Chinese groups weigh in on Interlok

A number of prominent Chinese groups are among 45 organisations which inked a joint statement criticising the government's decision to retain the controversial novel 'Interlok' as a compulsory textbook for secondary schools.In a strongly-worded statement, the civil society groups ticked off the novel for attempting to indoctrinate Form Five students with the 'Malay supremacy' ideology.

Describing 'Interlok' as an “insidious poison”, the civil society groups accused the novel of propagating the ideology of “Ketuanan Melayu”.“In fact, Interlok is barely a step away from the Biro Tatanegara brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. 'Interlok' conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners ('bangsa asing' Cina dan India).

Seven-minute clip making waves on the net

KUALA LUMPUR - There's a new video clip making waves, minus the spices that so characterise Malaysian political debate. One also need not get an exclusive invitation to any luxury hotel to view it.The seven-minute clip posted on YouTube is produced by a group of activists to educate Malaysian voters on how to ensure the confidentiality of their votes.The easy-to-understand clip begins with a setting at a polling centre, showing voting officers illegally marking a voters list, ballot papers and counter forms to trace selected voters.

In limbo on Sime Darby land

LABU: Forty-two former workers at Kirby Estate here have been living in suspense for the past 10 years, not knowing when they will be chased out of the houses they have been living in since colonial times.They were among 180 workers dismissed in May 2001 and told to leave the land within four months. The others obeyed the order, but these 42, disappointed with the compensation offered, ignored the notice.The offer was RM220 for each year of service. They asked for more, but the estate management never gave its response.

Selangor sultan: Not wrong to change bureaucracy

The Selangor Sultan, Tuanku Sharafuddin Idris Shah, today said that it is not wrong for any sluggish state bureaucracy blocking implementation of state policies to be 'changed'.“I hope that government bureaucracy will not be a continuing stumbling block to progress.“If need be, the state's administration system can be changed to resolve that problem,” said the sultan while opening the first sitting of the fourth term of the state legislative assembly at the state assembly building in Shah Alam.

Former M'sian Stewardess Soars in Her Kopitiam Business in South India

CHENNAI, 27 MARCH, 2011: For a former Malaysian air stewardess, the sky's the limit, even when she ventures into the food business in a totally alien and competitive place like South India.Chong Bee Bee, from Sungai Petani, Kedah, has to thank her grandma for the invaluable cooking tips.Like the Singapore Airlines aircraft she had served for decades, the enterprising woman's 'Bee's Kopitiam' outlet is also soaring in its business. It is located in the spartan Express Avenue Mall in Chennai.

Perak MIC Saddened by Nazri's Statement

IPOH, 25 MARCH, 2011: Perak MIC chairman Datuk S.Veerasingam said today that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz should not have made the statement on seat allocation for the next general election."We in the MIC is saddened by the statement by Nazri whom we have all this while viewed as someone of experience," he said, commenting on the minister's remark that the party should not contest in constituencies in Perak which it lost in the last general election.

Kekeliruan jumlah pindaan sebenar Interlok terjawab

KUALA LUMPUR: Kekeliruaan tentang jumlah pindaan sebenar dalam novel Interlok telah terjawab, kata mantan ahli panel bebas Interlok yang mewakili masyarakat India, Uthaya Sankar SB hari ini.Beliau menjelaskan sebanyak 106 pindaan akan dibuat ke atas buku Komsas, Interlok edisi murid dengan persetujuan Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Pendidikan Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Uthaya berkata, dari jumlah tersebut, sebanyak 19 pindaan melibatkan sensitiviti masyarakat India, 84 kesalahan bahasa dan fakta manakala enam lagi berkaitan Sasterawan Negara Abdullah Hussain.Dari 19 pindaan itu, tiga pindaan melibatkan penggunaan kata kasta “Paria”, satu berkaitan pemaparan isteri Maniam, satu berkaitan adegan lembu dan satu lagi melibatkan adegan perkahwinan. Terdapat enam pembetulan manakala baki tujuh lagi melibatkan errata.

Pariah dropped from Interlok, says Muhyiddin

The word 'pariah' has been dropped from the secondary school Malay literature textbook 'Interlok', Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.He said the word, which sparked a firestorm of protests from the Indian community, is among several references deemed offensive to Indians which have been omitted from the version used in schools.Muhyiddin said the independent panel set up to study the novel, which included three Indian representatives, have unanimously agreed to replace the word pariah with "golongan yang sama" (the same group).

‘Pakatan’s Indian reps jittery of MIC’s rise’

PETALING JAYA: MIC secretary general S Murugesan said the call by Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran for MIC to quit Barisan Nasional showed that Indian reps in Pakatan Rakyat are nervous of MIC’s resurgence.

“He’s coming out with a panic statement now that he is fearful of MIC’s ascendency among the people,” said Murugesan of the DAP leader.“The Indian reps within Pakatan Rakyat have failed miserably to deliver on their promises to the Indian community.

“I’m surprised by his statement. He has the audacity to blame MIC when we made a stand against Interlok in schools since day one. They only made their stand known last week.”Murugesan also had a piece of advice for Manogaran: “Let’s work together to get the book out of the education system.”He was responding to Manogaran’s statement yesterday that MIC has no more dignity and legitimacy after failing to convince the government to withdraw Interlok.

Bouquets and brickbats for Palanivel’s 100 days

PETALING JAYA: G Palanivel became the eighth MIC president, succeeding S Samy Vellu on Dec 6, last year.Shortly after that, he roped in people who had issues with Samy Vellu back into the party such as former Petaling Jaya Selatan division leader, Barat Maniam.One key issue for the community itself was the controversial Form Five Bahasa novel, Interlok.Lately, he urged poor Indians who cannot eke out a living in urban settings to return to the estates.

The young guns in MIC sang words of praises for their president in conjunction with his 100 days into power.MIC secretary-general, S Murugesan, told FMT that “Palanivel is more accommodating, inclusive, focused and open in his own way”.Murugesan, who was appointed secretary-general during Samy Vellu’s time, was given the boot in May 2010 after going against the former president.He was reinstated shortly after Palanivel became party chief.

Questions abound over sex tape

For the second time in about four years, the country is abuzz over a sex tape allegedly depicting a prominent politician. This time round, the unveiling of the video was shrouded in mystery. It was revealed to only a select group of news organisations at a posh hotel in Kuala Lumpur. While the majority of journalists who viewed the video are almost certain of the identity of the politician, many questions remain. Here are a number of them which were raised by bloggers.

Who is 'Datuk T'?

The person who organised the screening only wants to be identified as 'Datuk T' and he was very cautious about revealing anything more about himself. However, it is certain that Datuk T had meticulously planned the event today and had booked a room at the posh Carcosa Seri Negara  costing RM1,350 to hold the screening.

He was always accompanied by two bodyguards and refused to reveal anything when approached, just sticking to the points raised in a written statement given to the press. Neither did Datuk T reveal anything about his relationship with the politician depicted in the video. He claimed the politician was at a hotel where the tryst took place on Feb 21 and lost his luxury watch in the hotel room.

Novel Interlok: Panel bersetuju membuat pindaan

PETALING JAYA: Datin Siti Saroja Basri, isteri Sasterawan Negara Datuk Abdullah Hussein, menyatakan bahawa ahli panel secara konsensus bersetuju membuat pindaan terhadap novel Interlok edisi murid sepertimana mesyuarat panel pada 4 Mac lalu.“Kini terserahlah kepada Kementerian Pelajaran sama ada hendak melaksanakannya atau tidak,” kata Siti Saroja ketika dihubungi pagi ini.

Beliau yang melihat isu ini sebagai ‘satu permainan’ jelas tidak bersetuju dengan tindakan Uthaya Sankar SB yang menulis dalam blog perihal mesyuarat panel tetapi menolak cadangan untuk mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap Uthaya.Beliau juga masih beranggapan ahli panel yang mewakili masyarakat India – G Krishnabahawan, Profesor NS Rajendran dan Uthaya – masih tidak meninggalkan panel berdasarkan laporan media massa yang memetik kata-kata Timbalan Perdana Menteri dan juga Menteri Pelajaran Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Interlok: Time to make a stand

COMMENT

As the drama over the Interlok textbook issue continues to unfold, it is important for Malaysians to understand the context and the stakes involved, and to make a stand.There are some defenders of the book who have argued that withdrawing or even just editing it will rob Malaysian writers of their artistic freedom and integrity. To these people, I would like to say “hello, where have you been” – Interlok has already been edited twice, in 2005 for Edisi Pelajar and in 2010 for Edisi Murid.

Its literary integrity was already compromised by the shedding of some 85 pages even before this latest controversy.In fact, copyright for the edition distributed free to schools no longer belongs even to Abdullah Hussain but to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.Hence Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that his ministry “will ensure that any amendments made will not affect the storyline of the novel and the noble message that the author wants to convey” is nothing short of whitewash.

Japan hopes to restore power at crippled reactors

TOKYO: Japanese engineers raced to restore a power cable to a quake-ravaged nuclear power plant on Friday in the hope of restarting pumps needed to pour cold water on overheating fuel rods and avert a catastrophic release of radiation.Officials said they hoped to fix a cable from the grid to at least two of the six reactors on Friday, but that work would stop in the morning to allow helicopters and fire trucks to resume pouring water on the Fukushima Daiichi plant, about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Interlok: ‘DBP rep the stumbling block’

KUALA LUMPUR: The three Indian representatives of the independent panel to review Interlok quit because because every amendment they proposed was objected by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka representative, MIC president G Palanivel said today.“The other panellists agreed to the removal of one sensitive word pertaining to caste. The Indian panellists had brought out many amendments which they had classified as sensitive or hurtful to the Indians,” he said in a statement.

Panel bebas kemuka lebih 100 pindaan novel Interlok

PETALING JAYA: Panel Bebas Mengkaji Pindaan Novel Interlok yang diketuai pengarah pengasas Pusat Kajian Etnik Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Profesor Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin hari ini telah mengemukakan lebih 100 pindaan dalam usaha pemurnian.Interlok edisi murid karya Sasterawan Datuk Abdullah Hussein digunakan sebagai teks komponen sastera bahasa Melayu di zon dua yang melibatkan Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Putrajaya dan Kuala Lumpur.

Helicopters dump water on nuclear plant

Operators of a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan again deployed military helicopters today in a bid to douse overheating reactors, as US officials warned of the rising risk of a catastrophic radiation leak from spent fuel rods.Television images have shown a Japanese military helicopter dumping water from a huge bucket onto the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant. NHK also reports that more helicopters will be sent to douse the plant.

While officials were scrambling to contain the nuclear crisis with a patchwork of fixes, the top US nuclear regulator warned that one reactor cooling pool for spent fuel rods may have run dry and another was leaking."We believe that around the reactor site there are high levels of radiation," Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

Indian members quit 'Interlok' review panel

The controversy over the 'Interlok' rose several notches today when the eight-member independent panel to review and amend the novel saw all its ethnic Indian members pull out this afternoon.Following a meeting held at Parliament building with Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today, all three ethnic Indian panellists declared they were withdrawing from the government-created body.According to writer Uthaya Shankar SB , the decision was taken after it became apparent that the other members of the panel had changed their minds and rejected one-by-one the 100 modifications that had been recommended to render the book appropriate for consumption by Form 5 students.“We feel we were betrayed,” Uthaya Shankar told Malaysiakini.

Interlok panel wants offensive word removed

The independent panel established to review the 'Interlok' novel has proposed that the word 'pariah' be removed from the book, which is used in schools.A member of the panel, Tamil writer Uthaya Sankar SB (right), told Malaysiakini that the word was removed because of factual errors and not because it was deemed 'sensitive' by some.Uthaya explained that in the context of the novel, the offensive word which is used to denote a member of the lower caste cannot be used to described the character Maniam, who is well-to-do.He said that the novel described Maniam as owning several heads of cattle and a house.

As Samy Vellu tightens MIED grip, MIC squeezes back

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 — Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s perceived attempt to consolidate control of the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) has spurred calls from MIC and the Indian community for Datuk G. Palanivel to be given the reins of the party’s education wing.MIC divisions are openly urging Samy Vellu to step down from the education arm, along with Indian non-governmental organitsations (NGOs) and social organising who say the best way to ensure MIED remains within MIC is for Samy Vellu relinquish his seat as MIED chairman.

New fire escalate Japan's nuclear crisis

Japanese crews continued to battle to avert a nuclear disaster and said they may pour water from helicopters to stop fuel rods from being exposed to the air and releasing even more radioactivity.Fire crews were fighting a new blaze at reactor number four at the quake-hit Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said."We are battling the fire now," a spokesman said. The government later said the fire was under control.Explosions and an earlier fire at the plant had unleashed dangerous levels of radiation on Tuesday, sparking a collapse on the stock market and panic buying in supermarkets.

MACC report filed against state govt, MIC leaders

IPOH: Twenty-one families from Kampung Gunung Cheroh who have been denied land titles for the past 80 years have filed a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).The report was lodged by village committee chairperson S Mogan, who accused the state government and MIC leaders of abusing their powers.Those named in the report were the Kinta land office, Perak MIC chief S Veerasingam, state MIC Wanita chief S Thangeswari, developer Fasa Unggul Sdn Bhd and their lawyers.

Third blast strikes reactor, radiation rises

A fresh explosion rocked a stricken Japanese nuclear power plant today and some workers were ordered to leave the site, a sign that the situation may be getting more serious at the complex that was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami.The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi complex said radiation levels around the nuclear site rose fast immediately after the blast, the third there, but were still far from levels authorities say would cause large-scale radiation sickness.

Explosion rocks stricken Japanese nuclear reactor, 2,000 found dead in Miyagi

TOKYO, March 14 — A new explosion rocked Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex today, sending a plume of smoke into the air.Japan’s nuclear safety agency said it could not confirm whether or not the hydrogen explosion at the plant’s No.3 reactor had led to an uncontrolled leak of radioactivity, according to the Reuters news agency.But the explosion has not damaged the plant’s No.3 reactor vessel, news agency Jiji said, quoting the plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co

Indian poverty demands urgent solution

Comment

KUALA LUMPUR; With the fragmentation of estates in the late 1960s and coupled with the decline in rubber commodity prices from the 1970s, estate labourers of Indian origin began to migrate to the towns and urban areas of Peninsular Malaysia in search of their livelihood.Thus began a pattern of their lives that saw them exchange the discreet poverty of their estate existence for the grinding poverty of their urban lives.

Their lack of education and the higher cost of living in urban areas meant that these rural-to-urban migrants were hard put to eke out a living. They began to languish in hopelessness, their poverty turning endemic because their children’s low educational attainment, in part due to gloomy home conditions, meant their further immersion in the poverty trap.Within two decades of this migratory drift from estate sufficiency to urban depression, Indian Malaysians began to top the indices of social pathology.

Explosion rocks No 3 reactor, fresh tsunami warning

A new explosion has rocked Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex today, sending a plume of smoke into the air.Plant's owner Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) however said the explosion has not damaged the plant's No 3 reactor vessel, news agency Jiji said.TV footage showed the building housing the reactor collapsing and disappearing into the ground . Japan's nuclear safety agency said the blast, at the number 3 reactor at the Fukushima No 1 plant, was believed to be caused by hydrogen.

Fears mount as second reactor overheats

Japan battled a nuclear emergency today in which the government said two partial meltdowns may have taken place and radiation had escaped from reactors at a quake-damaged atomic power plant.About 200,000 people have been evacuated from residential areas around the Fukushima No 1 plant, 250km north of Tokyo, as global concern grows over the threat of a major disaster.Japan's top government spokesman Yukio Edano said it was highly likely that a partial meltdown had occurred in one reactor of the Fukushima plant, and that authorities were working on the assumption that one may occur in another.

‘Clarify your statement, Mohan’

KUALA LUMPUR: Another MIC central working committee member (CWC) has come forward to brush off MIC Youth leader T Mohan's criticism against party president G Palanivel's 'back-to-estate' call."Do consult with the party president or discuss in the central working committee before making a statement," said Puchong MIC division chairman and CWC member A Sakthivel.He also urged Mohan to read Palanivel's statement carefully since “no one is forcing anyone to go to the estates”.

MIC Youth lodges report over ‘pariah’ remark

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC has lodged a police report against an online commentator who called Kampung Buah Pala residents “Indians with pariah mentality”.Its Youth press chief, K Novinthen, who was accompanied by three other members, lodged the report at the Jalan Travers police station at 3pm here today.“Two days ago, a commentator who goes by the name of Jason Loh Seong Wei referred to the nine families still residing in Kampung Buah Pala as 'Indians with pariah mentality'.

Hundreds killed as huge tsunami slams Japan

The biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan rocked the northeast coast today, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its path, including houses, ships and cars.Up to 300 bodies were found in the coastal city of Sendai, media said. NHK television said the victims appeared to have drowned. The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch f coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.

Some 3,000 residents living near a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, were told to evacuate but the government said no radiation was leaking. It said the vacuation was a precaution after a reactor cooling malfunction.Other nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down after the 8.9 magnitude quake, while one refinery was ablaze. A major explosion hit a petrochemical complex in Miyagi prefecture after the quake, Kyodo said.

Land woes: Temple’s future at stake

PETALING JAYA: A Hindu temple in Ulu Bernam is facing the threat of eviction because the land office rejected its application in 2008, four years after the document was submitted.To make matters worse, the temple’s committee had only learned about the rejection last year and that the land had been leased to another individual for 99 years, starting in 2005.The land owner had now slapped the temple with an eviction notice.Previously, Selangor exco Dr Xavier Jayakumar advised the devotees to find another plot of land to relocate the 42-year-old temple.

MIED fiasco: Samy’s appeal quashed

PUTRAJAYA: Fomer MIC president S Samy Vellu was dealt another blow when the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by him and seven other trustees of Maju Institute for Educational Development (MIED).The appeal was filed against a High Court ruling that MIC’s education arm disclose all documents since 1990.With the latest decision, Samy Vellu as MIED’s chairman and the trustees must hand over cheque butts, bank statements, receipts, donation books, ledgers and invoices fom 1990 to July 2010.

Bukit Jalil Estate Farmers Hand Memo At Parliament Over Eviction Notice

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 MARCH, 2011: Farmers of Bukit Jalil estate handed a memo to government representatives of Government and Opposition today at Parliament regarding a notice from DBKL asking them to move out from their homes.According to the farmers, they were issued an eviction notice by DBKL on March 1 ordering them to move out in 14 days, or else their houses would be demolished on March 15.

The 14 representatives who represented 41 families and farmers of Bukit Jalil estate were accompanied by PKR vice-presidents Nurul Izzah and Tian Chua, PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Shah Alam PAS MP Khalid Samad.All the 14 representatives along with the MPs gathered outside the parliament gate before marching their way into Parliament.

Bukit Jalil folks’ demand can be met

PETALING JAYA: MIC youth chief T Mohan urged the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Ministry to give Ladang Bukit Jalil residents the four-acre land they are seeking.Taking a swipe at the ministry’s deputy minister M Saravanan, Mohan said scarcity of land was no excuse to deny the estate workers’ demand.“The government can afford to give away four out of the 26 acres of land City Hall has acquired for development, in recognition of their (the residents’) contribution to nation-building,” said Mohan.

Interlok: School asked to submit report

The school embroiled in controversy over the Interlok novel has been directed to submit a report over the incident in which a teacher allegedly uttered a racial slur against ethnic Indian students in the school. An officer at the Hulu Selangor district education department (PPD), Mat Jah Roslan, said the authorities at the SMK Kuala Kubu Bharu will have by the end of the day today make the report ready for purposes of further investigation by the department.

No support for Palanivel’s ‘back-to-the-estate’ call

PUTRAJAYA: The call by MIC president G Palanivel for members of the Indian community, who are mired in hardships in town and cities, to work in the plantation sector, including in estates owned by government-linked companies, received little support from the community.Palanivel, who is Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, had said that the government had agreed to a minimum wage of about RM700 a month for the sector, compared to RM300 previously, and that they would also enjoy free housing as well as free transportation for students in estate areas.

MB: Bkt Jalil residents’ demand impractical

SHAH ALAM: Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim feels that the residents in Ladang Bukit Jalil are getting a reasonable offer from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).At a press conference today, Khalid, who is also Bandar Tun Razak MP, however called on DBKL to be more humane when dealing with the residents. Bukit Jalil falls under the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency.“The placement and the monetary offer made by DBKL are quite reasonable as it is well above any normal compensation offered by others,” said Khalid.

Cops question students for 10 hours over 'Interlok'

Three Form Five students were yesterday taken to the Kuala Kubu Baru district police headquarters and traumatised by being questioned for 10 hours - all for wanting to return the novel Interlok to their headmaster last Friday.

Initially, seven SMK Kuala Kubu Baru students, who wanted to return the book because they were not happy with its contents, were stopped by a discipline teacher who allegedly abused them verbally.

“All seven of us we were walking calmly towards the headmaster's room when our discipline teacher stopped us and started making comments at us, which hurt our feelings,” said one of the students, who was with four others at the Human Rights Party headquarters today.

Bkt Jalil residents warn DBKL of legal action

KUALA LUMPUR: Ladang Bukit Jalil residents are planning to file an injunction to stop the City Hall (DBKL) from evicting them on March 15.At a press conference here, their legal adviser Fadiah Nadwa Fikri said a letter has been despatched to DBKL demanding an explanation over the eviction notice sent on March 1.“We have given them 48 hours to respond. If there is no reply by tomorrow, we will go to court to get an injunction against them,” added the Lawyers for Liberty coordinator.

On March 3, the 41 families of the estate lodged a police report against Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin and mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail after receiving the eviction notice.They claimed that the notice was illegal as it did not indicate under which regulation the eviction would take place.The latest eviction notice came after Nong Chik met the residents on Feb 23 and announced that DBKL would only offer RM23,000 each to those who had worked in the rubber estate for more than 15 years and RM11,000 for the rest as compensation.

Unfit textbook: Interlok insults with impunity

Interlok is tremendously slanted. In it, author Abdullah Hussain viewed the Chinese with suspicion and loathing, and the Indians with condescension.Written in 1967, Interlok reflected the prevalent stereotypical prejudices against the Chinese community. Its anti-Chinese sentiments are in fact glaring.The best point from which to start analyzing Interlok is to compare it with The Malay Dilemma. Abdullah had a lot in common with Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s ultra Malay stance. Both hectored the ‘gullible’ Malays for their lackadaisical attitude. Another identical plank was their obsession with the Chinese business acumen to be emulated.

MIC veep takes Tamil dailies to task

KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Federal Territories Minister M Saravanan today ticked off Tamil dailies Tamil Nesan, Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban for distorting his statements on issues relating to the relocation of Bukit Jalil estate residents.“Quote accurately what I say. Don’t distort it,” said Saravanan, who is also MIC vice president, at a press conference held at MIC party headquarters this afternoon.

He said the reports by the three dailies gave the impression that he had not done anything to resolve the plight of the Bukit Jalil estate folk, who have been told to make way for development.“Raja Nong Chik (his boss), Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam and I have been doing our best to provide for the Bukit Jalil estate people.”“If not for us, their homes in Bukit Jalil would have been demolished a long time ago,” he said.

What Hinduism and Buddhism say about gambling

As with a number of areas, Islam and Hinduism are largely in alignment on the issue of gambling. Hindu scriptures prohibit gambling. These are the sections of the Hindu scriptures which mention and prohibit gambling:“A Gamester / gambler says,‘My wife holds me aloof, my mother hates me’. The wretched man finds none to comfort him.” (Rigveda 10:34:3)

“Play not with dice: No, cultivate thy corn land. Enjoy the gain and deem that wealth sufficient”.(Rigved 10:34:13)

“Drinking, gambling, women (not lawfully wedded wives) and hunting, in that order, he should know to be the very worst four in the group of (vices) born of desire”(Manu Smriti 7:50)

Dilema kaum India di Malaysia

Siapa sangka, kontroversi yang muncul berikutan langkah Kementerian Pelajaran memperkenalkan novel Interlok edisi murid (2010) sebagai teks Komponen Sastera Dalam Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Malaysia (Komsas) tetap membawa kesan positif, walau sekecil mana pun.Pertama, kaum India yang dilabel pihak tertentu sebagai tidak meminati ‘sastera Melayu’ kini sudah berani tampil meneliti, memperkatakan, berhujah dan mengkritik sebuah novel karya seorang Sasterawan Negara secara ilmiah, akademik dan intelektual.

Kedua, semangat kesatuan semakin terserlah dalam kalangan kaum India tanpa batas ideologi politik, latar pendidikan, latar profesion dan kedudukan dalam masyarakat. Perkembangan ini pasti merisaukan mana-mana pihak yang mahu kaum India terus berpecah!

Palanivel tells urban poor to work in estates

MIC president G Palanivel has asked members of the Indian community, who are unable to make a living for themselves in towns and cities, to come back and work in the plantation sector, including in estates owned by government-linked companies.Palanivel , the deputy plantation industries and commodities minister, said the government had agreed to a minimum wage of about RM700 a month for the sector, compared to RM300 previously.There were also other facilities available in estates, including free transportation for students in estate areas and free housing, he said, adding that the cost of living in estates was also low.

Kuok tops list of 40 richest Malaysians

SINGAPORE: The 40 wealthiest Malaysians are worth US$62.1 billion (RM188.3 billion), up by US$11.1 billion compared with last year, according to the latest rich list published by Forbes Asia.In a statement today, Forbes Asia said the combined wealth was almost 22% more than the list in 2010.“The better coffers come on the back of the country’s healthy economy which grew 7.2% last year, the highest rate since 2000,” it said.The first two spots were still occupied by Robert Kuok Hock Nien and Ananda Krishnan, respectively.Kuok, 87, has held the pole position since 2006 when Forbes Asia began ranking the 40 richest Malaysians.He is worth US$12.5 billion, up by half a billion from last year.His biggest source of wealth is his stake in Wilmar International, the world’s largest listed palm oil company.

Interlok panel can’t do much

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Interlok Action Team (NIAT) says that the independent panel tasked with amending contentious passages in Interlok would not make much of an impact.Its chairman, Thasleem Mohamad, told a press conference today that “there is nothing much to edit” when asked why NIAT did not wait for the revised version of the book from the panel.The panel was formed on Feb 16 after talks between Indian and Malay NGOs over the controversial Form 5 book ended in a deadlock.

Interlok: Hanya satu perkataan diubah?

PETALING JAYA: Walaupun Panel Bebas Mengkaji Pindaan Novel Interlok sudah diberi amanah melaksanakan tugas mencadangkan pindaan terhadap novel kontroversi itu, masyarakat umum masih melahirkan kebimbangan.Perkara ini amat nyata melalui pelbagai komen di portal berita, rangkaian sosial Facebook dan blog. Analisis di FMT semalam turut mendapat reaksi pembaca.Orang ramai bimbang bahawa Kementerian Pelajaran mungkin hanya melakukan pindaan yang terlalu minimum terhadap novel edisi murid itu yang dijadikan teks Komponen Sastera (Komsas) bagi subjek Bahasa Malaysia Tingkatan Lima di Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur dan Putrajaya.

Bully victim: Cops ignoring report

KUALA LUMPUR: Five bullies held down one of their classmates and threatened to circumcise him, but police have refused to act on a report of the incident, according to the alleged victim.R Rajiv Singham, a 20-year-old student at Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) in Behrang, Perak, said Special Branch officers interviewed him and his mother and one of them advised the latter to forgive the five, saying he did not want the issue to turn racial.Rajiv’s mother, R Sharimala, said she had since found out that the father of one of the assailants is a police officer in Bukit Aman.The mother and son, who live in Pantai Dalam, spoke about the issue today in an interview with FMT.

Race May Be Omitted From Forms In Future

PETALING JAYA -- The 1Malaysia Foundation today called on private and government agencies to drop the word 'bangsa' (race) from forms to strengthen unity and work towards realising the 1Malaysia concept.
Its chairman, Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar said the word showed Malaysian society was obsessed with race so much so it is considered an obstacle in the application process.However, he said it could be retained to obtain complete information in forms relating to population statistics and racial ratios in the public service such as police and army.

‘We can’t act against ‘racist’ HM’

JAWI: The district education office here can only probe into accusations of racism against a headmaster if and unless there was a federal directive.District education officer Mohd Ghazali Abu Bakar said his department could not simply investigate the allegations on its own without such directive. It’s an administrative procedure,” he told FMT.Ghazali was responding to police reports lodged against SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman headmaster Ng Tong Koang, 56, for allegedly using the word ‘pariah’ during assembly.

In MIC, Palanivel moves out of Samy Vellu’s shadow

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — In the time honoured tradition of pork barrel politics, MIC leaders and businessmen who previously worshipped former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy for over 30 years have turned their attention to his successor Datuk G. Palanivel.At Palanivel’s 62nd birthday party celebrations yesterday, they extolled his virtues and showered him with praise, gifts, bouquets and flower garlands.The birthday party was held in the Netaji Hall at the MIC headquarters and for several hours individuals lined up to garland the new man leading the MIC.

Indians want development and jobs

TEMERLOH: Seven-year-old P Vasan Kumar is a carefree boy too young to understand the intricacies of life.Like children of his age, he spends time cycling with friends after school and, when he gets hungry, he goes to his home in Kampung Guntong in front of the railway track in the Kerdau state constituency to have his meal.The Standard One pupil of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Ladang Bee Yong is a happy kid, unaware of the pains his parents, school gardener father S Poobalan, 32, and housewife C Yasotha, 31, endure to raise the family of four children with a meagre monthly income of RM600.

No end to KL’s traffic jams

PETALING JAYA: MRT (Mass Rail Transit) or no MRT, traffic jams in the Klang Valley are going to get a lot worse.Poor planning, lack of buses and a surge in car ownership have contributed to the already maddening congestion."Today, you may spend one hour travelling to get to work. Ten years from now, you may spend two hours just to get to work," said Association for the Improvement of Mass Transit chairman, Muhammad Zulkarnain Hamzah.

Bebaskah Panel Pindaan Interlok?

PETALING JAYA: Dalam sidang media selepas mempengerusikan Mesyuarat Panel Bebas Mengkaji Pindaan Novel Interlok Edisi Murid di Putrajaya pada 16 Februari lalu, Pengarah Institut Kajian Etnik, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Profesor Datuk Shamsul Amri Baharuddin berkata, panel itu akan bertemu semula dalam masa dua atau tiga minggu.Tidak mustahil mesyuarat susulan diadakan tanpa pengetahuan pihak media dan orang ramai bagi memastikan panel bebas boleh melaksanakan tugas yang diamanahkan tanpa sebarang gangguan.

Apa yang dipinda dalam Interlok?

PETALING JAYA: Panel Bebas Mengkaji Pindaan Novel Interlok sudah memulakan tugas yang diamanahkan dengan mengadakan mesyuarat pertama pada 16 Februari lalu.Bagaimanapun, orang ramai masih tertanya-tanya kenapa kesemua anggota panel itu memilih untuk tidak mengeluarkan sebarang kenyataan kepada media mengenai perkara-perkara yang dibincangkan dalam mesyuarat.

Presiden Kumpulan Sasterawan Kavyan (Kavyan), Uthaya Sankar SB yang juga salah seorang anggota panel bebas itu berkata, proses pindaan sedang dilakukan mengikut terma rujukan yang ditetapkan Kementerian Pelajaran.“Saya tidak boleh mengulas lanjut kerana panel belum membuat sebarang keputusan,” katanya apabila dihubungi pagi tadi.Uthaya dan Kavyan sebenarnya mempunyai banyak maklumat mengenai novel Interlok edisi 1996, 2003, 2005 dan 2010 berikutan kajian mendalam yang dilakukan sejak kontroversi Interlok edisi murid tercetus pada 15 Disember 2010.

Reports lodged against racist HM

NIBONG TEBAL: The controversy over national laureate Abdullah Hussain’s Interlok novel is not over yet. A school headmaster here has sparked a fresh public row over the demeaning word “pariah”.SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman headmaster Ng Tong Koang, 56, has allegedly used the word to tick off parents of the schoolchildren for making a prohibited “U-Turn” at a nearby traffic light.Ng has allegedly used the word during a morning school general assembly yesterday.Two reports have been lodged against Ng over the past two days at the Nibong Tebal police station.One was lodged by state MIC Youth chief J Dhinagaran yesterday morning and the other by Hindraf Makkal Sakti’s Nibong Tebal deputy chief P Murugan.

Communal storm around Taoist-Hindu temple

Attracting both Hindus and Taoists, the Sri Mathurai Veeran Raja Karaimariamman Tuah Peh Kong temple in the Malay-majority Kampung Simpang Kerayong, Jasin, would have well been a 1Malaysia success story. Founded about 40 years ago, the temple sits on private land on the border of the Merlimau and Rim constituencies.A plan to put up a proper building to accommodate the large number of devotees who come to observe religious festivals has, however, been put on hold.

This is due to objections from the local Umno division and the village security and safety committee (JKKK), that claim to represent almost all of the Malay community."We first met with the penghulu (village head) who said it is not his role and that we should meet with the YB (assemblyperson),” said temple official and priest K Ganesan .

Folly to ignore the cry for justice

When Malay-rights group Perkasa keeps making racist remarks, does it translate to all Malays' being racist? If not, then what made the Barisan Nasional (BN) government think that all Indians out on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday were "criminals", all because Hindraf decided to hold a rally?The police in their bid to halt the rally to protest Umno's racial discrimination, turned up at Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar's residence, handcuffing and taking him in for questioning.

On what grounds did the police handcuff Uthayakumar? Is he a criminal just because he organised a rally without police permit? If he is, then equally guilty are the people who demonstrated when the non-Malays complain about the loud call for prayer made by mosques.Just as guilty are those Malays who cold-bloodedly severed a cow's head, spit and stomp on it. And the biggest cuplrit would then be Perkasa whose founder Ibrahim Ali keeps threatening non-Malays to shut up and not question Malay rights.

Samy moves to keep stranglehold on MIED

PETALING JAYA: In what is seen as an attempt by former MIC president S Samy Vellu to maintain a stranglehold on the cash-rich educational arm of the party, he has made a proposal to increase the membership of the board of directors to 42.By wanting to place an additional 12 of his men in the 30-member board of Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED), Samy Vellu is setting up a showdown with current MIC chief G Palanivel.Samy Vellu, the MIED chairman for the past 27 years, is expected to table the proposal for discussion at MIED’s AGM on March 7.