HRP decries ‘ruthless’ razing of temple

SHAH ALAM: The Human Rights Party (HRP) has denounced yesterday’s demolishment of a Hindu temple in Glenmarie and demanded from the Selangor government an acre of land for a new temple.S Thiagarajan, a pro-tem central executive committee member of the party, said Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim must take “full responsibility” for the violation of the Sri Muneswarar Temple by the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) and make amends by granting the acre of land.

He said he learned of the destruction when a local resident telephoned him while it was going on. The caller told him 30 police and MBSA officers were using sledgehammers to carry out the demolition.“A Malay haji sprinkled something around the shrine and then some 10 uniformed enforcement officers started the ruthless act,” he told FMT.He added that six Hindu deities were smashed into pieces.

"The Hindu devotees there could not stop the bloodletting; they were blocked by policemen,” he said.
"This is a clear cut case of the city council violating Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion, and Article 8, which provides of equality before the law and equal protection before the law."We demand that the state government allocate one acre of land to the temple committee to build a new temple."He also said the state should grant permanent land titles for all Hindu temples in Selangor so that “such flagrant acts of transgression” would not recur.


Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/25/hrp-decries-%e2%80%98ruthless%e2%80%99-razing-of-temple/

Ambiga: Even Burmese law allows street demos

Bersih 2.0 chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan said the proposed Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 was even more repressive than a similar law passed recently in Burma's military-dominated Parliament.

"It is shameful that Burma can propose a far more democratic law than us.

"It is a terrible insult to Malaysians because we were promised more democracy, but now it is the opposite," said Ambiga, who is a former Bar Council president.

At a press conference in Petaling Jaya, Ambiga said Burma's new law allows for street demonstrations and organisers only need to notify the authorities five days in advance.

She said this was a stark contrast against Malaysia's Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011, which proposes banning street demonstrations and imposing a 30 day notice period.Putting the numbers together, Bersih secretariat member Wong Chin Huat said Burma was six times more democratic than Malaysia.

Harimau Malaya atau Harimau Malaysia?

PETALING JAYA: Sejak  pasukan bola sepak kebangsaan bawah 23 tahun menggondol pingat emas dalam temasya Sukan SEA di Jakarta Isnin malam, perbualan mengenai kejayaan ini dapat didengar di mana-mana sahaja.Tidak kira di pejabat, warung-warung kopi, di restoran mamak, di dalam bas, komuter atau pengangkutan awam lain, semuanya masih ghairah membicarakan kejayaan anak-anak muda wira negara ini.

Di laman sosial seperti di Facebook dan lain-lain juga turut tidak ketinggalan apabila masing-masing begitu teruja memberi komen yang bernada semangat yang berkobar-kobar.Malahan ada di antara pengguna laman sosial itu yang begitu teruja dan menyambut kepulangan wira-wira negara di lapangan terbang.

Ketika masyarakat di semenanjung meraikan kejayaan ini, senario yang sama juga sedang berlaku di seberang Laut China Selatan, di Sabah dan Sarawak tetapi cuma yang berbezanya, kejayaan yang turut mereka raikan itu disulami rasa terkilan.Seperti penyokong di semenanjung, masyarakat di Sabah dan Sarawak juga sama-sama bersorak tatkala pemain negara melancarkan serangan dan bertempik marah apabila pemain negara dikasari.

Why no Indian-majority seat?

Electoral constituencies in Malaysia are determined in two steps. First, the apportionment of parliamentary constituencies among the various states; and second, the delineation of both parliamentary and state constituencies in each state.The ruling party controls the apportionment among states through amendments to Article 46 of the Federal Constitution. The Election Commission then delineates the apportioned constituencies. As there is a lack of specification of the rules governing the EC on this particular function, the numerous delineation exercises that have been conducted in Malaysia since Merdeka have been carved in particular to favour the ruling Umno government.

In this discriminatory process, the third largest race in the country consisting of more than two million people have ended up been denied and do not have a single constituency of being the majority.

This has been the single biggest contributory factor that has led the Indians in this country to having the lowest demographic index among all races in Malaysia. Even though there are several Indian elected representatives in Parliament as well as in state assemblies, the very fact that they are elected from constituencies where Indians are only a minority, they are in truth toothless to highlight or champion gross marginalisation and discrimination policies of the Indians by the government of the day as they are dependent on the majority communities mainly the Malays and Chinese in their respective constituencies.

Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 bans street protest

The government tabled the Peaceful Assembly Bill 2011 in the Dewan Rakyat today to allow for the freedom of peaceful assembly.Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz tabled the Bill for its first reading.
Among the main points of the proposed law are:

• 30 days' advance notice for assemblies, except for those in designated areas as defined by the home minister;

• after notification, the assemblies can proceed, unless there are objections from the police;

• no street protests are allowed;

• no protests in or anywhere in a 50-metre buffer zone around prohibited areas defined in a list, which includes hospitals, schools and places of worship;

• Section 8 allows a police officer 'to take such measures he/she deems necessary' to ensure compliance;

• Section 9(5) allows the police to fine organisers up to RM10,000 if no advance notice of a planned assembly is given to the police;

• Section 20(1)(c) allows police to arrest anyone who brings, allows to come or recruits children for an assembly;

• Section 21(3) allows the police to fine those arrested up to RM20,000;

• those under 21 years of age are not allowed to organise assemblies; and

• children under 15 are not allowed to take part in assemblies, except in cultural or religious events such as funeral corteges or events approved by the home minister.

Two die as M’sia retains football gold

JAKARTA: Two fans died in a stampede at the Southeast Asian Games football final in Jakarta, a report said on Tuesday, overshadowing a win on penalties for defending champions Malaysia against hosts Indonesia.The two men, wearing Indonesian red-and-white football team T-shirts were taken to hospital at 8:30 pm, around 90 minutes after the stampede broke out, according to a report by the Detik.com news portal, which cited a paramedic.

Local media reported that several other spectators had been taken to hospital, including a nine-year-old boy who had fallen into a coma, as tens of thousands of fans swarmed to the Gelora Bung Karno stadium for Monday night’s final.Hundreds of people were packed tight against ticket barriers as police closed the gates shortly before kick-off, with many fans inside forced to crouch in aisles and walkways, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

RM70k rental for cattle condo ‘unbelievable’, say property gurus

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — The reported RM70,000 in monthly rental for not one but two condominiums owned by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) has property consultants and real estate agents shaking their heads in disbelief. The experts say that the highest rental that can be expected for even the penthouse at Bangsar’s One Menerung condominium is about RM24,000 per month.

They also point out that even if the tenants were renting the biggest condominium unit at One Menerung, which is between 6,000-7,000 square feet, the tenants would be paying least RM10 per sq ft, which is double or more the rate at KLCC’s Binjai On The Park, currently KL’s most expensive condominium address.The NFC also said yesterday that the rental yield for the two condominiums had hit 12.9 per cent, which is far in excess of the industry benchmark of three per cent or less.

“Who is the tenant?” asked one veteran property consultant. “It is unbelievable. To get RM70,000 for a condominium is unheard of. Usually when renters pay more than RM15,000 they expect to get a whole luxury bungalow.”He pointed out that multinationals were very unlikely to have such a huge budget for rent and wealthy Arab businessmen would prefer to buy their own place rather than rent.Real estate agents for One Menerung contacted by The Malaysian Insider said that it was “not possible” to get RM70,000 in monthly rent and that it would be difficult to find anyone willing to pay even RM4 a sq ft.

MIC faces ‘cremation’ in Port Dickson

PORT DICKSON: The two “forgotten” crematorium projects in Negri Sembilan, which received government aid of RM270,000 in the 1990s, is set to haunt MIC, which is aiming for a comeback here in the 13th general election.Apparently the crematoriums never got past the “artist's impression” stage and the money is still unaccounted for.Just over two decades ago, one of the choice locations between Port Dickson and Lukut was home to the district's sole Hindu and Sikh crematoriums.

Then the state government divided the 10-acre plot of land along Jalan Seremban and separately allocated portions to the Hindu, Sikh, Catholic and Baha'i communities.The Hindus and Sikhs received 55 percent of the land to build a crematorium each while the Catholics and Baha'i were given 30 percent and 15 percent respectively for their burial sites.But the land turned out to be too swampy for a burial ground hence only the two crematoriums were eventually built there.

'Banks deterring Indians from buying into unit trusts'

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department SK Devamany has hit out at banks that have put putting obstacles in the way of Indian Malaysians who want to buy into the ASM and AS1M unit trust schemes.He said the banks have told these customers that they had run out of units whenever inquiries have been made.

“This is because they fear losing fixed deposits (placed by customers). I have told off the bank managers, asking them why this is so, and informed Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB),” Devamany said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.He said the Indian Malaysians affected had wanted to withdraw their fixed deposits to buy the special allotment for Indians in the unit trust schemes.

Devamany lamented that Indians are at the losing end, as fixed deposit accounts only pay about 2.5 percent interest, while some unit trust schemes may bring in about 6.5 percent in dividend.
Met later, he reiterated that the PNB must monitor the situation to prevent this from happening as banks play an important role in ensuring that allocations for the Indian community are successfully distributed.

Istana Negara closes with pomp and pageantry

KUALA LUMPUR: After serving for 54 years, Istana Negara at Jalan Istana here, which is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, today ended its function officially with pomp and pageantry.
The ceremony beginning at 9am, witnessed the marching in of the First Battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment (RAMD) comprising two officers and 58 men of various ranks accompanied by the RAMD central band.The ceremony continued with a team of flag-bearers comprising 10 members of the RAMD who lowered the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s private flag as the last post was being played to signify the shifting of Istana Negara at Jalan Istana to the Istana Negara in Jalan Duta.

Later, the ceremony continued with the procession of the flag-bearers with the ceremonial horse squadron to the palace main entrance to present the flag to Istana Negara Grand Chamberlain Tengku Farok Husin Tengku Abdul Jalil who represented Istana Negara in signifying the palace’s completion of duty.
The flag was presented by acting RAMD First Battalion Officer in Command Major Mohd Kadri Abu Bakar.As a symbolic closure of the monumental building with its golden dome, the Grand Chamberlain later directed Istana Negara officer Rosli Asri to lock the main entrance of the palace signifying all duties at Istana Negara had been completed before moving to the Istana Negara at Jalan Duta for another flag-raising ceremony.

Najib’s pledge on Indians too little, too late

Joe Fernandez

COMMENT

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak belabours under a misconception that the makkal sakthi – people power – wave unleashed by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi in the political tsunami of March 2008 has petered out.As a result, he has erroneously concluded that Indian voters are abandoning the opposition alliance in droves and flocking back to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Umno.Hence, his public pledge in recent days at a Deepavali function in Kuala Lumpur that BN will not ignore the Indian community and indeed cannot afford to do so.He furthered contended that the BN, unlike the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, will not take Indians for granted.He did not say that “the BN will no longer continue to take Indians for granted”.
There’s a world of difference between the two statements.

The former would mean that the BN has never taken the Indians for granted. The latter would concede that BN has indeed been taking Indians for granted, but more like taking them for a ride. Is there even a hint of an apology from Najib here somewhere?This – taking for granted – is rich with meaning coming from Najib who presides over an apartheid-like state and a caste system rolled into one.He forgets that it’s the very same BN, and its predecessor the Alliance in another incarnation, which has ridden rough-shed over the Indian community for the better part of half a century and more.Why would the Indian community now suddenly accept that BN is a leopard that can indeed change its spots?If Indians have a quarrel with Pakatan, they have even more to beef about with BN, Umno in particular.

‘I like Najib, but I don’t like BN’

KLANG, Nov 11 — Support for Datuk Seri Najib Razak among the Indian community here was palpable at a national Deepavali party last night, but the adoration may not translate to the votes he needs to wrest the state back for Barisan Nasional (BN).Yesterday, thousands thronged to a Deepavali open house at SMK Kampung Jawa here. Many came hoping to catch a glimpse of the country’s top leader.“I’m here to see Najib,” 30-year-old M. Sumathi told The Malaysian Insider. “I took a day off for this event. I spent the whole day getting ready to see him.”Like Sumathi, many arrived in support of the prime minister who, in recent months, has engaged with the people through a series of events and activities. These have garnered him both admiration and support, plus the label “cool”.But more extensive interaction with the visitors exposed an undercurrent of discontent with the BN federal government.

“I like Najib, but I don’t like BN.”

With that, self-employed L. Perichiappan summed up what could be a potential indicator of the upcoming general election, at least among the community here.

 
“Najib is a nice man. He wants to bring about changes for the country. But when it comes to implementation, it does not come down to the public,” Perichiappan, or Pere as he prefers, said.

“His policies are good for the community and country, but the people under him fail to implement it properly... Only them and their cronies are doing well, the rest are suffering,” he explained.“Najib is sincere. He is trying his best. But his own people are stabbing him in the back.”Shan (sole name given), a caretaker born and raised in Klang, agreed that the flawed implementation of policies was to blame for the lack of faith in BN.

“The 1 Malaysia concept by Najib promotes racial unity, so why is it the Indians and Chinese cannot get equal opportunities like the Bumiputeras?” she asked, pointing out the community’s blanket discount for property purchases as one particular bugbear.“It is also very hard for the Indians and Chinese to get a PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund) loan because of the Bumiputera quota. Why is there such a thing? Better give the loan to people who deserve it than to just fill the quota,” Shan said.

“Najib made promises, but he has failed to keep them,” she added.When asked of the present situation in Selangor under Pakatan Rakyat, Pere said the current state government has done more for the people in the past three years as compared to 50 years under BN.“Pakatan show results. They have given land for schools, temples, churches, and do not discriminate against races. Even the (state) Budget yesterday is better compared to Najib’s,” he said, referring to Selangor’s Budget 2012 as announced by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on Wednesday.

“It is high time BN gives the opposition a chance to rule. Najib wants to do good, but the damage is already done. Now it’s too late.”During his address to the open house visitors, Najib said the government has never taken lightly the plight of Indians in the country and will “never take Indians for granted”.
“The government has a special committee to look into problems faced by Indians... I see no reason for the Indian community to not support the government,” he said.


Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/i-like-najib-but-i-dont-like-bn/

Govt Has Never Taken Lightly The Plight Of Indians, Says Najib

KLANG -- The government has never taken lightly the plight of Indians in the country, said Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.He said the government had helped solve many problems faced by the community since several years ago like the problem of personal identity documents."The government has a special committee to look into the problems faced by Indians and as such, I see no reason for the Indian community not to support the government," he said at the national-level Deepavali open house held at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Kampung Jawa here last night.

Also present were his wife Rosmah Mansor and Information, Communications and Culture Minister Dr Rais Yatim.Najib said the government might have made some mistakes in the past but had learned from them and now understood very well the Indian community and was doing its best for them."We won't take the Indian community for granted," he said.

He said as the Indian's representative in the Barisan Nasional (BN), MIC president G.Palanivel and other MIC leaders would be given all the assistance they needed to help resolve problems faced by the Indian community.

Najib said national unity was still strong in the country as could be seen by the multi-racial crowds at open houses of the major festivals.He said he was deeply touched that more than 24,000 people attended yesterday's function which had expected a turnout of about 10,000 people.

"Deepavali which is called the festival of lights by Hindus is all the more meaningful as it has brought together people of various races here," he said.He also said Malaysians were blessed to be living in a peaceful and progressive country despite economic woes being faced by many countries.Some countries were facing demonstrations and riots because of austerity measures taken by their governments in addressing their economic problems, he added.

Source : Bernama

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar today raised concern over a massive spike in the number of postal voters in her constituency, as the most recent electoral roll, released on Nov 2, shows.
Speaking at the Parliament lobby today, Nurul Izzah said the number of postal voters spiked by 1,363 percent in two months - from a mere 149 on Sept 26 this year to 2,180 on Nov 2.

Worse still, she said, checks with the Election Commission revealed that 457 of these postal voters are from the Kampung Bohol in Bukit Jalil, which is outside the Lembah Pantai constituency."There are 2,180 police personnel who are postal voters, and this does not include their wives. The winning majority for PKR in Lembah Pantai in the previous general election was 2,895 votes."

Nurul Izzah said that this finding had been confirmed by the EC, and was among thousands of other "doubtful" voters found in the electoral roll for Lembah Pantai.A report has been lodged with the commission, with a copy forwarded to the parliamentary select committee on electoral reform.

Four minors 'arrested and beaten' by cops, says HRP

Four 14-year-old ethnic Indians allegedly assaulted by a group of Malay youths and went to the Setapak police station to lodge police reports were said to have instead been detained and beaten up by the men in blue and forced to confess to criminal offences.A 21-year-old friend of the Indian teenagers who tried to come to their assistance when they were set upon by the youths, was also allegedly attacked by the mob, who were said to have been armed with parang and iron rods.
He consequently had to be warded at the Intensive Care Unit of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).

Assisted by the education bureau chief of the Human Rights Party (HRP), G Ganeson, the frustrated parents and guardians of the five alleged victims called a press conference today and demanded that police release their children immediately and take stern action against those who had assaulted the teens.
Ganeson, who is also representing the families as their lawyer, said M Indran, 14, was on his way back to his house in a flat at Kg Baru Air Panas in Setapak late yesterday evening when some 10 Malay youths stopped him and kicked him in the abdomen, after accusing him of throwing an object at them from an upper floor of the flat.

BN has made Indians irrelevant, says Mipas

Indian Malaysians have been "decimated into irrelevancy", says a grassroot non-governmental group in rebuking government leaders for saying that the community has been well cared for under the BN.Under the BN rule, the numbers of Indian gangsters, school dropouts, unskilled workers and the urban poor have increased. BN has diverted problems of the Indian to temples and Tamil schools, the Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas) said today.

"Today, BN has turned the Indians into a hamper-receiving community (and) Umno thinks that by giving a bag of rice it has done great service. Only Indians without dignity and pride will ever support and vote for BN," Mipas secretary-general S Barathidasan said in a statement.

He said this in response to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's statement during a Deepavali event on Oct 27 that the "BN government has never disappointed the Indian community since independence 54 years ago".Muhyiddin assertion that the government had succeeded in resolving the various problems faced by the Indian community, Barathidasan said, was not true.

Indians, who were largely from the rubber estates, have been "reduced to slum dwellers on the fringes of major cities, without proper jobs or houses", he added.

"The community has slowly deteriorated into urban poverty, a ghetto community with increased crime. Today Indian youths make the highest numbers in prisons."Barathidasan also said that the numbers of Indian Malaysians in institutions of higher learning and the civil service have been drastically reduced."Indians (who) once dominated sports especially (the) track and field events (are) today almost non-existent," he said.

Participation in the country's economy has incapacitated Indian business people because of "the exclusive affirmative action policy for the bumiputera", he added."The BN government has outsourced all Indian problems to MIC, which is a weak and small partner in the ruling coalition," he said, calling the MIC "goons" for siphoning funds allocated to the community.Muhyiddin's statement, Barathidasan added, was mere "words that add insult to the injured Indian community" he and urged the community to be wise in voting for future leaders.

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/180713 

Peniaga Brickfields gusar projek terbaru DBKL

KUALA LUMPUR: Para peniaga di Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields berasa gusar dan marah terhadap Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) yang merancang untuk membina beberapa perhentian bas di hadapan premis perniagaan mereka.Projek pembinaan empat tempat perhentian bas di sepanjang Jalan Tun Sambanthan bertentangan dengan KL Sentral akan dimulakan pada hari Jumaat minggu hadapan.

Sejumlah 150 premis perniagaan yang menjalankan perniagaan di situ akan menghadapi kesukaran untuk berniaga.Dr R Narkunam dari Klinik Medic City yang mewakili peniaga di situ hari ini memberitahu media bahawa DBKL memekakkan telinga apabila isu ini diketengahkan oleh golongan peniaga pada bulan lepas.

"Jawapan yang mereka kemukakan seperti rakaman suara yang telah ditetapkan. Apa yang berada di dalam premis anda adalah hak anda dan segala yang diluar adalah hak kami," kata Dr R Narkunam dalam satu sidang media yang diadakan di Brickfields pagi tadi.Menurut beliau, DBKL turut merancang menukar arah aliran trafik di kawasan tersebut.Menurut perancangan DBKL bas dan teksi dari kawasan pudu akan melalui Jalan Syed Putra dan menamatkan perjalanan di Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

Interlok: Niat to petition the Agong, rulers

After 10 months and 56 letters or memoranda to the government, a movement seeking to withdraw the novel ‘Interlok’ from school use is heading to the palace.Niat head Thasleem Ibrahim (right) said the group plans to submit a petition to the Agong, as well as the rulers of Selangor and Negri Sembilan, to seek royal intervention to have the SPM Malay literature textbook withdrawn.

Thasleem told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday that copies of the petition will be sent to the premier and his deputy, and that its contents would be made public in due course.Also present was Lim Teck Ghee, who heads the Centre for Policy Issues. He said the issue is a Malaysian one, as the education system is multiracial and multi-cultural in scope.

End of the line for Klang Bus Stand

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Demolition of the Klang Bus Stand will begin by year’s end to make way for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange with the LRT, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) said today.The demolition is expected to be completed by early next year, after which work on the Pasar Seni MRT station will begin.Buses here servicing Klang and Banting, including Rapid KL U91, will be moved to Pudu Sentral while all other Rapid KL buses will continue to pick up fares from Jalan Sultan Mohamed just outside Klang Bus Stand.Some 5,000 passengers who use the bus stand daily will be affected by the move, effective from midnight tonight.

A commercial development and a new bus stand will be built on the same spot when the MRT is completed in 2016.SPAD chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the Klang Bus Stand, built in 1970, needed to be torn down as it no longer met the city’s development needs.But he assured public transport users they would not be unduly burdened by the move, pointing out that Pudu Sentral was a modern facility.
“The 74 buses that make 260 trips from here daily... will be moved to a better, more comfortable place,” he told reporters here after handing out flyers informing the public of the move.