Pakistani president visits Malala at hospital

Zardari meets teenage education activist in Birmingham hospital where she is recuperating after being shot by Taliban.

Zardari has called the teenage education activist a "remarkable girl and a credit to Pakistan" [Reuters]

Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, has visited teenage education campaigner Malala Yousafzai in a UK hospital where she is convalescing after being shot by a Taliban gunman.

Zardari arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham on Saturday after being briefed on her condition.

The 15-year-old schoolgirl was shot in the head at close range on October 9, as she was making her way home from school in the Swat valley in Pakistan.

She had since been flown over to Britain for specialist treatment.

The Pakistani president and his daughter Asifa Bhutto held a five minute private meeting with the teenager, her father and two brothers.

Malala is a "remarkable girl and a credit to Pakistan", Zardari said in a brief statement issued by the hospital.

The teenage activist was doing well, according to the hospital, which had previously said she was recovering from fractures to her skull and jawbone.

Malala's shooting has garnered worldwide media attention and world leaders have since pledged to support her campaign. More than 250,000 people have signed online petitions calling for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for her activism.

MB ticked off for silence over shrine demolition

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo has lambasted Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim for his silence over the demolition of a Hindu shrine in Sepang last month.

"Despite the severity of the situation and the mass condemnation from both sides of the political divide, Abdul Khalid has chosen to keep silent up until now.

"Silence in situations like these by the menteri besar, is to my mind clearly unacceptable," he said in a statement yesterday.

State exco Xavier Jeyakumar had on Thursday decried sabotage after Sepang Municipal Council (MPS) on Nov 20 demolished a shrine within the compound of a Hindu resident.
Some 30 MPS enforcement officers on Nov 20 marched into the gated compound of Umah Devi's house in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, and proceeded to demolish a small altar there.

According to Xavier, the state had instructed all local councils not to demolish any places of worship that were constructed before 2008.

'MB must act fast'

Gobind demanded to know how was it possible for MPS officers to act directly against the expressed orders of the state government.

"Why did they do it? He (Abdul Khalid) should also show he is serious and act against those who disobey," he said.

Gobind added that he has been informed of other possible similar demolitions, and stressed that Abdul Khalid must respond swiftly.

"The menteri besar must put a stop to this and he must act fast. He must meet with all the local council chiefs and officials from the land office and demand that they follow orders.

"This is a serious matter. The menteri besar must take it seriously and react in a manner which would reflect sincerity and seriousness on part of his government in dealing with the problem," he said.

On road show of a brutal killing of a Hindu Youth by Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir goons in Dhaka.

Innocent Hindu Tailor ghastly murdered in open day light by fanatic Muslims in Bangladesh Bandh.

Dhaka | Dec 9 2012 | HE BD Bureau :: A Hindu young man was beaten to death by a Islamic mob near the district courts in the Old Dhaka amid nationwide Bandh (blockade) today clashes that halted the Dhaka-Aricha Highway. The Bandh was called by the opposition group of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (Nationality means here the Islamic Nationality of BD) and the Jammat-e-Islami Party of Bangladesh. It has been alleged that members of the students union of both parties ‘Jatiyatabadi Chatra (Students) League’ and ‘Islami Chhatra Shibir’ were behind the brutal killing of this Hindu Youth named Biswajit Kumar Das (24 yrs) with lethal weapons like Iron rods and sharpened chopper.

It is said that suspecting Biswajit as a member of Chatra Shibir, the student unit of ruling Awami League of Bangladesh, the Islamist in Jamaat and BNP found a easy prey for killing of a Hindu infidel (Kaffir) per chance. Near relations of deceased said that Biswajit was never connected with any politics or students union so far.

Biswajit was a owner of a tailoring shop (Amantran Tailors) at Shankharibazaar in the area of Old Dhaka.

A police officer said he had no clue who killed him. “We don’t know who beat him,” said Kotwali Police OC Abu Bakar Siddique of the 9am incident near Victoria Park.

Witnesses say BNP-Jamaat lawyers began a procession inside the Judge Court premises in support of the blockade programme in the morning. They alleged that the members of the Chhatra League unit of the Jagannath University were cordoning off the area with counter slogans.

At one point the two groups engaged in chase and counter chase; and made detonations of several hand-bombs were also reported near a petrol pump at Victoria Park.

Witness Ripon, a rickshaw-puller, told a Bangladesh Media House (bdnews24.com) that some 25 youths started beating up Biswajit shortly after the detonations.

Biswajit tried to hide into a Dental Clinic, but the fanatic members of ’Jatiyatabadi Chatra League’ and ‘Islami Chhatra Shibir’ rushed into the clinic to attack Biswajit with iron rods and finally mutilated him with sharpened chopper. From the gory situation Biswajit tried to escape again but fell down unconsciously in an approach lane to Shankhari Bazar. With the help of some Hindu locals a rickshwapuller rushed the injured Biswajit to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital; where he was declared brought dead.

The Asst. Registrar of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital, Emergency Department said Biswajit was died due to trauma and excessive and unchecked bleeding.

Mohammad Babul, a businessman, said Biswajit was the owner of ‘Amantran Tailors’. “He was on his way to the shop from his home. I never heard he was with any of the political parties”.

From family source it is known that Biswajit was a simple boy who was a youngest amongst their two brothers and one sister. Biswajit used to stay with his brothers family at Hrishikesh Das Lane of Old Dhaka. In a middle class family, Biswajit was also a bread earner and a big helping hand.

Pro Islamic activists of the BNP-led 18-Party alliance blocked roads with torched tyres in Gabtali area at around 6am halting traffic on the crucial Dhaka-Aricha highway.

The pro-blockade activists swooped on with police when the law enforcers tried to disperse them a little bit later. The groups two chased each other while pickets vandalised about a dozen vehicles creating a violence all around.

It is also reported that at one stage, pro-government activists were seen in action, triggering much bigger clashes. At least five hand-made bombs were reported detonated, two buses were torched and and public life dismantled accordingly .

Pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir brought out processions, simultaneously, shouting anti-government slogans in the area on a demand of ensuing parliamentary polls under a non-party caretaker government.

Though the Bangladesh Police is now pretending as novice and found nothing about the clue or the perpetrators of cool blooded murder of Biswajit, the published photographs here and Bangladesh media categorically say the motivations of 100% Islamic attack upon a ignorant Hindu young man who succumbed an unfortunate and immature death due to an Islamic treatment to a Hindu Kaffir in Bangladesh.
News Source and Courtesy: RDG | Prathom Alo | bdnews24 .

Islamic honor killing in India: Muslim beheads his sister for affair

Longtime Jihad Watch readers may notice that I have posted the following information before. And I will continue to post it, as long as the near-universal denial and obfuscation continues, which I expect will be until right around the time that hell freezes over.
Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.
The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."
In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.
"Brother beheads younger sister over affair in India," from Gulf Today, December 8 (thanks to Kenneth):

KOLKATA: In the first case of honour killing in Kolkata, a garment trader decapitated his younger sister with a sword and took the severed head to the police station, where he surrendered. The 29-year-old trader, identified as Mehtab Alam, discovered that his sister, 24-year-old Nilofer Bibi, a mother of two, was staying with a rickshaw-puller with whom she had eloped, police sources said on Saturday.
Alam went to the rickshaw-puller's house, dragged out his sister and beheaded her with the sword in full public view on Friday, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port division) Mehboob Rehman.
Local people watched horrified as Alam walked down the road at Ayubnagar with the severed head dangling in his hand, before surrendering to the Nadial police station.
"He even asked for a glass of water after reaching the police station," police sources said.
According to eye-witnesses, Alam justified his crime saying he did it to punish his sister for the extra-marital affair.
"It was not the decision of the family to kill her. The brother had lost his temper and had unilaterally decided to kill her," Rehman said....

Arab Spring Countries More Corrupt Under Islamist Governments

Islamist thugs are beating and assaulting protesters in Tunisia and Cairo. And the Arab Spring, recently the darling of media pundits, now looks positively toxic.

Among other things, Arab Spring countries appear to actually be more corrupt under their new Islamist governments than they were before.

Transparency International’s (TI) 2012 Corruption Perceptions index ranks countries from 0 to 100 based on perceived levels of public sector corruption — 100 meaning no perceived corruption. Egypt dropped six places and now ranks 118th out of 176 countries.

Following Mubarak’s downfall and Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, hopes were high. But now, after Morsi’s power grab yielding him near absolute power and a controversial draft constitution in the works, anger has once again consumed Cairo’s streets.

“We know that frustration about corruption brought people out onto the streets in the Arab world,” TI’s Middle East and North Africa director, Cristoph Wilcke, told Reuters. A democratic transition has not easily come to Egypt. Morsi is now facing allegations similar to those that toppled Mubarak’s regime, and protesters are now demanding Morsi be held accountable and step down.

“As far as we can tell, very little has happened on the ground … as far as putting in place systems that we know work to prevent corruption,” Wilcke said.

Tunisia fell two places, now ranking 75th, and Morocco fell eight slots to 88th out of 176 countries.

But I’m sure things will be better under full-on Sharia.

‘Do not belittle intelligence of Indians’

Najib asks the Indian community not to fall for the lies of Pakatan Rakyat.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak launched a stinging attack against the opposition today, saying that the opposition pact, made up of DAP, PKR and PAS, was trying to cheat the people, especially the Malaysian Indian community.

“They say that there are 300,000 Indians in the country who do not have any documents… 300,000 stateless Indians they say. This is a lie. There are only 9,000 Indians who do not have documents.

“Out of this 9,000 people, we have sorted out 4,500 applications for documents. Another 2,000 applications are still being processed. The registration is open. If there are any Indians without documents, they can walk in and apply to get their citizenship.

“With all this going on, they (the opposition) can cheat that some 300,000 Indians are stateless. This is belittling the intelligence of Indians in the country. You can fool some people some time, but not all the people all the time,” he told some 3,500 people at the opening of 66th MIC annual general assembly here.

He said the opposition had promised that the 300,000 stateless people would be given citizenship within one month after Pakatan Rakyat takes power of the federal government.

“This means, they will process, 10,000 applications in a day and grant citizenship to 10,000 so called stateless Indians daily for a month. This is really belittling the intelligence of Malaysian Indians… can this be achieved…this is another lie,” Najib added.

Pakatan demolished seven temples

He said when the opposition started governing four states in the country after the 2008 general election, they promised not to demolish any Hindu temples or shrines but this changed soon after.

“In the last four years the Barisan Nasional never demolished any temple but in the last four years how many temples or shrines did Pakatan Rakyat demolish… seven, seven to be exact.

“The latest is a private shrine built outside a house in Sepang. The Indian community must fight for its right. MIC must repair the altar…if they break again, then we repair again.

“The opposition promise something but do something else. Just empty promises but our promise is a promise fulfilled. They cheat a lot with their empty promises,” he added.

He said the government acknowledges that more needs to be done for the Malaysian Indian community for it to be on par with other major races in the country.

“In the 11th general election (2004) the BN had its fixed deposit in the Indian voters but in the 12th general election, the Indian fixed deposit moved from the BN bank to the opposition bank.

“We lost four states and two thirds majority partly due to the absence of Indian votes. Although we have made some mistakes in the past, we have done a lot for the community. We will continue doing more for Indians in the future.

“Maybe our interest rates were not good in 2008 for the Indian fixed deposit votes but over the last three years, I have raised the interest rates and they are making a comeback to the BN bank. The confidence on the BN government is back,” said Najib, who is also Umno president.

Ambiga dituduh anarkis

Tuduhan tersebut dilemparkan oleh seorang pemimpin NGO, Suara Wanita 1Malaysia.

PETALING JAYA: Pengerusi bersama Gabungan Pilihan Raya Bersih dan Adil (Bersih 2.0) Datuk S Ambiga dituduh sebagai seorang anarkis dalam satu forum di Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Sintok, Kedah semalam.

Anarki bermaksud keadaan yang tidak berasaskan undang-undang dan kucar-kacir.

“Ambiga Sreenevasan yang hebat ialah pencetus anarki di Malaysia,” kata Pengerusi Suara Wanita 1Malaysia (SW1M) Sharifah Zohra Jabeen Syed Shah Miskin.

Beliau berkata demikian dalam satu sesi forum bertajuk, ‘Seiringkah Mahasiswa dan Siswi Dengan Politik?”, anjuran Dewan Penginapan Pelajar (DPP) Proton, UUM dan Suara Wanita 1Malaysia. Ahli panel termasuk Pengetua DPP Proton Mazli Mutazam.

Dalam forum tersebut, tayangan video klip Perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 turut dipertontonkan kepada lebih 3,000 mahasiswa.

Ambiga, yang memimpin dua perhimpunan, Bersih 2.0 pada 2011 dan Bersih 3.0 April lalu mendesak kerajaan dan Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya memenuhi lapan tuntutan bagi memastikan plihan raya berjalan dengan bersih dan adil.

Selain Ambiga, Ahli Parlimen Lembah Pantai Nurul Izzah Anwar turut dikecam berikutan kenyataannya berkenaan dengan kebebasan beragama baru-baru ini.

“Inilah pejuang belia yang memperjuang kebebasan beragama,” kata Sharifah dan beliau turut mengecam penulis buku Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta, Irshad Manji.

“Mengapa tiada protes untuk seks bebas?” soal Sharifah sambil menyifatkan tema hak asasi manusia sebagai propaganda Barat.

Semua yang menyertai forum tersebut menerima sehelai baju T SW1M dan sepuluh pemenang cabutan bertuah telah menerima komputer riba nota, Samsung Galaxy.

Kesemua tokoh tersebut dikecam sebagai pihak yang mahu menghuru-harakan negara atas nama hak asasi manusia.

Who is Deepak Jaikishan?

'Carpetman' Deepak Jaikishan has stoked the curiosity of many Malaysians, with his 'timely' or 'untimely' decision to expose the prime minister and his spouse.
FEATURE

Who really is Deepak Jaikishan a/l Jaikishan Rewachand? To begin with, he is 40 years old, unmarried and a “successful” Malaysian Indian businessman.

He is perhaps best known now as the “carpetman”, although i3investor.com describes him as coming from a family “pioneering” in property development and investment.

But it also notes that he’s been in carpet manufacturing for 15 years.

Under his leadership, both his Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd and Tek Holding Sdn Bhd (the property development and investment company), chalked billions. Bursa Malaysia notes that from 2000 to 2009, Deepak had completed property investment projects totalling about RM3 billion.

In the carpet field, he initiated and successfully acquired the largest manufacturing plant in Malaysia known as Noble Carpet Sdn Bhd.

In the year 2000, this manufacturing unit was said to be the only one that produced its own carpet yarn. In 2003 he set up the biggest manufacturing plant (Premier Weavers) with the latest weaving technology in Malaysia.

Deepak is one of five directors in Carpet Raya Sdn Bhd, and an equal shareholder too. It’s this company that he’s been most associated with of late.

‘Rosmah’s like my elder sister’

Why the focus on this particular man?

Because Deepak has had close ties with the family of Najib Tun Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister.

But more importantly now perhaps is the fact that his name first saw the limelight in the Altantuya murder case.

Altantuya, who was named in French police documents as a translator during the talks to purchase the Scorpene submarines for the Malaysian Ministry of Defence was murdered in October 2006 by two members of an elite police unit. The two were later convicted and sentenced to death for the crime.

Deepak’s link was to the disappearance of PI Balasubramaniam after submitting two conflicting statutory declarations (SD) on the Altantuya incident. The first one implicated Najib and Rosmah while the second claimed otherwise. Deepak was named when PI Bala vanished after submitting a second SD.

How did Deepak get close to the PM?

According to Deepak, he supplied carpets and other interior products for the PM’s family.



Explaining his closeness to the family, he once said: “Rosmah, I treat her like my elder sister”.

But that quote didn’t bring him fame.

His name came up again when a claimed conspiracy by the Kuwait Finance House (KFH) came into play.

KFH is currently suing Jaikishan for an unpaid banking facility amounting to RM170 million.

Through a letter of offer dated Nov 16, 2007, Deepak was awarded RM170 million worth of Islamic financing facilities which consists of :

i) KFH Ijarah Muntahiah BitamlikAsset Backed Financing-i Facility of RM26.6 million.

ii) KFH Ijarah Muntahiah BitamlikAsset Backed Acquisition Financing-i Facility of RM93.4 million.

iii) Interchangeable and Combined Limit Facility not exceeding RM50 million.

‘Najib exceeded his authority’

Shortly after that Deepak – the family friend of Najib and Rosmah – turned whistleblower on the premier’s family.

Why did he suddenly become a turncoat?

Was it the discovery that his company Astacanggih Sdn Bhd had lost a portion of land purchased from Umno senator Raja Roopiah’s Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd, that angered him?

According to media reports, Deepak had testified that after obtaining the letter issued by the Defence Ministry’s deputy secretary-general on the transfer of the land to him, he and Awan Megah worked out an agreement to formalise this.

Cebur Megah was the nominee company or third party vehicle, to obtain the 223 acre land while 23 acres of the land would be returned to Raja Roopiah, who is currently a woman leader in Umno.

But something appeared to have happened inbetween and land parcel slipped out of Deepak’s grasp.

Deepak claims that Najib had bypassed the cabinet in deciding to pull back the land, but says little else.

“You could say he (Najib) exceeded his authority (in relation to his decision)” Deepak was reported as saying.

According to Deepak, the land involved was owned by the government and the rightful process was not followed.

“There is no question of any breach of confidentiality (here)…there’s just a lot of fishiness from some people” he was quoted as saying.

Deepak is currently suing Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd, the Ministry of Defence and the Pejabat Tanah dan Galian.

Series of coincidences?

Now Deepak is back again in the political spotlight.

His latest ‘fame’ is a two minute video in which he allegedly explains his reasons for ‘exposing’ the premiere and his first lady.

In the video he allegedly links PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and his fellow counterparts such as lawyer R Sivarasa, PKR vice president N Surendran and Anwar’s daughter Nurul Izzah to his decision to ‘tell the truth’.

In the video, he allegedly mentions that Anwar was the one who offered legal help to him but ‘obviously’ expected a favour in return.

Anwar has however denied all links to Deepak while Sivarasa and Surendran are now Deepak’s lawyers.

Sivarasa claims he warned Anwar of the risks before taking up Deepak’s case. Anwar it appears saw no adverse political implications.

Looking at the happenings in Deepak’s life, one wonders if all this is just a series of coincidence.

‘Indians livelihood far from satisfactory’

The destiny of Indians must change, says MIC president Palanivel today.

KUALA LUMPUR: The livelihood of the 1.8 million Indians in the country is far from satisfactory as the community has not moved in tandem with the nation’s development, MIC president G Palanivel said today.

Speaking at the opening of the 66th MIC general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here, he said the government must face the fact that Indians were still lagging behind and “the destiny of Indians must change.”

“And the real change comes when we connect to the people and they are inspired by genuine leadership. We have that in our prime minister. We must take the cue from him and stay focused.

“We must remember what we are about. What MIC is about. It is about building this community together. It is about equipping our people to succeed. It is about being their support system while guiding them towards a purposeful future,” he said.

The one-day MIC general assembly, attended by some 1,400 party delegates and 2,000 observers, was opened by Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Tun Razak.

He said the loyalty of Malaysian Indians cannot be questioned.

“We are very loyal this country. Despite all the hardship we never went back, we never gave up. We believe in Malaysia. We believe in working together.

“We may be vocal at times but it is really because we love this country and want it to be the best it can be. We chose to be here. This country is now our home. It will be the home for our children and for generations to come,” said the MIC chief during his pin drop silence speech.

Money for education

Speaking on Tamil schools, he said many Indians feel that the government has, in the past, not paid enough attention to the needs of Indians in the education segment, especially in the areas of early education, Tamil schools, Tamil language and tertiary education.

“In line with the recently announced education blue print that equal access in terms of facilities, content and methodology be available across all schools, the upgrading of Tamil schools need to be accelerated and put on a fast track.

“MIC feels that we need to ensure that Tamil schools can compete and will be on par with others within the next three years. I urge the government to give priority on this matter and allocate RM350 million a year to upgrade Tamil schools on a fast track basis until the target is met,” he added.

Palanivel also devoted a small portion of his speech to thank the prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor for pushing forward early childhood education through the Permata programme.

“Rosmah must have brought to your (Najib’s) attention and has successfully spearheaded the project as early childhood education is crucial for giving children a positive entry into the world of education.

“We congratulate Datin Seri (Rosmah) on the success of Permata kindergartens and hope it will extend to all Tamil schools in the future,” he said.

The MIC chief also wanted its Tafe college be upgraded into technical university status and the government to grant a RM30 million allocation to the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED), the education arm of the party, and another matching grant for the AIMST University, which is also run by the MIC.

Stimulus package

He also suggested that a fund of RM10 million be set aside for capacity building that could benefit up to 1,500 Indian small and medium enterprises.

“On the same note, I am requesting another RM10 million annually for Yayasan Strategik Sosial, the social arm of the MIC, to train other young entrepreneurs and fresh graduates in various other fields,” he said.

He said while the government has yet to put in place any affirmative plans for the community to increase its equity in the country’s economic pie, there is now an urgent need to put in place a stimulus package to spur the community’s economic growth.

“My message today is for continuity, for loyalty and for a long term vision. The challenges we face as a community are real and diverse. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

“Community building needs experience and tenacity. It needs vision and thought. It is a long term mission,” said Palanivel.

Samy approves Palani’s safe seat plan

MIC's former president says the current leader needs a safe seat – expected to be Cameron Highlands - to contest in the coming general election.

KUALA LUMPUR: It is not wrong for MIC president G Palanivel to contest in a safe seat in the coming 13th general election, says former party president S Samy Vellu.

He said it was understood that Palanivel would opt to contest in Cameron Highlands, a traditional safe seat for Barisan Nasional.

“It is not wrong… because when I lost in 2008, I lost direction for a few months. As a (party) president, Palanivel has the right to choose a safe seat.

“I think the preparation (being paved) for Palanivel to contest in Cameron Highlands is being done extensively. I am also sure that he will contest there,” Samy Vellu told reporters after the MIC’s 66th Annual General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here today.

The Cameron Highlands seat is currently held by MIC, via its vice-president, SK Devamany.

Asked if Devamany, who is also deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, would contest in Sungai Siput, Samy Vellu said:

“That is for Palanivel, as party president, to decide. A good politician should not comment after he (Samy Vellu) leaves.”

On the 13th general election, the former MIC chief said the party had to be well-prepared to face ongoing, as well as upcoming social issues.

He was confident that MIC would secure all parliamentary seats in the coming election, with three seats namely, Subang, Kota Raja and Kapar, believed to pose a ‘tough fight’ for the party’s candidates.

“The opposition is clamouring to capture the Segamat parliamentary seat. But I believe, with the noble state leadership, they (Pakatan Rakyat) can never invade Johor,” noted Samy Vellu.

The one-day MIC General Assembly, which was attended by over 1,500 delegates and 2,000 observers, was earlier opened by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

- Bernama

MIC gives up Pasir Panjang, Behrang seats

In exchange, the party is eyeing the Buntong and another state seat in Perak, says MIC president G Palanivel.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC will give up the Pasir Panjang and Behrang states seats to Umno and in exchange the largest Indian-based political party in the country is looking at the Buntong and another state seat in Perak.

Party president G Palanivel said MIC has decided to swap the two seats — Pasir Panjang and Behrang — and were in the midst of negotiations for replacement seats in the state.

“Buntong is a seat that we are looking at. We have yet to decide on the other seat. If we don’t get a seat in Perak, the Dengkil state seat (in Selangor) is our second option,” he told reporters after delivering his opening address at the 66th MIC annual general assembly here.

The assembly, attended by some 3,500 delegates and observers, was declared open by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak at the Putra World Trade Centre, this morning.

He explained the Selangor state seat was an option due to a stronger Indian vote base in Selangor. MIC lost in both Behrang and Pasir Panjang in 2008.

Palanivel also confirmed that MIC would be contesting in nine parliament and 19 state seats in the coming general election.

The party is alloted nine parliamentary and 19 state seats under the Barisan Nasional seat sharing system. Out of the allocated seats, MIC won only three parliamentary and seven state seats at the 2008 general election.

It won its fourth parliamentary seat at Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election in 2010.

Of the total 19 state seats, the MIC chief is confident that the party’s candidates would win 14 state seats but did not elaborate on the seats concerned.

No problems in Perak

Palanivel also brushed aside speculation that he was having problems with the Perak BN leadership, headed

by Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir.

“There are no differences of opinion. Negotiations are still ongoing,” said Palanivel.

Earlier this week FMT reported that Perak BN and MIC were on a collision course due to Palanivel’s insistence on fielding old candidates.

During the press meet, Palanivel also spoke about the Chinese votes which he deemed as important for MIC candidates.

“We will win if we get 25% to 30% of the Chinese votes.

“In Kapar, the Chinese say they’ll vote for DAP, not PKR and PAS,” he said. Kapar is currently held by PKR’s S Manikavasagam.

He also expressed confidence in recapturing Selangor and regaining the two thirds majority in parliament.

MyDaftar offers fast track on citizenship documentation

The process of MyKad application has been simplified with written exams in Bahasa Melayu for elderly applicants replaced with simple oral interviews.
VIDEO INSIDE

KUALA LUMPUR: The government initiated the MyDaftar campaign in February 2011 to identify Malaysian Indians who do not possess identification documents and to assist them in obtaining one.

This initiative was jointly led by the Special Implementation Task Force (SITF) and National Registration Department with the support of MIC and Indian community NGOs.

During the campaign period, over 80 National Registration Department counters in nine states were opened, including on weekends, for those wishing to obtain identification documents to submit their application for due process.

The process of application was simplified with written exams in Bahasa Melayu for applicants who were 50 years old and above, replaced with simple oral interviews.

Further, for incomplete applications, volunteers from MIC and NGOs were assigned to assist the applicants with obtaining necessary supporting documents and completing the registration procedure.

Throughout the campaign, 14,385 Malaysian Indians who did not possess identification documents came forward to the MyDaftar counters, out of which a total 9,529 submitted applications to the National Registration Department.

Within just 14 months, 6,590 applications have been approved and the rest are being processed.

Apart from the MyDaftar campaign, the government have also partnered with major Indian community NGOs such as DHRRA Malaysia, MyIndians.com and Helping Hands Malaysia to resolve the documentation problem faced by Indians in Malaysia.

For further enquiry, please contact:

N Siva Subramaniam- datosivataskforce@gmail.com / 017-6645287

Thanasegaran- thana.taskforce@gmail.com / 016-2957172

Jawatankuasa Kabinet Masyarakat India, (Special Indian Task Force)
Aras 9, Blok D3, Kompleks D
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62502 Putrajaya.

Non-Muslims feeling the heat

We are merely kidding ourselves if we think the rules by PAS only apply to Muslims.

But for political expediency, and for selfish political ambitions, there is now a deafening silence from allies of PAS. The only exception seems to be DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who has also consistently spoken up against the hudud laws pushed by PAS. However, his party comrades have decided to keep silent and, worse, are encouraging us to elect more PAS leaders into Parliament and the state assemblies.

Wong Chuan Wei, The Star

THERE they go again. The PAS-controlled Kelantan state government, which has yet to resolve the controversy over the gender segregation ruling on hair salons run by non-Muslims, has now found itself in another explosive issue.

Four non-Muslims two men on a plane-spotting outing and a couple in a park have been issued with summonses for khalwat.

The summonses were for “indecent behaviour” but the four have denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the municipal council enforcement officers were “merely abusing their position”.

The first case involved two men in their 30s who were in a car parked beside the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport. They claimed they were watching planes land in the night when they were issued with the summonses by these Taliban-style officers.

This writer can only deduce that Kota Baru must be so boring the result of a ban on entertainment outlets that the two young men have to watch planes landing at the airport for entertainment. How these officers can consider their action an offence is mind-boggling.

But we know that the PAS politicians have a great sense of imagination and can conjure up fantasies out of seemingly ordinary situations. They think that getting a haircut from a person of the opposite sex can lead to moral decay and watching concerts can lead to hedonism or excessive pleasure, whatever that means.

Malaysians know that these cranky politician-theologians also frown upon the mixed company of males and females, but two non-Muslim men being punished for being in a car together, that's a new one. Are they telling us now that two men together can lead to immoral activities or that watching planes at the airport can be sexually arousing? Even if they had committed a “gay act”, does the council have any jurisdiction over non-Muslims?

The other case involved a 17-year-old boy and a girl aged 15. They were together at the Tengku Anis Park in the town centre, in broad daylight, when they were arrested. They were approached by the enforcement officers and issued summonses on the spot for purported indecent behaviour.

Nothing seems to be safe any more for non-Muslims in Kota Baru. You get fined for having a hair cut by a hairstylist of a different sex, you get fined for being in love and sharing private moments in a park in broad daylight, and you also get summoned for being in a wrong queue in a supermarket check-out.

Before anyone accuses this writer of filing another PAS-bashing piece, it is important to point out that the protest over the latest controversies was started by the National PAS Supporters Congress president Hu Pang Chaw, who is known for his apologist stand for the Islamist party.

Interestingly enough, Hu has also revealed that the male victims had complained to him that the officers had even sought RM500 “to settle the matter”, which means that these holier-than-thou officers were open to corruption.

Hu added that “as far as I know, the council has no right to issue summonses to non-Muslims for close contact with their girlfriends in the dark or out in the open”. But Hu shouldn't plead ignorance now because the PAS rules have always infringed upon non-Muslims. This is not the first time and it won't be the last.

Don't blame PAS either because they have consistently told Malaysians that their objective is to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State. Barisan Nasional tells us that we are already an Islamic State, but they still keep intact the secular laws and the British-style courts.

But for political expediency, and for selfish political ambitions, there is now a deafening silence from allies of PAS. The only exception seems to be DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who has also consistently spoken up against the hudud laws pushed by PAS. However, his party comrades have decided to keep silent and, worse, are encouraging us to elect more PAS leaders into Parliament and the state assemblies.

It is also pertinent to note that during The Star's interview with the Sultan of Selangor, the Tuanku had revealed that there were politicians who tried to prevent the opening of cinemas in shopping malls in Shah Alam! This is in Selangor and not even in Kelantan. We can also assume that this must be the work of PAS elected representatives.

We know for a fact that the PAS state assemblyman for Bangi, Dr Shafie Abu Bakar, has prevented a cinema from being set up by a non-Muslim, and that the Kuala Selangor PAS wants to stop unmarried couples from watching movies in a cinema there.

We are merely kidding ourselves if we think the rules by PAS do not affect non-Muslims. Despite the promised intervention by PAS' top leaders over the hair salon ruling, nothing has changed until today.

In an interview with The Malay Mail on Friday, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was quoted as saying “even Chinese wives don't agree with (unisex) salons”.

He seems out of touch with reality, or pretending to be.

A second chance for bankrupts

Malaysia has one of the most stringent bankruptcy laws in the world, but a review may be in the offing.
According to the Malaysia Department of Insolvency, between 2005 and June 2012, a total of 243,823 people have been declared bankrupt in the country.
Shahanaaz Habib, The Star 
SAM, an engineer, met Ling when they were both studying in college. They dated for years and even made plans to get married.
When Ling bought a car, Sam stood as her guarantor. But Ling did not pay her monthly instalment and Sam ended up paying it for her. Then one day, to his horror, Sam found out that Ling was in fact engaged to someone else.
Heartbroken, he broke off all contact with her, changed jobs and moved to another state to get over her. But Ling continued her habit of not servicing her car loan till the bank finally repossessed her car and auctioned it off. Even then, there was still a shortfall of RM45,000.

Opinion: Obama's Failing Marks

Obama: Eh? No flags?

The US has a lot of work in Asia to right the American foreign policy ship

The visit of US President Barack Obama to Cambodia to attend two regional meetings on Nov. 19 showed he isn't the only boy on the block, pivot to Asia or no pivot to Asia. Obama and his vast traveling entourage were humiliated by the way the Cambodian strongman Hun Sen organized protocols. No welcome sign greeted Obama upon his arrival at Phnom Phenh Airport. Rather, the area was strewn with welcoming signs for visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

This actually weakened Obama's prestige in the region, showing the new realities for the US, where ironically very few commentators picked up on the snub. Obama was played off against Wen, who was also visiting the East Asia Summit, showing the world that Obama was powerless and could do nothing but take second place. This humiliation from a veteran in the region is metaphoric of the movie The Mouse that Roared, in which a comic opera principality humiliated major nations. All this took place symbolically in front of the great presidential icon Air Force One.

Obama is also on public record calling for integration of all the peoples in Burma, a particular reference to the Rohingya. The president is taking a big risk here that his visit may come back to haunt him if the Myanmar government continues to take harsh action against the Rohingya, Muslims who have lived on the coast of the Andaman Sea for decades but who have been the target of savage ethnic reprisals over the past two years by the Buddhist Burmese majority.

The days of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Alliance) mentality to handle the disputed South China Sea territories are long gone, with too many other grouping proposals on the table up for consideration. Southeast Asia is now a complex melange of countries that don't think in the American black/white color scheme anymore. Obama's failure to reflect on the US involvement in the bombing of Cambodia in the 1960s and 1970s could be indicative of US lack of any sense of history of the region.

Against a wider backdrop, the president has veered close to losing the moral authority that the United States reclaimed after he reversed the Bush Administration's torture policies and took other measures in a bid to banish the unpleasant memories and dark deeds of his predecessor.

But although Obama pulled troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan seems to be a stalemate, not dissimilar to the position of the Soviets in the 1980s in the same theater of war. Obama has actually increased troop numbers rather than reduced them. The quandary he faces when US and NATO troops leave as planned in 2014 is - how long will it take the Taliban to retake control? The Taliban retake, if it happens on the Obama watch, will highlight a military and foreign policy failure which the president will have to wear.

With the changing nature of battle and public criticism of US troop casualties, new technologies available have allowed the pursuit of a more painless way of taking military action as far as the public is concerned through the use of drones. Drones have become Obama's weapon of choice. Easy, convenient, secret, and cheap.

However, drones have created another crack in Obama's armor. Although they enable one side to take surgical action in remote and inaccessible locations, the plain fact is that they operate against international law and amount to nothing more than illegal assassination, especially when they are operated outside theaters of war.

Obama thus appears to have contributed to the creation of a world in which state assassination, even of the US's own citizens without trial, is acceptable. Last year the Obama administration deployed a drone to kill an American, Anwar al-Awlaki without any trial whatsoever. Obama's name and signature are on these executive actions and history will never erase them.

The only thing we don't know is the extent that Obama has used this weapon. US foreign policy has returned to the days in which the CIA had almost free rein to assassinate any "target" in secrecy.

Obama has proved to be a willing commander in chief of the armed forces, presiding over a new era of warfare and taking it to a new level. The raid on the alleged Osama Bin laden in Pakistan also had no legal basis, other than being an 'act of might'. We must take the word of the US that it was actually Osama Bin Laden who was assassinated. This Obama claimed as one of the accomplishments of his first term. The only apparent difference in the Bush and Obama narrative is the finesse that Obama can put to what he says.

Against these transgressions, a new, more dynamic schema is needed by the Obama advisers to engage the region with any true meaningfulness. It isn't just Cambodia. The rest of Asia is full of potential mine fields and potential flash points--like North Korea, which Obama will need more skill than he has shown to date to handle, especially if a crisis develops -- as one may well do with the current Kim's current threat to test long-range missiles that the North boasts could reach Los Angeles.

So far the administration has often been caught speechless when crises arise as the cabinet in Washington and close advisers grope for a position and strategy on each matter. This initial silence to arising world events signals the complexity the administration faces in a world that Washington can no longer dominate.

Reforming the world financial system, no. Peace in the Middle East, no. An end-game in Syria, no. Human rights and dignity, no, not this president. On human rights, Obama's actions are far from the spirit and doctrines of Martin Luther King.

With the numbers in both houses of Congress the way they are, there is an inability to implement any visionary domestic agenda. Just look at the current haggling on tax measures between the President and Congress.

Perhaps the best place where Obama could develop a legacy is to follow the footsteps of the former President Richard Nixon, disgraced as Nixon later became for domestic high crimes and misdemeanors that forced his resignation in the face of threatened impeachment. The legacy that Obama could carve out for his administration is to develop a collaborative working relationship with China, which ironically a large proportion of US big business seek, as this is in corporate America's best interests.

Divide-and-conquer strategies don't work anymore. It's going to be about finding common ground and mutual interests in each region of the world, where cooperation and collaboration results from dialogue. This could be the soundest strategy to bring lasting peace, prosperity and an Obama legacy.

Cooperation with China would balance the world order at bargain basement prices, which could bring a dividend of new levels of prosperity and a new age of global relations. Where Obama has failed with the US Congress he could triumph within the Great Hall of the People.

Does Obama have the wisdom to see this?

Most often US presidencies are shaped on external events such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cuban crisis, the Vietnam War, the Iranian hostage crisis, the fall of the Soviet Union, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and 9/11, etc. Legacies need definitive action to develop and be remembered. So Obama's opportunity for legacy maybe something nobody foresees today.

To date the Obama phenomenon has been more hype than substance, a presidency more symbolic for the values that the Constitution of the United States stands for rather than any pivot towards any substantial changes in society.

However with the record of service rendered to date the final question is how would a President Obama be able to handle any real crisis? His biggest test may yet be still ahead of him.

Najib’s Farcical Presidential Speech

M. Bakri Musa

That Prime Minister Najib Razak is oratorically-challenged is patently obvious, and a severe understatement. The pathetic part is that Najib is determined to delude himself that he is otherwise. His presidential speech at the recently-concluded UMNO General Assembly was only the latest example.

He confuses ponderousness with deliberateness, equates yelling as emphasizing, and thinks that furrowing his forehead as being in profound thought. In the hands of a gifted actor, those could be great comedic acts. Alas, Najib is also far from being that.

I learned early in high school at Kuala Pilah that if I did not know what to do with my hands when delivering a speech, to keep them in my pockets or behind my back. Do not gesticulate wildly as that would only distract the audience. Worse, I risked looking like a monkey on speed. Najib apparently did not learn that at his expensive British school.

As an aside from the personal hygiene perspective, I hoped they sanitized the microphone thoroughly after he spoke; there was an awful amount of spit splattered on it during his delivery.

Najib should take comfort in the fact that there are many effective leaders who are neither charismatic nor great orators. Germany’s Angela Merkel readily comes to mind. Najib should also be reminded that the converse is even truer. Leaders with great oratorical gifts and generously endowed charisma can often be among the most corrupt and inept. Sukarno mesmerized Indonesians with his mercurial personality and spellbound speeches, but that country remained a basket case economically and in many other ways during his presidency.

Had Najib delivered his address in his usual persona, without the put-on gravitas or pretensions of grandeur, he could have finished his nearly hour-long speech in half the time. Then he and his audience would not have missed their Maghrib prayers. Besides, there was nothing in Najib’s speech that was so urgent or important to justify that. As self-professed champions and defenders of Islam, Najib and his fellow UMNO members do not need to be reminded of the importance of prayer. He and UMNO might need it for the coming election!

Or perhaps those UMNO folks believed in the canard that their party is God’s choice, and thus dispensed from having to pray.

With all the daunting challenges facing Malays, Najib could come up with only two piddling policy prescriptions: One, increasing Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia’s (AIM) loan amount to RM100K from RM50K; and two, reviewing the country’s bankruptcy laws. This from the leader of a party that purports to champion the Malay cause!

In announcing the loan increase, Najib looked approvingly to Wanita members, and they in turn responded in kind. Meaning, they were the intended beneficiaries. I have no problem giving those ladies who are hairdressers or trained pre-school teachers loans so they could start their own beauty salons or kindergartens, but simply by virtue of their being Wanita members would be folly. Besides, if all you have is some vague idea of starting basket weaving, you do not need such outlandish amounts.

AIM is Malaysia’s government-sponsored version of “micro-credit.” Muhammad Yunus, its pioneer, would be flabbergasted to know that a loan of RM100K is considered “micro.” This is yet another example of Najib adopting an otherwise brilliant idea from elsewhere and then screwing it up in the implementation. AIM’s generous program has degenerated into another massive and lucrative UMNO patronage machinery.

As for reviewing the bankruptcy laws, I would have been reassured had Najib made it part of an overall scheme to encourage economic entrepreneurialism and business risk-taking especially among Malays. Alas, none of that! It was prompted simply to rescue the many UMNO leaders who are bankrupt purportedly from guaranteeing loans of their members in return for their support. With the proposed changes, those local leaders would be spared from bankruptcy, and then they could be their party’s next “winnable” candidates! Having not learned their lesson, they would then mortgage the country’s future.

What is obvious here is that Najib and the entire UMNO leadership are bereft of ideas. They are intellectually bankrupt. The brilliant political cartoonist Zunar captures well this degeneration of UMNO leaders with his latest cartoon, “Evolusi UMNO.”

The only remedy for the intellectual bankruptcy of our current leaders is to have an entirely new leadership.

Fully aware what Mahathir did to Abdullah Badawi, Najib heaped profuse praise on the still powerful Mahathir. It was sucking up performance par excellence! Najib singled out Mahathir’s commitment of loyalty to leaders, which he (Mahathir) apparently forgot when Abdullah Badawi was in charge.

According to Najib, Mahathir had impressed upon UMNO members the importance of loyalty to leaders, presumably in contrast to fidelity to principles. Najib readily or more accurately, desperately hung on to that! These UMNO leaders are nothing but opportunistic characters, modern-day Hang Tuahs.

In his speech Najib was like a little kid desperately seeking approval and relishing praises from grown-ups. Apart from gushingly citing Mahathir’s approbation, Najib reminded his audience of IMF’s Christine Legard’s praise for Malaysia’s “gravity-defying” economic performance. Najib needs to be reminded that the IMF, World Bank, and other “respected” international bodies were running out of superlatives to describe the country’s economic stewardship right up to the day before the 1997 Asian economic contagion.

When he was not consumed with sucking up and seeking approval, Najib was obsessed with demonizing the opposition, in particular its leader Anwar Ibrahim. Najib feigned disgust at Anwar’s alleged crime, for which he was jailed but subsequently acquitted on appeal.

Najib and others of his ilk conveniently forgot that whatever crime Anwar may have allegedly committed, no one was murdered. Instead, Anwar suffered a black eye, literally and metaphorically. Now compare that to the fate of the beautiful young Mongolian lady Altantuya. She and her unborn child were literally blown to pieces. The fact that her killers are close to Najib (they were part of his official bodyguard unit) or the explosives used are available only to his department remains unexplained.

Najib smugly let on that he had other “secrets” of Anwar which he (Najib) would unhesitatingly reveal at the opportune time. Left unsaid are the many secrets of Najib now swirling openly in cyberspace that he has yet to respond. The biggest remains the tragedy of that poor Mongolian lady.

It is hard to pick which part of Najib’s speech was the most obscene or offensive as there were many vying for the top spot. His closing remarks must clearly rank high up there.

It is an accepted tradition in Islam that once you have uttered vile words or committed evil deeds, your wuduk (ablution) would be nullified. You would then have to re-cleanse yourself (take another wuduk) before reciting any dua (supplication) or verse from the Koran. The reason is clear and obvious: You cannot invoke Allah’s name when your heart is filled with bile and hate. It makes a mockery of your good niat (intention).

In vilifying the opposition and uttering those ugly words, Najib had committed evil deeds. I could also add that he had demeaned himself, but then he could not get any lower.

Earlier, UMNO folks were appalled when PAS members, led by their leader Nik Aziz, had a prayer calling for UMNO’s downfall. Like many, I too was utterly repulsed by that vulgar gesture.

Yet there was Najib, frothing at the mouth vilifying the opposition and attributing the most evil of motives to them, and then with his instant put-on piety leading his followers to a recitation of dua calling for Allah’s blessing! They in turn responded in kind with their collective exuberant “Amen!” and “Allahu Akhbar!” (God is great!). Only UMNO’s carma (contraction for cari makan – lit. seeking food; fig. opportunistic) ulamas would approve of that.

Brace Yourselves For Baseless Allegations Against BN, Salang Tells Rural Folks

SARIKEI, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- In view of the coming general election, rural folks in the state should brace themselves for a barrage of baseless allegations from the opposition and irresponsible non-governmental organisations (NGOs) against the Barisan Nasional (BN).

Apart from mindless attacks on BN leaders and elected representatives, Deputy Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang said private radio stations might also add to the confusion.

He singled out the Radio Free Sarawak (RFS) and Radio Kenyalang of the state opposition party, Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) as being those which criticised the BN in its daily broadcasts.

Speaking at a meet-the-people session at Rh. Padang anak Kasa in Bayong near here Saturday, Salang said the people, as voters, should be able to differentiate lies from truths.

"They should be able to decide very judiciously as their decision will determine their own future and that of the nation," he said.

MIC Promises Big Victory For BN In 13th General Election - Palanivel

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- The MIC has promised a big victory for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), based on tremendous support from the Indian community after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took over the reins in 2009.

Party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said the support was stronger for the ruling coalition after receiving great benefits, particularly in education, public service development programme, economy and social programmes initated by Najib.

"Up till 2004, our vote was a fixed deposit. But we lost our fixed deposit in 2008. We now assure that the fixed deposit is backing the prime minister.

"Today, the community realises that only the BN government and the prime minister are capable of shaping their future.

"The Indian votes are important to BN, and saying this, the MIC can bring back at least 600,000 votes to the BN," he said during his speech at the MIC's 66th Annual General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here Sunday.

The assembly was opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Also present were former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, Senate president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang and BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Palanivel, who is also minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said the Indian community had always placed Najib as a special leader who could uplift their social and economic status.

Furthermore, he said, the community would be better only under Najib since the prime minister knew what the Indian community needed.

"Our vote matters, our vote counts, our vote is a block. MIC is the only party that can truly represent the interests and rights of the Indians in this country," he added.

Palanivel went on to stress that the Indian loyalty to the country could not be questioned although members of the community could be vocal in expressing their past dissatisfaction.

"We may be vocal at times, but it is really because we love this country and want it to be the best it can be," he said.

Palanivel also took the opportunity to make requests to Najib, in terms of monetary aid for various programmes to aid the Indian community.

One of the requests was that the MIED-owned Tafe College be upgraded to the status of a technical university college, in view of TAR College being upgraded to the status of a university college.

"We are also requesting the prime minister to provide a RM30 million grant annually for MIED and another matching grant to the AIMST University," said Palanivel.

He said Indian equity was lagging far behind its target of three per cent in the country.

"However, there aren't any affirmative plans in place for the community to catch up. The government has a proven model that worked well for the Bumiputera community. We don't have to re-invent the wheel. We can adopt some of the successful methods to accelerate the growth of Indian equity," he said.

Meanwhile, Palanivel slammed the opposition attitude that only 'exploited' the Indian community votes to win the election and ignored every promise which was made.

"They have nothing to offer, nothing concrete and practical. Everything is empty promise such as breaking alter shrines in Sepang and making Kampung Buah Pala people homeless. Only when Datuk Seri Najib intervened, and delivered houses to them," he noted.

Palanivel called on all delegates for continuity, loyalty and long-term vision, as the challenges faced by the community were real and diverse, which could not be met in a short span of time.