has been made. Mere RM229k for 58 school is nothing to shout about as it works out to barely RM4k per school. No difference from RMK plans which allocate pittance to Tamil schools. You can say that this is something new and previous government hadn’t gave anything but “giving something is better than nothing” won’t work anymore because the other party can give something more than the “something” you are giving. \u00a0You have to move fast and come out with better plans and execution.<\/p>\n
Wonder what is the status of the land allocation for schools. Last 3 years, don’t tell me can’t even get land for any of the 49 partially-aided schools? Hope can enlighten us on this matter.<\/p>\n
Noticed it covers the standard stuff: school, temple, cemetery, NGOs.<\/p>\n
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A Pakatan Rakyat state assemblyman has dismissed allegations by certain quarters, including a few Indian-based NGOs, that the Kedah state government had not done much for the Indians there.<\/p>\n
According to Bukit Selambau assemblyman S Manikumar, the state government had done its best to help the community bearing in mind its \u2018limited resources\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unfair to expect Pakatan to clean up all the mess left by the Barisan Nasional in more than 50 years within three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are trying our best to help the Indian community in the state with the limited state resources (that we have).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not getting the amount of allocation that other BN ruled states get from the federal government,\u201d said Manikumar who also heads the state\u2019s tourism, Indians affairs and human resources portfolio.<\/p>\n
Citing Tamil schools and temples as examples, he said the Pakatan-led state government had done far more for the state\u2019s Indian community than MIC.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking on Tamil schools, there are 58 Tamil schools in Kedah and only nine are under the fully-aided category (which means they receive full financial grants from the federal government).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rest 49 Tamil schools are partially-aided schools where the money given by the Education Ministry is only for the purposes of school activities and not for the upgrading of the school infrastructures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year the state government allocated RM229, 000 to be disbursed to all of the 58 Tamil schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amount each school received varied depending on the needs of the particular schools,\u201d he said.
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\nTamil schools and NGOs<\/strong><\/p>\nManikumar claimed that such disbursements to all Tamil schools had never occured during BN\u2019s rule in the state.<\/p>\n
According to him, in the past money came only during election campaigns when MIC will request ad-hoc allocations for certain Tamil schools and that there was no proper structure to the disbursements.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut under Pakatan government, the allocation for Tamil schools are included officially under the state yearly budget,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also slammed Indian-based NGOs who complained of receiving nothing from the state government.<\/p>\n
He said unlike the BN regime which cared less for proper allocation strucure, the Pakatan state government insisted on paperworks and proper documentations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had given RM7, 000 last year and RM20, 000 this year to Kedah branch of Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) to carry out activities that are related to the community. The activities were to weed out social ills among Indians.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t entertain every single NGO that come without proper paperworks or documentations to back their claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cI proposed to the state government to approve the request by MHS based on the documentation evidence of their programmes and activities.<\/p>\n
\u201cMHS itself is an established NGO and was founded in 1928,\u201d explained Manikumar, who is also the PKR\u2019s central leadership council member.<\/p>\n
Temple and cemetry<\/strong><\/p>\n
He also pointed out that the Kedah state government had granted a land title to the 100-year-old Sri Mahamariamman Temple at Jalan Bakar Bata in Alor Setar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe temple was granted a land title last year and the temple land has been gazetted under National Land Code.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso this year the state government approved and allocated five acres of land for a cemetry for the Hindu community in Langkawi.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring BN\u2019s ruling for more than 50 years MIC never took the initiative to get the land title for the temple or a Hindu cemetery in Langkawi.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we have done it in less than three years,\u201d Manikumar told FMT.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n