Pro-Lynas 'samsengs': Adnan, Najib slammed for disgracing Malaysia

Written by Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Whichever way one views the Lynas project, Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob and Prime Minister Najib Razak have to take the responsiblity for the disgraceful violence that broke out this morning between supporters and detractors of the rare earth plant - in full sight of a distinguished panel from the IAEA.

It is well established that both Adnan and Najib favor the RM700 million project even though it carries huge environmental risks from potential radioactive leaks due the rare earth mining processes and waste materials.

Adnan, in particluar, has been vocal and wants to hammer the project through so that it can be re-started within the next month or so. This despite a slew of warnings from environmentalists, and the bitter experience of a similar and failed project in Bukit Merah, Perak.

The buck stops with Najib

Najib, as PM, has taken a lower profile but he is just as passionate about the locating the plant in Pahang, which is his home state. Like Adnan, he appears oblivious to the threat of radioactive contamination and the health hazards it can pose to the people of Pahang.

Najib's critics point to his having received a doctorate from Monash University during a recent visit to Australia as an indication of his commitment to the Australian-mooted project.

Lynas is Australia's largest miner. Apart from this controversial plant, which Australia does not wish to host on its own vast continent, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also managed to persuade Najib to accept another 'project' that her country is keen to get rid off - providing asylum for 'difficult' refugees that have made their way to the Land Down Under.

Both controversial deals - one private and the other government to government - have attracted intense international attention. In both, Najib has allowed Malaysia to get the short end of the stick, and the country is being tagged as Australia's rubbish dump. The question is why?

Whatever his motive, Najib has let Malaysia down. As the country's CEO, the buck stops with him.

Today, he exacerbated Malaysia's weakening image by resorting to the sort of rowdy behaviour that has become associated with his ruling party, UMNO, and its various support groups including Perkasa and Pembela.

"It is certainly suspicious and Najib does owe the Malaysian people an explanation. The same goes for Adnan. He can deny that the pro-Lynas crowd was unruly or was instigated by him or UMNO, but who will believe them? This an UMNO project, an Adnan-Najib pet project in fact. How can they deny responsibility now," PKR leader Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.

Samseng

On Tuesday, some 100 rowdy demonstrators supporting the controversial rare earth plant forced a group of Beserah residents to leave the Hyatt Regency hotel, where the residents had met the expert members from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Beserah is the site where the plant is located and the residents there, along with many Pahang residents, are unhappy to have such a health time-bomb forced onto their state.

A scuffle ensued, punches were thrown and the police had to escort the residents away.

Earlier in the morning, the pro-Lynas group carrying banners proclaiming support for Adnan had also chased away anti-Lynas protestors who were wearing 'Save Malaysia, Stop Lynas' t-shirts.

The anti-Lynas group had gathered at the beach in front of the hotel, and outnumbered, they were forced to drop their plan to protest.

"This is typical UMNO samseng behaviour. It is very sad that with the whole world watching, they are disgracing our country, Pahang and also destroying the image of the Malays with their behaviour," PKR vice president Fuziah Salleh told Malaysia Chronicle.

- Malaysia Chronicle

The Scorpenes return with a vengeance

Written by Maclean Patrick, Malaysia Chronicle)

Like it or not, Prime Minister Najib Razak has always been linked to the purchase of the French built Scorpene submarines and also the Russian Sukhoi SU30MKM aircraft.

This is a fact one needs to bear in mind. No contract of such magnitude would even need to allude to him at the time of purchase. He was the Defence Minister and his signature of approval would be evident on all the relevant documents.

There is no point in questioning whether there were any procedural misconduct in the purchasing of the arms. It would all be in order and the paper-work in place. Asking for an explanation from this angle will only bury you in technical jargon that would spin you round moon.

What really needs to be questioned is the role of Syarikat Perimekar Sdn Bhd as the defense contractor in charge of maintenance works on Malaysian soil.

The link to Najib resonates to the tune of RM534.8 million in taxpayers money.

Perimekar is not a single entity but a private enterprise owned by three other bodies - Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, Boustead Holdings Bhd and KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd.

This is where things get rather odd.

Najib's own Datuk T trio - LTAT, Boustead and KS Ombak

Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) is a government statutory body charged with the investing contributions from military personel for the purpose of generating profits which will be channelled back into the military’s pension schemes and other benefits for its members. Its primary duty is to invest money. And LTAT is the largest investor in Boustead Holdings Bhd.

Boustead Holdings Bhd is one of Malaysia's largest diversified conglomerates.

KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd is owned by Razak Baginda, close aide and best friend to Najib Razak.

RM534.8 million is being spun amongst friends, all of whom can be traced back to Najib, the Defence Minister at the time of purchase.

LTAT and Boustead are investment firms and KS Ombak would have been the point man.

Yet, all three do not have experience in maintaining military equipment, only the Defence Ministry has this expertise.

Why then was the Defence Ministry sidelined in favor of a private contractor?

Zahid and Pandikar - would they lie to cover up for Najib?

When allegation of kickbacks surfaced, investigations were called for. The government of the day took great pains to sweep this from the public’s gaze.

July 2010 saw contradicting statements from then Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Amin Mulia.

In a written reply to William Leong, the PKR MP for Selayang, Pandikar stated that the matter need not be discussed in Parliament as the issue of the RM534.8 million was under investigation by the MACC.

And since the issue was still being investigated, William's motion to debate it was rejected.

But Pandikar directly contradicted Ahmad Zahid, who stated that the matter did not need to be brought to the MACC since the purchases were approved by the Finance ministry and all procedures were followed.

So was the matter ever brought to the MACC? Was it Pandikar who lied or Zahid who lied, did both men lie to prevent the issue from being recorded in Parliament?

The point is, the issue was never about the procedural aspects of the purchase but what became of the RM534.8 million and why was it awarded to three submarine novices?

Who is the BN government trying to protect?

Should not leaders who lie at the people's expense be punished?

The Perimekar contract should have been an instant red flag to all officials involved - if they were sincere leaders and workers concerned about transparency and how the people's money was being spent.

It was so obvious since the person running it, Razak Baginda, was also the one involved in securing the purchase of the military equipment.

How could the government overlook this fact and award a maintenance contract to the very person who negotiated the terms of purchase for the equipment he would service?

The agreement would have been lop-sided from the very beginning, and given Razak Baginda’s closeness to Najib, the amount agreed on may not have been the best value for tax-payers' money.

How Najib and his associate explain this away remains to be seen. But for sure, whichever way and whatever procedure they use, the contract will always point back to Najib.

The Scorpenes have indeed returned with a vengeance.

And it is set to take down not just one man, but a whole organisation dedicated to keeping the truth from the Malaysian public.

- Malaysia Chronicle

Power tariff hike akin to 'daylight robbery'...

PKR has termed the hike in electricity tariff announced yesterday as "daylight robbery" as it benefits capitalists at the expense of the people.

According to party chief of strategy Rafizi Ramli (left), the fine print in the government's announcement shows that the increase in cost borne by the independent power providers will in effect be passed to TNB, which will in turn pass it to end users in the form of tariff hikes.

Worse still, the new mechanism will mean that consumers will face electricity tariff hikes twice a year, since under the new "fuel cost pass through" mechanism, the cost of coal and gas used in power generation will be reviewed on a six-monthly basis.

"TNB achieves a status quo financially, the people bear the burden from the tariff hikes and the IPPs are not affected at all from this exercise because of the fuel cost pass through mechanism.

"This is really robbing the rakyat to feed the crony-capitalists,"Rafizi told reporters today. He added that the tariff hike is likely to bring inflation levels to 2006 rates - the second highest in the past decade after the major spike in 2008.

"BN is repeating the same prescription in 2006 to 2011 - a combination of price increases for basic goods that include sugar, petrol, diesel and now electricity.

"The combined effect of this will see the inflation for 2011 surpassing that of 2006 and inflict difficulties to millions of households whose meager disposable income will be reduced further," he said.

Economists have warned that while 75 percent of households will escape the direct effect of the tariff hike, they will be burdened by a rise in inflation as industries pass on increased costs.

Wage hike not catching up with inflation

Food prices, which already recorded among the highest rate in April's inflation figures, is expected to be among the most severely hit.

Rafizi added that while Malaysian inflation rates have been lower than regional figures, its rise in wages have been dismal in comparison.

"In Indonesia the inflation rate may be in the region of 5 percent, which is higher than our 3.2 percent but their wage rise is about 10 percent on average. Ours have been 2.6 percent for the past ten years, which means our incomes are growing smaller every year," he said.

He also noted that low to middle income earners may also see higher tariffs as many users in this income bracket live in shared houses, and share the same electricity meter which would record usage higher than 300kWh.

"Ten people can be sharing the same electricity meter, which could record more than RM77 worth of electricity usage, but this does not mean there has been overconsumption," he said.

Felda must explain RM6 billion loan

Meanwhile, PKR central leadership council member and former deputy minister for land and cooperative development Dr Tan Kee Kwong questioned why the Federal Land Agency has reportedly taken a RM6 billion loan from the Employee Provident Fund.

"I want Felda to explain why they have had to borrow RM6 billion from the EPF. Is it true? It has been a week since the news broke out and there has only been silence so we can only assume it is true," he said.

Tan, who was in charge of Felda from 1999 to 2004 added that with crude oil palm prices at a high of RM2800 to RM3000 per tonne, Felda should in fact be reaping RM2 billion in profits per year and should not be taking loans. He also questioned Felda's business sense, as taking a whopping loan of RM6 billion would mean that the agency should have cash reserves of at least the same amount.

However, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Ahmad Maslan last year said that Felda's reserves were at RM4.08 billion in 2004 but dropped to RM1.35 billion in 2009. But Ahmad clarified that the agency's reserve is stable with assets amounting to RM12.2 billion.

The revelation of the RM6 billion loan by Felda was made by PAS-linked NGO Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) who produced meeting minutes by one of the agency's 300 settlements, Felda Nitar 02, referring to the loan.

malaysiakini

HRP eyes six seats in Kedah

Of the six, five are state seats. The sole parliamentary seat targeted is Padang Serai, held by N Gobalakrishnan.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Rights Party (HRP) plans to contest in five state seats and one parliamentary constituency in Kedah which have 20% and above Indian voters.

The party’s secretary-general P Uthayakumar said the five state seats were Bukit Selambau (29.5%), Lunas (22.5%), Merbau (22%), Sidam (20%) and Gurun (18.4%).

The sole parliamentary seat was Padang Serai, currently held by former PKR strongman, N Gobalakrishnan.

“PAS is ruling by a majority of a mere two seats when compared to 14 seats held by Umno/BN and PKR having five seats, DAP one seat and one Independent in the 36-seat Kedah state assembly.

“So if HRP wins in these five state seats, they will be the real ‘kingmakers’ and can seriously push for change vis-a-vis the Kedah Indian poor at the highest political level,” said Uthayakumar.

He added that the Indian poor have to be politically empowered to effect changes at the highest political level as both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat have refused to address the pressing Indian problems.
Uthayakumar asked PKR, DAP and PAS to make way for HRP candidates in these six seats in Kedah for a one-to-one contest with BN.

“Unless and until the Indians are politically empowered like Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) in Kubang Pasu (95% Malay-Muslim voters) with at least the creation of 51% Indian majority constituencies under HRP’s ‘Project 15/38′, the Indian poor are doomed.

“They are destined to become the 19th century ‘negros’ as in the US,” he added.

HRP to contest 5 Kedah DUN & one Parliament. PAS ruling by 2 seat majority to UMNO. 350 attend Kulim dinner in recognition of 54 activists prosecuted.

The event began at 8.00 p.m. with a one minute silence for the late Sg Petani Hindraf leader Raj Manian who passed away on 26/5/11, about one year after his opposing the demolishment of the near 0.9 hectares 100 over year old Ladang Batu Pekaka Hindu cemetery on 29/1/2010 (Thaipusam day) by no other less than PAS “for all muslims” to build the 832 acres University Insaniah. We have been made to understand that Raj took this “ethnic cleansing” very badly that contributed to his untimely death. The Chinese cemetery within the compound of UPM was however preserved when the Serdang Agriculture College expended to become UPM. And to add insult to injury tens of acres are being made into recreation for students and hundreds of acres were retained as the University Insamiah reserve land. So why the haste in exterminating this Hindu cemetery?
Kedah HRP and Hindraf Chief R.Ramu spoke on how at the last general elections both the traditional Indian reserve DUN seats of Bukit Selambau and Lunas were refused to be given to Opposition Indian candidates but snatched up by the greedy and racist PKR just to field malay muslim “winnable” candidates. UMNO/BN at the very least stuck by giving these seats to Indian candidates.

Hindraf & HRP National adviser N.Ganesan spoke about how 12A+ top most science student Kugnethran a/l Parmusuan who could not have possibly scored any higher, was denied his first choice to pursue a medical degree (overseas) but instead was offered a mere Diploma in “cow grazing”.(animal husbandry) at UPM. How the racist UMNO reduces this potential Cardiologist into a “cowherd”.

Further to HRPs’ Project 15/38, P.Uthayakumar outlined and announced before the 350 attendees, HRPs’ plan to contest in 5 State Assembly ( DUN) seats in Kedah with 20% and above Indian voters namely:-

1) Bukit Selambau 29.5%
2) Lunas 22.5%
3) Merbau 22%
4) Sidam 20%
5) Gurun 18.4% (exception)

The sole Parliamentary seat in Kedah is Padang Serai (22.28%).
P.Uthayakumar reiterated that this is the only way forward in facing the 13^th General Elections which is expected in July 2011. He pointed out that in Kedah, PAS is ruling by a majority of a mere two seats when compared to 14 seats held by UMNO/BN and PKR having 5 seats, DAP 1 seat and one Independent in the 36 seats Kedah State Assembly. So when HRP wins in these five DUN seats, they would be the real “kingmakers” and could seriously push for change vis a vis the Kedah Indian poor at the highest political level.

This is like HRP’s decision to contest in seven (7) DUN seats of Buntong with 54% Indian voters, Hutang Melintang (33%), Jalong and Changat Jong each with 27%, Jelapang (21%), while Pasir Panjang and Sungkai each with 20% and three Parliamentary seats of Ipoh Barat 22.5% and Bagan Datoh 23.3% and Sungai Siput 22.6% that P.Uthayakumar had announced at a similar dinner in Ipoh on 14/5/11.

And similarly the Sri Andalas/ Kota Raja seats in Selangor, Port Dickson/ Teluk Kemang seats in Negeri Sembilan, Tanah Rata/Cameron Highlands seats in Pahang and Puteri Wangsa/ Tebrau seats in Johor as the first phase of HRPs’ Project 15/38 in seven (7) frontline states..

The Indian poor have to be politically empowered to effect changes at the highest political level as both BN and PR have refused to address the pressing Indian problems.

P.Uthayakumar asked PKR,DAP & PAS to make way for HRP candidates in these 5+1 seats in Kedah for a one to one contest with B.N. as part of HRPs’ strategy in ousting UMNO from it’s 54 year old hegemony of Putrajaya.

Unless and until the Indians are politically empowered like Dr Mahathir in Kubang Pasu (95% malay muslim voters) with at least the creation of a 51% Indian majority constituencies under HRPs’ Project 15/38, the Indian poor are doomed. They are destined to become the 19^th century “negros” as in the USA.

S.Jayathas
Information Chief
(012-6362287)

Polis Bodoh: Though true , Gani Patail maliciously prosecutes and jails Nur Shafa (20).

Just watch CSI and you will see the high level quality and standards of police investigations before even arresting, let alone throwing someone in jail.

But racist UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sian Polis Raja Di Malay-sia takes advantage of especially the Indian poor.

Having no money for bail, no legal fees for lawyers (with zero or a wayang kulit RM 5 million Legal Aid to 28 million Malaysians), no family support, thousands of the Indian poor are deemed guilty in the eyes the Malay-sian law and spend years in jails irrespective of whether they are guilty or not.

And then only to “graduate” as the real criminals having mixed with the real criminals.
And with this set of facts the Malay-sian government says that some 45% of the country’s crime are committed by the Indian poor when they form only 8% of the population (disproportionate by about 600%). Thus the UMNO creation or “social engineering” by default of the new “criminal class” Indians within the last 20 years.

Give these Indian youths equal business opportunities, licences, permits, projects and contracts and we will see at least a 95% drop in these Indian crimes.

(see The Star 30/5/2011 at page 20)

BANNER OF ETHNIC CLEANSING

By Johnson Doss,

This is the banner of hatred towards Indians which doesn't reflect the sincerity of 1Malaysia slogan. We are considered "OUT CASTE" in our own motherland . This banner is a prove of what we are all commenting about .. True enough what Mr. Utayakumar has been saying from the beginning about "ETHNIC CLEANSING" of the Indian community in Malaysia.

The Freedom of Religion does exist anymore in Malaysia as article 11 of the Federal Constitution have been ignored by the "Ketuanan Melayu". Artidle 11 of the Federal Constitution provides for religious freedom, which includes the right to establish and maintain places of worships and own and acquire property. minority religious groups reported that state authorities sometimes blocked construction using restrictive zoning and construction codes.

For this reason, I ask all Indians to be UNITED and stand firm against this form of "Barbarian Act "of the Malays Racist . We will not bow down again to this kind of threat. Let us fight for our freedom to worship .

HRP lodges report against PM Najib, DPM & Higher Education Minister on PSD Scholarships denied to Indian poor.

Fill in the blanks PSD scholarships. Year in and year out it is the same old set of UMNO racist facts.

Laporan Susulan:- TRAVERS/005189/10 (24/6/2010)

Police Report against- 31st May, 2011

Datuk Seri Najib Razak (Prime Minister of Malaysia)

Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin (Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister)

Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin (Higher Education Minister)

I, JAYATHAS A/L SIRKUNAVELU (IC.No: 670430-04-5341) Information Chief of the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) hereby lodge a police report against the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muyhiddin Yassin (Education Minister) and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin on the race based disbursements of JPA Scholarships, PTPTN study loans, Matriculation and University seats.

Article 8 of the Federal Constitution 8(1) provides that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law and Article 8(2) provides that there shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent of place of birth. Article 12 of the Federal Constitution – rights in respect of education. Article 12(1) read, "Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race and descent of place of birth." in the admission to any higher education institution that is government funded.

We hereby once again this year lodge this police report that there are an estimated 2,237 Malaysian Indian bright and intelligent students who scored up to 12A’s, 11A’s, 10A’s, 9A’s, 8A’s, 7A’s but who were denied their rights from receiving the 10,500 local and 1,500 overseas JPA scholarships, 40,000 Matriculation seats (Utusan Malaysia 2/11/08 page 4) and 847,485 Public University seats (NST 7/8/08) and also places in critical courses such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Accountancy, Law, Bio Technology etc. While Malaysian Indian students had been denied their rights, malay muslim student with a mere 2A’s and 3A’s are given places choices of their course and seats which is in contradiction with Article 8 and 12 of the Federal Constitution.

We hereby also lodge a police report that medical students studying in Russia, Romania, Ukraine, India and Indonesia have had their valid and lawful medical degrees maliciously derecognized on racial and supremacist grounds and with the intention of reducing the number of Malaysian Indian medical doctors when Malaysia is on the contrary facing a shortage of Medical doctors by 100%.

Government PTPTN study loans have also been denied to almost all Malaysian Indian students studying Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Law, Accountancy, Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering etc overseas and also even at the local Aimst University and other local private Universities and Higher Education Institutions.

The Certificate of No Objections requirement by the racist and supremacist UMNO led Malay-sian government for Malaysian Indian and Chinese students to study overseas is void, illegal, unconstitutional and an abuse of powers by the PM, DPM and the Higher Education Minister. We also question how and why then were 360 students allowed to study medicine in Egypt in 2007 with only their SPM qualifications (The Star 31/5/07).

From the RM 212 Billion 2011 Budget we call upon the UMNO led Malay-sian government to grant all 5As’ above students to be grant PSD Scholarships, Matriculation and Universities places as of right. And not limit it to only malay muslim students

For all students scoring 8As’ and above they must be granted PSD Scholarships and must be given the course of their first choice as of right.

All students including law students in private colleges locally and Medical students in Ukraine, Russia, Indonesia, India etc all be given PTPTN loans.

Finally we call upon the UMNO led Malaysian government to end all race and religious based award of PSD, Yayasan, Sime Darby, Petronas ect scholarships and PTPTN loan.

We want the police to investigate PM Najib Razak, DPM Muyhiddin Yassin, the Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khalid Nordin and the UMNO led Malay-sian government on especially the violations of Article 8 and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution for denying the Malaysian Indian students of even their very basic right to education. This level of racism, religious extremism and supremacy does not exist in any other part of the world except in Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia. Today Malaysia is the most racist and supremacist country in the world.

Please investigate this and reply to me in writing within two (2) weeks failing which I shall assume the contents of this police report to be true.

This is my report

JAYATHAS A/L SIRKUNAVELU

Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP)

Information Chief

012 6362287

Posted in Higher education, universities

‘Not much difference between DAP and Umno’

Luke Rintod | May 31, 2011

United Borneo Front president Jeffrey Kitingan also warns Sabahans to beware of Barisan Nasional which is bent on moving towards extremism to perpetuate its hold on power.

KOTA KINABALU: Peninsular-based DAP is bullying local opposition Sabah Progressive party (SAPP) just like how they (including PKR) thumbed Sarawak Nasional Party (SNAP) in the runup to the polls on April 16, said United Borneo Front president Jeffrey Kitingan.

According to Jeffrey, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang had started on a wrong footing in Sabah with his arrogant attitude and by pitting local (opposition) parties against each other.

“Judging from this new development among the opposition parties, we can see clearly that there is not much difference between DAP and Umno too.

“Definitely they are not thinking of the Borneo agenda.

“I expected DAP to be more understanding regarding our dreams as Sabahans, but obviously DAP is too much engrossed with trying to get the Sabahans’ votes to the point that it feels it can come to Sabah and push us around although we are all in the opposition,” said Jeffrey, a former PKR vice president.

Jeffrey had cited PKR’s arrogant rule of Sabah as the reason for quitting PKR early this year.

He called on Sabahans to reject DAP’s attitude and reminded them that only local parties can best serve their interests.

“Let’s do away with relying on Peninsular parties to defend our rights. The people of Sabah and Sarawak have been tolerating this problem for 47 years now and have been hoping that the federal leaders would change their attitude but they never seem to change.

“We can see that the Peninsula leaders and parties are in Sabah to serve their own peninsula agendas … pushing their own political games at the expense of Sabahans.

“And, the worst thing is that the Pakatan Rakyat component parties are obviously trying to outdo each other in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Recently DAP and PKR bullied SNAP in Sarawak and now they are bullying SAPP in Sabah,” he said in a statement.

Third Force needed

He said the best thing for Sabahans and Sarawakians to do now under such circumstances is to take charge of their own future rather than rely on peninsula-based parties.

“We need to form the Third Force, the coalition of local parties outside the BN and the Pakatan.

“This is the best approach because this will enable us to pursue our own agenda.

“We must also beware of the current trend in which BN is bent on moving towards extremism to perpetuate its hold on power, at all cost.

“Even the Pakatan is using extreme measures to fight the BN, and both are not too concerned about what all this will do to the country,” he said.

Jeffrey called on the leaders in Sabah and Sarawak to be very careful with what they do and who they link up with in their bid to oust the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

“They may make the grave mistake of destroying the country instead of steering it to progress and prosperity.

“We need to formulate better policies and draw up more effective programmes.

“Our most important objective here is to save Sabah because we can clearly see that Sabah is going fast down the drain.”

HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI should file a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) against Ministry of Education of Malaysia

The latest drama of the young burgeoning Malaysians who are continued to be discriminated due to the ethnicity is a shame process that the Malaysian politicians in both equation UMNO and PR run agenda in the education front.

UMNO is too busy appeasing their elite member and the coalition’s mandores whereas PR is too busy in facebook and twitting to keep up with its appearances with their less than actual 30 % internet penetrated population in Malaysia. Of course according to ITU a UN agency it is 64.6% of the population but seriously what has UN done other than taking their data from their member states ie the government. That is a story for another day on the irrelevance of UN.

Here is a link that provides the criteria for education scholarship. http://www.studymalaysia.com/education/art_education.php?id=finance in the public forum or you would rather visit http://www.jpa.gov.my/index.php?lang=ms that has not been updated for sometime. This is our true wawasan of the semua boleh executives with the influx of political influence.

Now we all know that the government announced last year that all students who achieved 8A+ are eligible for scholarship to get PIDN (Dalam Negeri) ie criteria academic result (85%) ; Co curriculum activities (10 %); Interview performance (5%) but as usual these government assholes & the politicians are silent on the PILN (Luar Negeri) criteria although it has now been revealed & reported that for merit, with their racial profiling it is Academic result (75%), Co curriculum Activities (10%), Family background (10%), Interview performance (5 %).

Naturally with the typical Malaysia Boleh attitude both UMNO and the current so called go getter PR are too engulfed in their own political turmoil that it takes HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI year in year out to draw everyone’s attention on this sought of human rights based issues like this education thingy.

The plain momentum of politics by our politicians seems to be overriding voice of concern by HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI for public interest and benefit of the younger generation and the future of Malaysia unless and until it appears politically expedient for those politicians.

Last year it was only HINDRAF making its stand, this year we have now political alliance of UMNO in the form of the toothless MCA & MIC but all will disappear within a month and back to politicking as usual.

I don’t want to get into the semantic of figures on who and what A’s were achieved by our young generation but more so those parents and our fellow young Malaysian should come together as a force irrespective of origin with HINDRAF to initiate a Public Interest Litigation for the deprivation that they face through such a hypocritical system that we continue to endure for the silence that detriments our future generations.

Trust me, no politican or a political party will embark on this as it is they will afraid to lose their popularity and how it effects their position as simple as that. This is only my thought.

Never in history will a truthful and sincere cause fail unless we the public are so warped in political warfare as oppose to what is the truth for our fellow Malaysians and who genuinely are able to wage the struggle without fear or favor.

Those political and self appeasing naysayers represent a dichotomy to maintain their position. An effort for development of the future generation of Malaysian do not need politicians but a collective effort for the aspiration of the people and whether we like it or not it appears that only HINDRAF Makkal Sakthi is able to stand tall against the odds for whatever is thrown against them for upholding the truth and reality.

Please don’t turn it around and say it is would be a politically motivated action by HINDRAF as it defies logic as nothing had been done by anyone since time immemorial until HINDRAF started the crusade in 2007.

Whether I am a HINDRAF supporter or not is not the issue, but there is a clear and present danger for the aspiring youngsters in Malaysia by UMNO led imbeciles and politically motivated PR as oppose to some organization whoever they maybe be to able to stand tall and fight against a system that works against the interest of the nation and its subject without fear or favor.

I sincerely urge, those students and parents irrespective of their origin who have been unfairly rejected by JPA led by the UMNO government come together and engage HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI in initiating a PIL against the Ministry of Education in Malaysia.

R. Shan (Human Being)

‘National service is a waste of time’

B Nantha Kumar | May 31, 2011

The seven-year-old National Service Camp (NSC) has lost its relevance and has failed to achieve its aim, says Senawang state assemblyman P Guna.

PETALING JAYA: A former National Service Camp (NSC) trainee has decried the value of the three months stint, saying it had deprived him of time in school.

The trainee, who was among the early batches in 2004, was in Lower Six when he was drafted to do the mandatory national service in Penang.

“I was in Lower Six when they called me to join the national service camp. I was shocked when my parents told me that my name was on the list.

“I was frightened that if I did not join NS they would put me in jail. So I left my Lower Six and wasted three months in the camp,” said the Indian Muslim trainee from Seremban, who declined to be named.

According to him after he returned from camp and joined school, he had trouble coping with the classwork.

“They sent me to a camp in Penang far from my home town. After three months, I came home and continued my studies but found difficulty in coping with the classwork.

“I fell behind on my work and failed to score excellent result in the exams.

“Today I am working in the private sector for a low salary.

“The whole experience was a waste of time. We learnt nothing. They gave us a one day lesson on how to handle a M16 machine gun. I have completely forgotten how to operate it now.

“They gave us a certificate but the Public Service Commission rejected it when I showed it to them in an interview.

“Just imagine, if the government is not serious about its own certificate, no need to tell about the private sector’s reaction to the certificate,” he said, adding that racial polarisation was also rampant at the camp he attended.

No more relevant

Meanwhile DAP’s Senawang assemblyman P Guna when contacted said that the NSC programme was no more relevant to school-leaving students.

Conceived in 2004 with the aim of instilling patriotism among the younger generation, foster national unity and develop positive character, the programme, Guna said, had failed to meet its objectives and was now merely a benefit to Barisan Nasional cronies​.

(According to Deputy Defence Minister Abu Seman Yusop until 2008 the government had spent RM2.37 bilionl to finance the programme.)

“There is no comparing our NSC programme with Singapore.

“In Singapore a participant must attend the programme for three years. Whereas here they attend the programme for three months only.

“What can they learn in three months? Also why are the 80 camps in Malaysia run by individuals and not the government?” he asked adding that most parents were unhappy with the way the programme was managed.

Guna added that the NSC also had a poor track record of safety.

“So far 17 detainees have died and numerous cases of injuries reported. They have also been few cases of sex abuse, racial brawls and harassment. These cases ministry has failed to solve, ” he said.

MIC lost its moral rights to represent the INTERESTS AND WELFARE OF THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE INDIANS

We made a lot of money from MAIKA - after buying shares at RM 1.00 - we received RM0.80 per share after 26 years - SO HAPPY - long live samy vellu - you are real genius. Unfortunately my Chinese friends bought Multi Purpose shares from MCA at RM 0.50 per share and after 4 years ONLY got RM4.92 per share. Just see how lucky are 400,000 Indians/family members made huge profit by investing in MAIKA. No body in this world can beat samy vellu and MIC's record. And MIC Trust Fund - started very well - after few years - totally DISAPPEARED - still searching - already FBI/CIA assistance have been asked - soon they might find it hidden in MOON. Now MIED started to make tons of money - soon all Malaysian Indians can study at AIMST Universiti - at present 500 Indians and 600 non-Indians are studying unlike MCA's UTAR which only provide higher studies to only 88,000 Chinese students and 1,000 non-Chinese students. See - AIMST has already overtaken UTAR - all due our great master. Now his son paari vel will be coming up with a lot of new schemes to help Malaysian Indians with UMNO's help. So, Indians - don't worry - after graduating you all can work in Palanivel suggested estates belonging to UMNO Tuans.

The SEVERAL INDIAN PARTIES APPROVED readily and sppedily TO REPRESENT THE MINORITY GROUP IS SURE WAY TO KEEP THIS SMALL GROUP DIVIDED AND SUB DIVIDED ...IN ORDER TO WEAKEN AND MANIPULATE THEM INTO SUBMISSION AND SUBJUGATION NO DOUBT,THE COUNTLESS SO-CALLED LEAD-ERS ARE PERMITTED TO ENRICH THEMSELVES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MAJORITY POOR AND THE DOWNTRODEEN..ThE MAIN PARTY MIC HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING OF LASTING BENEFIT TO THE COMMUNITY. IT HAS EVEN LOST WHATEVER THE INDIANS HAD ENJOYED ALL ALONG- TtHE OPPORTUNITY TO GOOD EDUATION AND EMPLOYMENT. THANKS to such leaders, the MISGUIDED AND DISCRIMNATED INDIANS ARE LEFT TO LEAD A LIFE OF CRIME .. . IRONICALLY,INDIANS CANNOT DEPEND ON INDIANS FOR SURVIVAL.THEY HAVE TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SUPPORT OR THEY WILL BECOME A LOST RACE...

FMT Poll: ‘Yes’ to non-Muslim PM

Tarani Palani | May 31, 2011

Online poll shows almost 70% of respondents were receptive to the idea of a non-Muslim premier helming the nation.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is ready for a non-Muslim prime minister, a 10-day online opinion poll conducted by FMT revealed.

Sixty-eight percent or 2,752 out of 4,065 readers who took part in the poll, which ran from May 20, said that the country was ready for a non-Muslim premier.

Sixteen percent or 667 respondents said that the country was not ready for a non-Muslim prime minister while another 16% or 651 said that they did not care about the religion of the premier.

Many claim that the prime minister must be a representative of the majority race and religion of Malaysia, and hence only a Malay-Muslim can be the head of government.

The religion of the prime minister has been a contentious and sensitive matter as it is closely linked to Islam, whose special position is enshrined and protected under the Federal Constitution.

Several independent constitutional experts have argued that there are no provisions in the Federal Constitution that state the premier must be a Malay-Muslim.

More recently, the issue of the premier’s religion popped up again during the “Christian Malaysia” controversy as highlighted by Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia.

The Umno-owned paper’s unsubstantiated report claimed there was a conspiracy by Christians and DAP leaders to install a Christian prime minister.

This allegation riled up Malay extremist group Perkasa which lodged a police report, clamouring for action to be taken against the “perpetrators”.

The group claimed that although there was no specific provision that says that the prime minister had to be Malay-Muslim, it was an “implied” conclusion.

“If the constitution is read in toto, the prime minister does not have to be a Muslim,” said Perkasa women’s Youth chief Zaira Jaafar.

She added: “Under Article 181 on the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers, we understand that a king has to be a Malay and professes Islam as his religion.”

Pua: Tariff hike will backfire on government

Stephanie Sta Maria | May 31, 2011

Tony Pua slams the government for punishing the people instead of tackling the lopsidede PPAs.

PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya Utara MP, Tony Pua, has predicted that the government’s decision to raise electricity tariff will backfire by fuelling further distortions in the market.

Starting tomorrow, electricity prices in Peninsular Malaysia will increase by an average of 7.12% in a government move to reduce subsidies.

Petronas’ sale of natural gas to electricity companies would rise to RM13.70 per Million Metric British Thermal unit (mmBtu ) from RM10.70, and increase by RM3 every six months until 2015.

In a statement today, Pua pointed out that the tariff hike was not matched by a corresponding restructuring of the power industry.

“The government is using the excuse of the need to reduce subsidy bills as the basis for the tariff hike in order to reduce the ‘misallocation of resources’,” said the DAP publicity chief.

“But it has ignored the fact that the source of the ‘misallocation of resources’ is the lucrative Independent Power Producers (IPPs) power purchasing agreements (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).”

According to Pua, Malaysia and Thailand share similar power industry structures with natural gas making up about 70% of the fuel-mix for electricity generation.

Unfair PPAs

Thailand’s natural gas prices are more than double that of Malaysia’s but its commercial electricity tariff is only 0.4% higher at at RM38.01kWH compared with Malaysia’s 37.85 mmBtu.

“Electricity rates for our commercial sector will now be higher than Thailand’s despite natural gas prices for the sector in Malaysia still being 68.6% cheaper,” Pua said. “Using Thailand as a benchmark, our electricity prices should be 16.9% cheaper based on existing subsidy rates.”

“Our problem isn’t with electricity prices but with the power producing sector which charges high prices despite the lower cost of production. And the key reason for that is the unfair PPAs which have resulted in ridiculously high levels of electricity reserve margins.”

“According to TNB, our reserve margin was 54.6% in 2008 and 52.6% in 2010. This is double that of Thailand and Java, Indonesia. TNB is forced to purchase electricity that it does not need. This translates to inflated costs for TNB and inflated profits for the IPPs.”

Pua described the raised electricity tariff as an attempt by the government to right a “wrong” with another “wrong” which would inadvertently deal a huge blow to the country’s export industries.

The Najib administration has assured that the tariff hike will not affect 75% of Malaysians who use less than 300kWh or pay a monthly rate of about RM77.

But Pua predicted that industrial and commercial consumers would suffer an average increase of 8.35% in power bills which would fuel inflation and reduce the country’s competitiveness.

“The only and proper way to correct the distortions in our power sector is to restructure the lobsided PPAs,” Pua said. “By doing so it can reduce its subsidies, correct inefficiencies in the power sector and maintain existing electricity rates.”

The fact that it chooses to punish consumers and industries without laying a finger on the IPPs proves that it has no political will to implement the necessary economic reforms,” he said.

'Detention without trial must end now’

K Pragalath | May 31, 2011

Civil society movement are upset that three alleged motorcycle thieves have been charged under Emergency Ordinance and want it repealed

KUALA LUMPUR: Four NGOs -Suaram, Bar Council, Loyar Burok, Lawyers for Liberty- would be filing a judicial review to challenge the detention of three youths under the Emergency Ordinance.

Muhamad Arif Abu Samah, 20, was placed under EO in Mersing this month.Two brothers – Mohamed Ramadan Mohamed Ali, 22, and Mohamad Rafe, 20, were placed under EO in Chemor, Pahang and Kulim, Kedah respectively.

All three are suspects involved in alleged motorcycle thefts in the district of Gombak.They were detained on March 8. The trio also have been relocated under the same act.

Their EO orders were signed by Deputy Home Minister Abu Seman Yusop on May 16.

The Emergency Ordinance (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) 1969, a form of detention without trial as provided for under the Internal Security Act, had been used to detain youths for alleged involvement in gang fights.

The use of the declaration has apparently now expanded to include alleged motorcycle theft, an offence that is also punishable under the Penal Code.

“The filing of a judicial review could be the first of its kind because it challenges the jurisdiction of the Agong to repeal all Emergency proclamations,” said Loyar Burok co-founder Edmund Bon at a press conference held in Bangsar this morning.

He said that the review seeks to compel the cabinet to advise the Agong to repeal all emergency declarations and related laws.

However this would not have been the case if Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has responded in favour of the lawyers who had written to him by the 6 June.

Solicitors for the three had written two letters both addressed to Najib dated May 13 and May 26 this year, respectively, to lift the declared emergency proclamation and free their clients.

They urged Najib and the cabinet to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to revoke the proclamation and also the EO within five days of receiving the letter, failing which it would be deemed a refusal to its application.

Another letter was sent on May 26 urging the prime minister to repeal the proclamations.

“There would not be application for judicial review if the Prime Minister had listened to our request,” said Edmund Bon.

The present trend

Bon and the rest of the representatives are optimistic that the Najib administration would accede to their request because Malaysia is currently seeking a re-election into the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Apart from Bon, the press conference was also atttended by Andrew Khoo represented Bar Council’s human rights committee, Fadiah Nadwa Fikri of Lawyers for Liberty and the parents of the detainees along with lawyer Andrew Yong and Suaram by its coordinator E .Nalini.

Fadiah revealed that from her conversations with her client, Arif, the police had known the actual suspects who had paid the police off.

Khoo said that 5,000 people have been affected by the emergency laws based the findings of a UN report .

“By our count there are 1,500 people detained annually in Simpang Renggam. So on average, since 1969 and 42 years after that, thousands have had the EO implemented on them.

“The trend now is to detain youths for various allegations which cannot be substantiated like in the two cases,”said Bon.

“This is why we have sent letters to the PM asking to repeal the EO as this is a law similar to the ISA. If this is not done, we will use the three’s plight as a test case to secure their release,” he said.

Police report filed against Najib, Muhyiddin

FMT Staff | May 31, 2011

HRP files a police report against the top two leaders over the race-based disbursement of scholarships and varsity seats.

KUALA LUMPUR: A police report has been filed against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin over the race-based disbursement of government scholarships, study loans as well as matriculation and university seats.

The report filed by Human Rights Party (HRP) information chief S Jayathas at the Travers police station here also named Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khalid Nordin.

“We want the police to investigate Najib, Muyhiddin, Khalid and the government on violations of Article 8 and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution for denying Malaysian Indian students their basic right to education.

“This level of racism, religious extremism and supremacy does not exist in any other part of the world except in Najib’s 1Malaysia. Malaysia is the most racist country in the world,” he said.

“Please investigate this and reply to me in writing within two weeks, failing which I shall assume the contents of this police report to be true,” he added in the police report.

Jayathas noted that Article 8 of the Federal Constitution stated that all persons were equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law and that there should be no discrimination against citizens on the ground of religion, race and descent.

Whereas Article 12 of the Federal Constitution, with regards to education, reads, “Without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race and descent” in the admission to any higher education institution that is government funded.

Jayathas said that 2,237 top scoring Malaysian Indian students were denied the 10,500 local and 1,500 overseas scholarships, 40,000 matriculation seats and 847,485 public university seats as well as places in critical courses such as medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, aeronautical engineering, accountancy, law, bio technology etc.

“While Malaysian Indian students have been denied their right, Malay students with mere 2As and 3As are given seats and courses of their choice,” he added.

The HRP leader also pointed out that medical students studying in Russia, Romania, Ukraine, India and Indonesia had their valid and lawful medical degrees “maliciously derecognised on racial and supremacist grounds and with the intention of reducing the number of Malaysian Indian medical doctors when Malaysia is on the contrary facing a shortage of doctors by 100%.”

Apart from this, Jayathas said government PTPTN study loans were also denied to almost all Malaysian Indian students studying medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, law, accountancy, engineering, aeronautical engineering etc overseas and also even at the local Aimst University and other local private universities and higher education institutions.

“The ‘Certificate of No Objections’ requirement by the government for Malaysian Indian and Chinese students to study overseas is void, illegal, unconstitutional and an abuse of power by the PM, DPM and higher education minister.

“We also question how and why then were 360 students allowed to study medicine in Egypt in 2007 with only their SPM qualifications, as reported in the Star on May 31, 2007,” he added.

From the RM212 billion in 2011 Budget, Jayathas said, HRP urged the government to grant all students with 5As and above scholarships, matriclulation and university seats.

He said for students with 8As and above, they should be granted scholarships and given the course of their first choice.

“All students including law students in local private colleges and medical students in Ukraine, Russia, Indonesia, India etc be given PTPTN loans.

“Finally, we call upon the government to end all race and religious based award of PSD, Yayasan, Sime Darby, Petronas ect scholarships and PTPTN loans,” he added.

PKR: Penjanaan elektrik negara perlu reformasi segera

Fazy Sahir | May 31, 2011

Pengarah Strategi PKR berkata sektor penjanaan elektrik di negara ini terus dihantui dengan warisan perjanjian-perjanjian yang berat sebelah dan membebankan rakyat.

PETALING JAYA: Pengumuman terbaru kerajaan berhubung kenaikan tarif elektrik semalam hanya membebankan rakyat sedangkan Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) dan Pengeluar Tenaga Bebas (IPP) pula masih menerima keutungan sama dan tidak terkesan dengan kenaikan tersebut.

Pengarah Strategi PKR Rafizi Ramli berkata sektor penjanaan elektrik di negara ini terus dihantui dengan warisan perjanjian-perjanjian yang berat sebelah dan membebankan rakyat.

Menurutnya, pengumuman itu langsung tidak memenuhi sektor penjanaan elektrik yang memerlukan reformasi segera.

“TNB terpaksa membeli elektrik pada kadar yang lebih tinggi dari kos dalaman IPP. Bagi mengimbangi harga elektrik yang terlalu tinggi,TNB dan IPP diberi subsidi gas yang terlalu tinggi setiap tahun dan ditanggung Petronas.

“Kenaikan tarif yang dikenakan akan menjadi pampasan kepada TNB untuk menggantikan potongan subsidi gas akibat kenaikan harga asli dari RM10.70 ke RM13.70 mmbtu. Kesan keseluruhannya langsung tidak mengubah keadaan sekarang.

Rakyat terus dibebani

“TNB masih mencapai keuntungan sama rakyat terus dibebani dengan setiap kenaikan harga dan IPP langsung tidak terkesan kerana ia dilindungi oleh mekanisme harga bahan api sedia ada,” katanya dalam sidang media di Ibu Pejabat PKR hari ini.

Rafizi berkata, sepatutnya BN mengubah mekanisme tersebut agar IPP juga menanggung kesan kenaikan harga bahan api agar untungnya berkurangan.

Sebaliknya menurut beliau, rakyat terus dibeban apabila tarif elektrik pula akan disemak setiap enam bulan hanya untuk memastikan ia mengikut kenaikan kos bahan api semasa.

Kerajaan mendakwa kenaikan tarif tidak akan memberi kesan kepada 4.4 juta isi rumah dengan alasan penggunaan 300KWJ setiap bulan tidak berubah.

Namun Rafizi berkata walaupun bil elektrik pengguna mungkin tidak berubah, tetapi peningkatan inflasi akibat dari kenaikan tarif akan terus mengurangkan pendapatan boleh belanja setiap bulan mereka.

Beban kenaikan

“Begitu juga isi rumah atau kediaman lain termasuklah kediaman yang dikongsi beramai-ramai oleh pelajar atau pekerja yang bil elektriknya mengatasi paras RM77 sebulan, mereka akan mendapat beban kenaikan tarif dan peningkatan harga barang.

“Kali terakhir asas domestik dinaikkan adalan bulan Jun 2006. Tarif asas bagi 200KWJ pertama sebulan pada masa itu dikekalkan pada kadar sekarang iaitu 21.8sen setiap KWJ. Namun pada 2006 menyaksikan peningkatan harga barang dan kadar inflasi kedua tertinggi dalam separuh dekad yang lepas iaitu aras 3.6%.

“Satu-satunya masa harga barang mencanak dengan lebih cepat adalah pada tahun 2008 akibat kesan berganda kenaikan harga petrol dan diesel,” katanya.

BN ulangi dasar sama

Sementara itu, Rafizi berkata kerajaan BN mengulangi pendekatan dasar sama pada tahun ini dengan menaikkan harga barangan asas secara serentak iaitu gula,petrol,diesel dan kini elektrik.

Kesan gabungan berganda ini dijangka akan mendorong inflasi bagi tahun 2011 mengatasi kadar pada tahun 2006 yang menyaksikan berjuta isi rumah berdepan masalah kenaikan harga barang dan pendapatan boleh belanja mereka semakin mengecil.

“Rakyat tidak perlukan penarikan subsidi sembrono yang menyebabkan kenaikan harga barang. Mana-mana kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab dan menghadapi krisis defisit dan inflasi di Putrajaya seperti dihadapi kerajaan sekarang.

Langkah berani

“Sepatutnya kerajaan mengambil langkah berani dan ada kekuatan moral untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini di peringkat umbi,” katanya yang juga ahli Majlis Pimpinan Pusat (MPP).

Semalam kerajaan memutuskan untuk menaikkan kadar purata tarif elektrik sebanyak RM2.23 senkWj (7.12 peratus) berkuatkuasa 1 Jun depan

Ini berikutan peningkatan harga gas bagi sektor elektrik dan industri sebanyak RM3 yang juga berkuatkuasa esok dan perkara itu diumumkan oleh Menteri Tenaga, Teknologi Hijau dan Air Peter Chin Fah Kui

Sehubungan itu, tarif elektrik akan dinaikkan daripada kadar purata semasa RM31.31senkWj kepada 33.54senkWj, satu kadar baru selepas kali terakhir ditetapkan pada tahun 2006.

‘MIC, just an Umno puppet’

Athi Shankar | May 31, 2011

A DAP state assemblyman says the BN component party has done nothing for the community, except to 'steal' from the poor.

GEORGE TOWN: MIC is an Umno puppet without any political conviction, said DAP state assemblyman A Tanasekharan.

The Bagan Dalam rep said that because of this, MIC would never implement any policies to upgrade the living standards of the Indian community.

He claimed that MIC had always taken Indians’ hard-earned cash to carry out its projects that failed to benefit the community.

Tanasekharan noted that the Maika Holdings and MIED scandals were perfect examples of MIC swindling poor Indians.

He also remarked that MIC built AIMST University in Kedah from contributions of Indians from all walks of life.

“But how many poor Indians can afford to study at AIMST University? How many Indians have benefitted from Maika Holdings and MIED?” he asked.

Comparatively, he said Pakatan Rakyat state governments managed to address various Indian issues in a short span of three years.

He said under Pakatan, for the first time in the country’s history, Indian elected representatives were appointed as a deputy chief minister (Penang) and legislative assembly speaker (Perak).

Currently, he said Penang, Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan had a record high of Indian representatives in state legislative assemblies.

Aid for schools and temples

Pertaining to Tamil schools in Penang, Tanasekharan said all 28 schools had been receiving annual state allocations to upgrade their facilities.

In Selangor, he said the PKR-helmed state government had been allotting funds for similar projects.

“Today parents can safely send their children to Tamil schools without the fear of seeing their children studying under trees, unlike during Barisan Nasional days,” he added.

He claimed that the Pakatan state government had provided land valued at RM4.5 million for the Azad Tamil School in the Waterfall area.

For years, he said, the Tamil school was located under the basement of the Indian Association building in Jalan Bagan Jermal.

“A new school has been built and is operational because of the sheer determination of Pakatan leaders to upgrade Tamil schooling standards,” he added.

Under Pakatan, Thanasekaran said no Hindu temple had been demolished in Penang, while many temples sitting on state lands were granted temporary occupation licence (TOL).

He recalled that under the previous Barisan Nasional government, a Hindu temple in Butterworth, which was located on its own land, was forcibly removed and placed in a graveyard in Jalan Siram under the purview of the Penang Hindu Endowments Board (PHEB).

“The reason for the temple’s removal was that it was causing nuisance to an Umno member, who was staying nearby. This is how Indians were treated under the BN government… sheer arrogance of Umno leaders,” he said.

Furthermore, he said since Pakatan took over Penang, absolute poverty among Indians there had been abolished, and poor and deserving Indians were getting improved monthly contributions from the welfare department.

He also said PHEB was receiving an annual state grant of RM1 million to provide financial assistance to needy Indian students pursuing higher education and assist the welfare needs of deserving Indians.

He said many Indians had been issued licences by local councils to operate as petty traders while chances of employment for Indians had increased in state-based government-linked companies (GLCs)

He claimed that all these developments were virtually unthinkable during the previous BN government because the Indians had been “betrayed by their so called custodian, MIC.”

FMM calls for more transparent power pricing

By Yow Hong Chieh

May 31, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 — There must be greater transparency and predictability in energy pricing in view of uncompetitive tariffs and inefficient supply chains, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has said.

“The components and computation of the fuel pricing mechanism should... be publicised,” the federation said in a statement today.

FMM pointed out the Malaysian power sector had yet to translate its price advantage in fuel prices into more competitive electricity rates despite paying less for natural gas (RM13.70 per mmBtu) compared to Thailand (RM18.23), Singapore (RM43.32) and Indonesia (RM21.04).

“Despite the fuel price advantage, the cost of electricity in Malaysia following this hike is nearly at par with Thailand... If we compare with Thailand’s rate for low, medium and high voltage, Malaysia’s electricity tariff for all these categories is higher,” it said in a statement today.

FMM said there were also “operational inefficiencies and pricing rigidities” in the energy supply chain that have yet to be addressed, even while conceded that Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) had reduced unplanned outages, transmission system minutes and system interruptions.

While the RM1 per mmBtu increase in natural gas prices to Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd customers was reasonable and gradual, the subsequent RM3 per mmBtu hikes were a matter of “some concern” to the federation.

It urged the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) not to use fuel oil as a benchmark for market pricing natural gas and suggested that a fairer peg would be natural gas price excluding Bintulu at discounted rates.

“Malaysian industry should not be paying higher than the country’s export pricing for liquefied natural gas,” FMM said, adding that the cost of electricity should be capped below regional tariffs to keep local industry competitive.

FMM added that TNB should open it books to be benchmarked against other generators to insure operational inefficiencies are not passed on to consumers and that fuel price fluctuations should be averaged out like in Singapore.