Plan to rescue estate ‘slaves’

HULU SELANGOR: Appalled by the deplorable living conditions of families in an estate here, a MIC leader is looking into the possibility of relocating them.Conceding that it will be a mammoth endeavour, S Vell Paari however is determined to forge ahead with his plan.He also stressed that the relocation is not politically motivated, but driven by humanitarian reasons and therefore welcomed assistance from all quarters, including Pakatan Rakyat leaders and NGOs.The MIC publicity and communication chief also pledged to start a fund, which will be managed by an independent committee, to finance the project.

“These people are in dire need of help. This is not about votes. So I hope all concerned groups will set aside their political differences and help me turn this plan into a reality. Let's work together.“I've repeatedly stressed that people cannot be coerced, threatened or punished when it comes to exercising their democratic right to vote for the party of their choice,” he told FMT.Vell Paari is also certain that his critics will pour scorn on his plan but the MIC central working committee member said he will not be deterred.“I'm sure some will dismiss this as a gimmick. But I don't care about that. If the criticism is constructive, I'll take note of it. I'm more interested in helping these people,” he said.

Hindu Sangam withdraws support for NIAT?

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Hindu Sangam, allegedly under pressure from the MIC and the PM’s Office, has withdrawn its support for National Interlok Action Team (NIAT) which is spearheading the Interlok issue.The organisation has been conspiciously silent on the matter after the movement’s president Mohan Shan ordered his representatives to stay away from NIAT, said sources.NIAT was born when the first Interlok meeting was held at the Hindu Sangam headquarters where representatives of more than 140 Indian NGOs assembled and formed the movement.The Hindu Sangam appointed Dr Balatharmalingam, its deputy president and Arun Doraisamy, former youth chief as it is representatives in NIAT.

PSD shatters brilliant student’s dreams

KUALA LUMPUR: She always wanted to be a doctor. P Heamanthaa burned the midnight oil for her SPM exams and her diligence and hard work paid off.The schoolgirl from SMK Tuanku Jaafar in Seremban scored 10A+ and 1A in SPM. She thought her dream of becoming a doctor was about to be realised. She confidently applied to PSD for a scholarship in medicine.But with one letter PSD shattered her dreams. She received the letter informing her that she only qualified for the PSD scholarship in Diploma in English at University Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjong Malim.A stunned Heamanthaa said: "I was saddened and did not sleep the whole night”.

Abolish PSD's racial quotas, urge NGOs

A group of Indian NGOs urged the government to abolish racial quotas for Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships and award all tops scorers with scholarships to pursue courses of their choice overseas.
The Malaysian Indian Students Association (Misa) regretted the “unfair treatment” of students with “excellent academic and extra-curricular achievements”.“Year after year, we are faced with the same problem. There seems to be no resolution to this,” said Misa president Kishur Goonasaran. “Students strive hard to achieve good results but instead of rewarding them for all the hard work, they are given less than satisfactory choices or none at all,” he said.

The government had given its commitment that all students who scored 8A+ will be awarded scholarships, but Misa insisted that since the number is just a little over 600 annually, the state should not limit the award to just 300. “Ethnic-based vetting is sickening. They (the government) are talking about '1Malaysia' that we are all the same and equal, why is there then such standards?” asked Kishur.Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Aziz said that there are a total of 1,500 overseas scholarships but only 300 of the total were given based entirely on merit to students scoring straight 9A+.

PM Expected to Watch Man U-Barcelona Match with Football Fans

PUTRAJAYA, 24 MAY, 2011: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, a Manchester United fan, and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor are expected to watch the European Champions League final between Man U and Barcelona on a giant screen with hundreds of football fans at Persiaran Perdana, here, early Sunday morning.Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said today that preparations were being made to enable the prime minister and his wife to watch the much-anticipated match between the newly-crowned English and Spanish champions.He was speaking to reporters after looking at the preparations being made for the Youth Day celebrations to be held here from May 27 to 29.

Despite his hectic schedule, the prime minister has been following the English Premier League with Man U topping the table at the end of this season.Last December, Najib joined hundreds of city folk watching the AFF Suzuki Cup final between Malaysia and Vietnam on a giant screen in Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.Man U which had just won the EPL trophy for the 19th time looks forward to winning the European championship for the fourth time.

 
 
Source : Bernama

Nazri says never promised scholarships abroad to all top scorers

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz has reminded Malaysians that Putrajaya never promised scholarships abroad to all SPM top scorers as the dispute grew over the distribution of the grants.Instead, he said, the government had only committed itself to ensuring that all top scorers in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) public examination would be guaranteed places in both local and foreign institutions.“We never said that all 9A+ students would be sent overseas. But we did promise that they would get places, whether in local or foreign universities,” the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.Nazri (picture), who is in charge of the Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships, agreed that the government had allocated 1,500 overseas scholarships to top students but stressed that of the total, only 300 were given based entirely on merit to students scoring straight 9A+.

Growing split in MIC despite Palanivel’s unity efforts

ANALYSIS, May 23 — Datuk G. Palanivel’s attempts to unite the MIC by bringing back sacked members have resulted in accusations that the new president is trying to head off a challenge to his six-month leadership of the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party. Critics say pardoning leaders sacked just before his predecessor Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu stepped down was a move to strengthen Palanivel’s own position rather than the party as a whole.

Earlier this year, Palanivel (picture) told The Malaysian Insider that all MIC members who were sacked or resigned would be allowed back and handed their old posts.Last month, the central working committee (CWC) readmitted three leaders who headed the Anti-Samy Movement (GAS).V. Mugilan reclaimed his post as deputy Youth chief while Kumar Aamaan and K.P. Samy are back in the CWC.In the aftermath of the CWC decision, MIC Youth secretary C. Sivarraajh filed a complaint to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) claiming the decision was invalid as it breached clauses in the party’s constitution, including one that says members sacked by the party can only be readmitted two years later.

Democratising the MIC

KUALA LUMPUR (May 22, 2011): The present president of the MIC wants to do something that could lead the party into unfamiliar territory – where powers once entrenched in the leadership are reduced and handed over to the grassroots.Datuk G. Palanivel (pix) has come as far as establishing a working group to review the party constitution to pave the way for a democratisation of the party.Palanivel, who took over the leadership of Malaysia's largest Indian-based party from Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu last December, said he is taking this bold step to return the powers of the party to its 600,000-odd members.

Address Problems In Distribution Of Scholarships Immediately

KUALA LUMPUR - MIC Youth Chief T. Mohan said that come May every year, it had become routine for numerous complaints over the manner of distribution of Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) scholarships.In his statement to Malaysian Mirror on Friday, he said that MIC Youth had also received numerous telephone calls from irate parents and students who had not been offered the scholarships and described it as 'sickening' that some recipients who did not have the academic requirements were offered scholarships instead.

Terima kaSIH, Alleycats, for forging unity

KUALA LUMPUR: Alleycats vocalist, David Arumugam, has a confession. His trademark shout of “ terima kaSIH” wasn't born not of gratitude but because of pure fright.It was 1981 and Alleycats was staging its first performance at Stadium Negara. The six-man band had just released its fourth album, “Alleycats 4” but were unaware, that unlike the first three albums, this one had become an overnight chart-topper.“We were living in Hong Kong at that time and honestly we didn't know,” David, 61, explained. “Our job was just to deliver the album. Whenever I called home my father would remark that our songs were very popular and that was it.”

His first clue of their popularity was the choice of concert venue. David had watched international acts perform in Stadium Negara and was startled that Alleycats were asked to play there.The magnitude of the concert began dawning on him when Alleycats was ushered into a press conference. It was their first taste of stardom and it “scared the hell out of us”.David's panic mounted and peaked when he stepped onto the stage to be greeted by a roar from the packed stadium. The petrified singer stepped up to the microphone and blurted the two words that were destined to become an Alleycats' signature.

‘Policeman shoved gun into my mouth’

PETALING JAYA: A youth from Bahau, Negri Sembilan, said eight men claiming to be police officers assaulted him when he was staying at his friend’s house.S Devan, 20, lodged a report at the Ayer Hitam police station on Saturday. In the report, Devan claimed that one of the “officers” had shoved a gun into his mouth.Devan, who works as a lorry driver’s assistant, said it all started when he stayed over at the house of his friend, known as Thiagu, in Taman Satelite, on April 13.

“About 2pm, I heard someone knocking loudly on the front and the back door of the house. When I opened the door, eight men entered and kicked me,” said Devan, who claimed the men did not show their authority card.Claiming to be police officers from Johor, the men who were in plainclothes then handcuffed him and continued to assault Devan while asking him of his friend's whereabouts.“I told them that Thiagu had gone to work. They then threatened to detain me under the Emergency Ordinance and lock me away in Simpang Renggam for two years.“That was when one of the 'officers', an Indian man, shoved his gun into my mouth,” said Devan.

New school an empty election promise

Petaling Jaya: The Indian community in Merlimau, Malacca want to know if the intention to build a new Tamil school for them was just another election promise.The deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin even went to the extend of officiating the ground breaking ceremony on Feb 14 just before the Merlimau by-election.G Rajendran, Malacca PKR vice president said after the by-election, which the BN won, there is no sign of any brick or mortar.Rajendran said that during the by-election, Muhyiddin and local MIC leaders promised the Indian community that the government will build a new building on a five acre land to replace the old school which has been squatting on someone else’s land for more than 20 years.

Tamils must start using their ‘Paggathu Arivu’

FMT LETTER: From Muhammad Abdullah, via e-mail


The real problem is with the Tamil people is that they fail to to live according to their ancient Tamilian cultural heritage and forgot what was rescribed to them by the forefathers upon the opening of the the fourth Sangam @ ‘New World’ @ ‘Nusantara’.


Tamil is the oldest, ancient, scientific and mother of all languages.It is embedded within the DNA of each Tamilian from the 1st Sangam and never can it die or will it die. The universal language for Tamilians for the 4th Sangam is Bahasa Melayu and it can be verified that most of the words in Bahasa Melayu are of Tamil origin.Apart from that, the universal language of today is English and most of the current global knowledge and breakthroughs are available in English.

Malaysian with links to Karunanidhi probed in land scam

NEW DELHI: A Malaysian, believed to be an influential businessman back home and in the Indian business fraternity, has been questioned by Indian investigators for his alleged link to a mega-million-ringgit land scam in Chennai, which also involved top south Indian politicians.Yesterday, India’s leading probe agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), queried the Malaysian, believed to be closely linked to immediate past Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and his daughter, K Kanimozhi, reported the Indian media.

Karunanidhi also heads the Dravida Munnetra Khazhagam’s (DMK), one of two leading political parties in Tamil Nadu.According to the media, the Malaysian played a leading role in the deal of the 53,000 sq ft plot located on the Ann Malai Road in Chennai, which was taken on lease by a big industrial house for nearly 30 years.“The Malaysian reportedly managed to obtain the plot from the owners and sold it to a private company just before the (2009) general election,” said the newspaper.

Un-edited’ Interlok surfaces in exam

KUALA LUMPUR: A parent from Gombak here complained that questions from the controversial novel Interlok were posed during the mid-term examination held last Monday. According to Human Rights Party (HRP) leader S Jayathas, who received the complaint, the questions were featured in the Malay Language Paper 2 for Form Five students. The paper was set by the district education department.This happened despite the assurance from Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that the novel would not be used until amendments were carried out.

‘Win-win formula’ for MIED legal row

KUALA LUMPUR: Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) chairman S Samy Vellu, along with nine members of MIED's board of trustees are working out a "win-win formula" to settle the RM100 million suit initiated by former MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran on behalf of MIED.FMT learnt that several trustees and their lawyers initiated the move by looking into the possiblity of conceeding to several terms sought by Vigneswaran in the suit, including full disclosure of MIED's accounts over the construction of the AIMST Medical Colleage in Kedah.

‘Problems facing Indians can’t be solved overnight’

PETALING JAYA: The problems of the Indian community are so deep-rooted that they cannot be fixed overnight, Klang MP Charles Santiago said today.For example, he said that the Indian share of equity had remained stagnant although the Indians have been in the country for almost 150 years."In 2000, the Indian share of equity was 1.6% and in 2010 it was still 1.6%," he said.He was commenting on a FMT article which said that PKR was taking initiatives to win back dwindling Indian support to the opposition.

Najib and Tamil school make history

KLANG: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's proposed visit to the Simpang Lima Tamil School in Klang on May 29 would be a historic one as he would the first PM to visit a Tamil school.The visit would also demonstrate Najib's seriousness in tackling the woes of the predominantly Tamil-speaking Malaysian Indian community.Political observers say it is certain to boost Najib's image among the nearly two million Indians, a large number of whom deserted the BN at the 2008 general election.

They were partly blamed for the crushing defeat suffered by the BN, which lost four states - Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor, and denied BN its two-thirds majority in Parliament Perak is back in the hands of the ruling coalition after three opposition state assemblymen declared that they were turning Independents in favour of the BN.Although Najib's visit had been planned some time ago, political pundits say it underlines importance of winning back the Indian votes, especially in recapturing Selangor.

White Paper coming on Kg Buah Pala

A White Paper on the demolition of the 200- year-old Kampung Buah Pala is expected to be tabled at the next sitting of the Penang legislative assembly in August, said Deputy Chief Minister I P Ramasamy.However, questions abound on the fate of the nine families and former residents who are yet to be compensated by the developer.

Ramasamy said he “feels a lot of sympathy” for the nine who had rejected the double-storey houses offered by the developer, in return for vacating their homes in the village.But he also said his office had given the families four months to come around and accept the deal, the best the developer could offer."I waited and waited but finally I could not wait any more," he said, when winding-up on points raised on the Yang DiPetua Negeri's speech yesterday."I told them to sign the papers first and if they wanted to protest against me or the state government after that, they could go ahead," he said.

Interlok: ‘Why are Umno and Ministers silent?’

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional politicians are keeping the controversial Interlok novel issue at an arms' length, according to National Interlok Action Team (NIAT)."We know that a lot of (people) within Umno and many ministers aren't happy (with Interlok).""(But) BN hasn't come out with anything. Why are MCA leaders keeping quiet? Why are MIC leaders keeping quiet?" asked Niat chairman Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim Al-Haj.Expressing dismay to newsmen today, he said neither he nor NIAT were pro-opposition as insinuated by BN leaders.

He said the group was willing to speak to parties from both sides of the political divide on the matter."For goodness sake, if I am a supporter of Opposition, why am I supporting 1Malaysia?" he asked.
Thasleem is particularly disappointed with the BN Back-Bencher's Club (BNBBC) in parliament, which appeared to postpone meetings to unusable dates.


'Islamic values sidestepped'

A letter by BNBBC secretary Ismail Haji Abdul Muttalib to Thalseem revealed that an initial March 30 meeting this year had been postponed to April 6, which was the Sarawak election nomination date.In his letter to Thasleem, Ismail wrote that the meeting had to be postponed to an unmentioned future date, as many BN MPs had left for East Malaysia at the time.Thasleem, in his revert to Ismail, expressed his unhappiness with the ambiguity of the later's letter."You yourself said that many Peninsular MPs would be present (at the meeting). As a Muslim, I feel sad that Islamic values have been sidestepped to gain political advantage," Thasleem wrote.


NIAT later revealed that a request to meet with Umno Youth over the issue had been turned down as it was "Interlok-related".Taking a swipe at Umno Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin, Thasleem said : "He's an Oxford graduate... but has no guts to raise this issue."Thasleem also questioned why only the Deputy Prime Minister-cum Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had an opinion on the matter.


Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/05/07/interlok-why-are-umno-and-ministers-silent/

Penang Library to take 'Interlok' off textbook rack

Debate on the controversial Malay literature textbook for Form Five students, Interlok, continued to reveberate for the third consecutive day within the Penang legislative assembly today.And today too, the state government showed its disdain for the book by prohibiting it from being displayed in the textbook section of the state library.Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said the decision was taken at the state executive council meeting yesterday, and the instruction would be conveyed to the library soon.

Ramasamy (above) said the state was not banning the book but due to its controversial nature, it would not be allowed on the rack for textbooks, which are located in a prominent area of the library.He said the book insults all ethnic communities yet stereotypes found in the book were being defended by Umno, particularly by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Umno's deputy chief."The book is disheartening as our children, who may not understand the country's history, would obtain knowledge that is damaging, especially that concerning the different races," he added.

RON97 price hits record high at RM2.90 per litre

The price of RON97 petrol will soar to a record high of RM2.90 per litre by midnight - up 20 sen since the last increase a month ago.This is the seventh time the price of RON97 grade petrol had been increased in less than a year and the third time since Jan 31 after the government let the market determine the price.
RON97 was once the most common type of petrol used until the introduction of the cheaper RON95 in September 2009. At the time, RON97 cost RM1.80 per litre.

This grade of petrol - now mostly used by high performance vehicles and is the only petrol which can be bought by drivers of foreign registered vehicles - is priced through a managed float.Petroleum Dealers Association of Malaysia deputy president Zulkifli Mokti said the increase was due to the rise in the price of crude oil in the global market."But the price of RON95 and diesel remain unchanged," he said when contacted by Bernama tonight. The lower RON95 grade petrol remains at RM1.90 per litre.

Malaysia ranks 143 in global press freedom index

KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Malaysia was ranked 143 out of 196 countries surveyed worldwide in the latest media freedom study, which shows it is not free.Together with Angola and Madagascar, it earned a score of 64 out of 100, which is considered not free.In the Freedom of the Press Index, the lower the evaluation score the freer the country.The countries are evaluated based on legal, political and economic environments.In Southeast Asia, Malaysia ranks below East Timor (18), the Philippines (21), Indonesia (23), Thailand (29) and Cambodia (30) but above Singapore (32), Brunei (34) and Vietnam (36).

Mahatma Mandela

Apakah perancangan anda pada Isnin, 18 Julai 2011? Walaupun pada tarikh itu saya mungkin berada di luar negara, saya akan cuba membawa bersama-sama saya DVD filem Invictus (2009) untuk ditonton menggunakan komputer riba.Saya sudah pun memiliki DVD Invictus lebih awal. Namun, saya sengaja memilih untuk menontonnya buat pertama kali pada 18 Julai 2010 sempena “Hari Antarabangsa Nelson Mandela”.

Bermula tahun lalu (2010), tarikh 18 Julai diisytiharkan oleh Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (PBB) sebagai “Hari Antarabangsa Nelson Mandela” sempena sambutan hari jadi ke-92 pemimpin kulit hitam itu.
Tarikh berkenaan diumumkan PBB pada November 2009 dan sejak itu, pelbagai kempen dibuat untuk menggalakkan penyertaan masyarakat dunia sebagai menghargai sumbangan dan perjuangan negarawan berkenaan yang disanjung tinggi atas keberaniannya menentang aparteid.

The tactical irrelevance of Osama's death

ANALYSIS Americans continued to celebrate the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden well into May 2 outside the White House, near the World Trade Center site in New York and elsewhere.

The operation that led to Osama's death at a compound deep in Pakistan is among the most significant operational successes for United States intelligence in the past decade.

While it is surely an emotional victory for the US and one that could have consequences both for its role in Afghanistan and for relations with Pakistan, Osama's elimination will have very little effect on al-Qaeda as a whole and the wider jihadist movement.Due to Osama's status as the most-wanted individual in the world, any communications he carried out with other known al-Qaeda operatives risked interception, and thus risked revealing his location. This forced him to be extremely careful with communications for operational security and essentially required him to give up an active role in command-and-control in order to remain alive and at large.