Aarvidi’s Weblog

Hisham apologises for keris act

He did that for 3 years, and now apologies for ‘if it had affected the non-Malays’. Lucky, at MIC and MCA general assemblies no chopping cleavers or axes were raised. If they had done so, they would have taken centre state by an apology now. If not for March 18, would he ever say sorry. The deed has been done, the apology accepted, but the stigma of Kerisamuddin cannot be erased out completely. It’s is a dirty world and maintains a record of what you do.

Aapologises for keris act

Apr 25, 08 7:33pm

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein today apologised for raising the keris “if it had affected the non-Malays”.
He said that he took full responsibility for his actions but gave no guarantees that he would not repeat the keris-waving again during this year’s Umno annual general assembly.
“I am sorry of it had affected the non-Malays,” he told reporters today after attending a BN Youth meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

“I would also like to apologise to the Malays over my failure to uphold the Malay symbol (keris),” he added
Hishammuddin’s keris-raising act has been seen by many as one of the factors in the non-Malays voting away from Barisan Nasional in the March 8 general election.
Hishammuddin, also the education minister, had raised the keris during the Unmo Youth assemblies for the past three years, claiming that it symbolised the Malay supremacy and Umno’s role in defending that.
However many non-Malays felt that the act was highly racial in nature.

Hisham apologises for keris act

Govt Plans Comprehensive Policy On Early Education :: Bernama.com

I read about the Permata Negara Programme, for children under 5 years old. A paper on this would be submitted to the Cabinet soon. According to Najib this programme has been introduced in in 13 centres with an enrolment of 331 children. This programme is to extended. Even teachers will be highly qualified diplomas and degrees. He also said all quarters involved in nursing and early education of children below five years’ old would adopt the policy. Meaning, Permata Negera Programme may possibly replace existing kindergartens and nurseries. This programme will be multiracial.

The “Pusat Anak Permata Negara” pilot project has also been launched in Mempaga, Subang Jaya and Putrajaya and would be launched next month in Chini. The programme, implemented under the Ninth Malaysia Plan with an allocation of RM20 million, will be expanded nationwide soon. Abdullah said childhood educational programmes such as the “Pusat Anak Permata Negara” would not be successful without the support of parents.

Apparently this Permata Negara Programme has its roots in 2057 Malay Agenda seminar where Najib talks about infusing new blood into UMNO, but now he says the programme is multiracial. All educators please take note.

“Maybe the learning techniques are different…the focus is more on learning is fun, but most importantly the process to develop a human capital must start from the very beginning,” he said. He said the nation had started a pioneer early childhood education project under the “Pusat Anak Permata Negara” programme which would be expanded so that “the first step we take today will decide the Malays’ destiny in 2057.” Najib also advised the Malays who have the financial means to invest in their children’s early childhood education before they entered the mainstream education provided by the government. The Pusat Anak Permata Negara programme is pioneered by a group of women professionals led by Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, who is also the patron of “Yayasan Harapan Kanak-Kanak Malaysia”. The programme stresses on fun learning for children and their achievements are measured in terms of their personality, skills in communicating in Bahasa Malaysia and English, ability to look after hemselves and their physical health.

The pilot project was carried out in five centres including in Chini, Putrajaya, Subang Jaya, Mempaga and Kepala Batas. Najib, who is also Umno deputy president, said the party was in the process of infusing young blood to ensure it remained relevant to the younger set. “It’s crucial to inject young blood into Umno because as a political party that has been in power for so long, we must renew Umno’s image as a party that is always dynamic, relevant and is prepared to undergo a re-engineering process from time to time,” he said. He said Umno had undergone various stages of infusing young talents such as the setting up of Puteri and Putera wings which focused attention on hosting programmes for the younger set. Setting up of the oversea Umno clubs have also produced younger leaders who could be groomed into future leaders to provide continuity for Umno’s struggles, he added. The 2057 Malay seminar was hosted in line with the challenges of the 2057 Mission underlined by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the Malay supremacy in the next 50 years.

Govt Plans Comprehensive Policy On Early Education

PUTRAJAYA, April 25 (Bernama) — The government plans to draw up a comprehensive policy on nursing and early education for children below five years’ old.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that a working paper on the matter would be submitted to the Cabinet soon.
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia would draft the curriculum for the policy, he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Permata Negara Programme coordinating council at his office here Friday.
He said the children’s nursing and early education policy would resemble the ongoing Permata Negara Programme.
“This is because after we implemented the pioneer project nationwide, we found Permata gave a very encouraging effect besides receiving a warm response from the community and parents,” he said.
Friday’s meeting discussed the plan to expand the Permata Negara Programme. It was attended by representatives from government agencies involved in children’s nursing and early education.
So far, 13 Permata Negara centres have been opened for 331 children nationwide.
The programme gives emphasis to developing the children’s confidence, creativity and intelligence as well as encouraging them to be of noble conduct with the aim of helping to build human capital with first class mentality.
“Based on the fact that children’s early education is the core towards our efforts in moulding quality human capital and efforts to prevent social ills from happening, the focus on children’s education is a national strategy capable of bringing about a huge impact not only in the short term but in a long run as well,” Najib said.
He said the Permata Negara Programme would be expanded after the government gave its approval.
The Education; Women, Family and Community Development; Rural and Regional Development; and Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage ministries have agreed for the programme to be standardised.
“In other words, they will use the Permata curriculum at their nurseries and at the same time raise the qualification of their teachers to diplomas and first degrees.
“Besides, they will also use the Permata curriculum and the buildings used will also follow the Permata Negara Programme’s guidelines,” Najib said.
The deputy prime minister said that with strong support from all the ministries, the programme could be expanded further.
“The policy will also take into account the need for funds, training, curriculum and so on. I need to stress here that the programme is multiracial and we will focus on all areas,” he said.
He said that after the policy had been drafted, all quarters involved in nursing and early education of children below five years’ old would adopt the policy.

Govt Plans Comprehensive Policy On Early Education :: Bernama.com

MIC Youth: Explain why Hindraf 5 not freed

In a nutshell the MIC Youth outlines the decisions made at the two-day MIC brainstorming session held in Penang. For a youth movement, I thought they will have dynamic ideas, earth-shattering pronouncements that would turn around the working of the party to meet new strategies after the dismal failure in the elections. I am looking at the wrong place. The youth are just repeating what Samy Vellu has been advocating and surely the idea of the session was to reinforce the might of Samy Vellu and continue running MIC as he chooses. The youth and puteri movements will faithfully ‘jalra’ (a percussion instrument tapped to make easy accompaniment) the music of their President.

• release the Hindraf 5
• religious conversion
• education, employment, contracts, business activities
• toll-free line
• E-Team

Why is the Youth so muddled in their thoughts. A Tamil saying ‘covering the body before or after lying on bed, would make no difference’, is what they are doing. Will Puteri follow suit?

Will releasing the 5 make the Indians love MIC. There are many calls for the release, and this is one part by the MIC, nothing extraordinary. If they had said we will fight tooth and nail to stop the misery of families affected by the conversions, forced or otherwise, this would be a new thought. Will MIC do this? Opportunities are a dream to the Indians as of now, nothing concrete has been done, could not the Youth go further and clarify how they propose overseeing these. Samy has beaten you to this, I mean the phone communication, nothing has come out so far although Samy spoke about RM 30,000 budget to implement this. He must be getting the approval from Telecoms, in a long winded way, as the public can get this done in a day. The MIC web page shows the last entry on March 3, has everything come to a stand still after that.

So the MIC youth can have many more brainstorming sessions and if there is not much substance there, forget about improving the image of MIC.

Are the Youth dullards, that they can’t pinpoint the weakness of MIC - the change of the President and his group of leaders. Only fresh blood can bring in changes.

MIC Youth: Explain why Hindraf 5 not freed

Apr 24, 08 5:49pm

MIC Youth has called on the government to review the Internal Security Act (ISA) detention of the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders.

In a statement today, MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran said the five should be freed if they are no longer considered a security threat.

“At that material time, the decision (to arrest) was warranted for if every demand is taken to the street then the democratic process will be in jeopardy and this will lead to chaos.

“But now when we go down (to the ground), the true sentiment is that they feel that these people were punished for asking for their rights.

“And because this was reflected in the general election result, they feel that the government is not adhering to their sentiments,” he added.

Vigneswaran said if the five are still considered a threat then it is incumbent on the home minister to be transparent and explain the reasons for their continued detention.

He also suggested that the five could be released with conditions if there is a need for this.

The five leaders were detained on Dec 13, shortly after Hindraf had organised a mammoth rally which drew some 30,000 people to the streets in Kuala Lumpur.

Those detained are P Uthayakumar, V Ganabatirau, R Kenghadharan, M Manoharan and T Vasantha Kumar.

Manoharan had also won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in the March 8 elections which he contested from behind bars under a DAP ticket.

Religious conversion

Meanwhile, MIC Youth also recorded its appreciation to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over his recent decision concerning the issue of religious conversion.

The premier had said that those seeking to convert to Islam must inform their family beforehand.

Apart from this, Vigneswaran appealed to the premier to also enforce a rule for prospective converts to obtain a “release certificate” from recognised religious bodies such as the Hindu Sangam.

“When a convert chooses to convert out of the religion, the decision should also be left to his right without any restrictions,” he added.

Vigneswaran’s statement comes following a two-day MIC brainstorming session held in Penang which ended today.

Elaborating on the session, the Youth chief said numerous issues were discussed in depth, including those raised during the recent general election.

In a nutshell, Vigneswaran said the dismal performance of MIC members in the polls is a result of their failure to resolve sensitive issues pertaining to the Indian community.

“The issues involve religious rights, educational issues, government contracts, business opportunities and employment in the civil service,” he added.

He also said the government appeared to be uncommitted in resolving issues affecting the community and this allowed certain groups to take advantage of the situation and influence the community to turn its back on MIC and the BN government.

“It seems that the efforts of the BN for the past 50 years are no longer something to be proud of,” he added.

Silent no more

Vigneswaran said this allowed movements like Hindraf and Makkal Sakthi to flourish and they received support from the opposition which exploited the sentiment for political mileage.

“In view of this, MIC Youth has decided not to keep silent any longer or blindly follow protocol when there is a need to voice out sensitive issues.

“This does not mean that we will ignore or not adhere to the existing directive as a BN component party,” he added.

Among the strategies devised during the session, Vigneswaran said it includes the immediate setting up of a toll-free line for the community, especially the youngsters, to channel their grouses in a more effective manner.

MIC Youth will also form a ‘task force’ to receive complaints directly without delegating it to other quarters.

Another move will be the immediate creation of an electronic media team called ‘E-Team’ to counter the allegations raised by the opposition in cyberspace.

Vigneswaran also said that MIC Youth will look into education issues as well in an aggressive manner.

MIC Youth: Explain why Hindraf 5 not freed

Any way, the cat is out of the back and the erstwhile ass grabber was none other than Jamaluddin Jarjis ex-Lecturer, ex-Minister of Science Technology and Innovation, and present MP Rompin.

This JJ is the one who discovered an easy way to differentiate casts based on skin colours among Indians. Incidentally he is an engineer by profession.

Wikipedia is most trustworthy than our local newspapers. Read it here.

Mob’s Crib has this.

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Mohamad Khir Toyo was the Mentri Besar for 2 terms. The people of Selangor must thank their lucky stars his reign has ended, otherwise, he would continue to rape and pillage the resources of the rich state and may eventually call it an extension to his home state in Indonesia. After reading Nadeswaran, and being made aware of ‘Learn Toyo’s Economics in 24 hours’, I am still perplexed why Mahathir chose a dentist to run the state. A dentist who insists money must be put in coffins - yes the Tamils drop coins inside the coffin, but this is in a ceremony to appease the dead. Continue reading and tell me, is not 24 hours a bit too long a period to understand Toyol’s economics. Wish you luck in learning something new.

It’s ‘our’ money, not yours
R. Nadeswaran

TWENTY-EIGHT days before Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo was unseated as Selangor mentri besar, he asserted that the Selangor Economic Development Corporation (PKNS) was a private company and that its money and assets do not belong to the people.

At a pow-wow over lunch with this writer and his colleagues, he charged: “You wrote that the fine paid by PKNS was people’s money. No, PKNS is a private company.” (For the record, PKNS was imposed fines totalling RM330,000 for illegal clearing of land around the Bukit Cahaya Agricultural Park and at all material times, Mohd Khir was its chairman.)

Then he made a remarkable statement: “The fine goes back to the state coffin! (I’m sure he meant “coffers” but those at the lunch looked stunned when he used the word a second time). The money comes back to us.” Not wanting to argue with someone who has little knowledge of where the fines imposed by a court of justice end up and not wanting to give him a free lesson in financial procedures, I reserved my comments.

Today, PKNS is in the news again. Here’s a summary of what it paid out to Balkis, the organisation of wives of state assemblymen and MPs in Selangor.

• RM218,719 for the opening ceremony of Komplex Wawasan Balkis;

• RM200,000 for the Balkis dinner;

• RM10,000 for a table at the same dinner; and

• RM161,660 for programmes organised by Balkis.

If you thought that people’s money – not a private company’s money as Mohamad Khir sees it – was being handed out like candy, PKNS also sold 43,560 sq ft of land in Section 7 in Shah Alam at RM5.74 per sq ft – a bargain whichever way you look at it.

But no money changed hands. A contra deal for amount payable – RM250,000 – was made. The amount was off-set as a loan from PKNS to the state government and this was duly endorsed at the meeting of the State Financial Committee on Oct 19, 2000. Has this loan been settled?

And the deal was between PKNS and the state government. How did Balkis come into the picture?

Balkis for all intent and purposes was an organisation that received funds and other forms of financial help from the state government. The mentri besar’s wife occupies the seat of the president and the members of the committee are elected among the wives.

Just like Mohamad Khir deemed PKNS a private entity, his wife Datin Seri Zaharah Kechik saw Balkis as a “sendirian berhad”. How else could she call for a meeting and dissolve the organisation and transfer funds running into millions?

Doesn’t the constitution say that the president should be the mentri besar’s wife? As of March 9, her hubby was no longer the mentri besar and therefore, she automatically relinquishes her post. But no, giving up power and influence does not come easy.

Leaving that issue aside, where else did our money, (oops! PKNS money as Mohamad Khir sees it) end up? Special number plates for its officers, for one. Should the people pay for their employees to drive around in cars with fancy number plates? It can be argued that this exercise involved a few thousand ringgit, but it’s the principle that matters.

On a larger scale, PKNS built what was termed as a public golf course, which has since been privatised. Since it was built with people’s money running into millions, why should the rakyat pay commercial rates at the Seri Selangor Golf Club? Were open tenders called for the privatisation deal or was it handed on a platter to some uncle or brother-in-law’s sister’s son?

What about the joint-venture deals and other questionable agreements which could have committed us? Shouldn’t we, the rakyat be entitled to know? Or should we remain silent with folded arms as those who raped and plundered the state coffers get away scot-free?

That is why there is a dire need for accountability and transparency in all matters involving public money. Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has done the right thing by ordering an audit of Balkis, but what about the state-owned companies and agencies, who are flaunting our money as if it is theirs?

The goings-on within Balkis are just the small fish that’s visible on the surface in shallow waters. Deep down, there are even bigger ones who have used our money without having to account for it and even stolen our money. Shouldn’t these thieves be brought to book? Shouldn’t we file civil suits to recover what rightfully belongs to us?

Abdul Khalid, on taking office, promised reports every quarter or 100 days. The clock is ticking, and by the end of next month, can we expect that report and see a few heads roll?

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