 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
 |
 |
A few bunches of flowers and bulldozer tracks are all that’s left of the “Democracy tree” plaque. – Pic courtesy of blog.limkitsiang.com
IPOH, March…
A few bunches of flowers and bulldozer tracks are all that’s left of the “Democracy tree” plaque. – Pic courtesy of blog.limkitsiang.com
IPOH, March 15 – The monument commemorating the “Democracy Tree” was removed this morning.
This comes less than two days after the Ipoh City Council served a 24-hour notice pinned to the tree, telling the “owner” of the plaque to remove it.
Perak DAP claims that witnesses saw city council personnel removing it around 7am this morning.
The site where the plaque stood since March 8 shows signs of being dug up by earthmoving machinery.
The notice, pinned on Friday evening, declared that the plaque, erected on a road reserve, was illegal because no permit had been sought from the council.
It also said that the structure posed an obstruction to the public and hence contravened Section 46(1)(a) of the Road, Drainage and Building Ordinance 1974.
DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said that the removal was done by those afraid of such symbols of democracy.
“They should be more afraid of the democratic spirit in the hearts and minds of Perakians and Malaysians,” the Ipoh Timur MP said, adding that such a move only highlighted the illegitimacy of Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir as the mentri besar of Perak.
Folded into our experience of the night of May 13, 1969, was there not the glue that binds all of us with the message that we must love each other…
Folded into our experience of the night of May 13, 1969, was there not the glue that binds all of us with the message that we must love each other or die?
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
My early education was in the Alice Smith School at Bellamy Road in Kuala Lumpur. For those not familiar with early KL, that is behind the Dewan Bahasa near the Stadium Merdeka and Stadium Negara. The Alice Smith School was a school for the children of British expatriates. There were probably only three Asians in that entire school. The other two were one Chinese boy, who I can’t remember what his name was, and a girl named Sarah Chin -- my first ‘girlfriend’ of sorts, although she didn’t give any indication that she knew I even existed (so it was actually a one-way ‘relationship’ in that sense).
The Alice Smith School was only up to Standard Five -- so I was transferred to the Meru Road Primary School in Klang for my Standard Six. I did a short stint (about a month or so) in the Meru Road High School, also in Klang, after which I was sent to the Malay Colllege Kuala Kangsar from 1963 to 1965.
I could not stand the all-Malay environment -- a sort of culture shock after almost seven years in an all-English school -- and in 1965, during my Form Three, I asked to be transferred back to a ‘normal’ school. My father sent me to the Victoria Institution where I remained until my Form Five in 1967. The fact that I did not speak Malay well and was constantly subjected to ragging -- they called me ‘Mat Salleh Celup’ -- made life in MCKK most intolerable indeed. I never mixed with anyone and hardly had any friends other than ‘Manan Cina’, a most Chinese-looking Malay whose father was in the Terendak Camp in Melaka.
In the V.I., I felt more at home. My ‘best’ friends were Rajadurai (whom we called ‘Tengku’, since he was a ‘Raja’), Yim Seng, Yong Boon, Onn, Azizul, Karim, and about half a dozen other Malays, Chinese and Indians. The beauty about all these friends was they were not my Malay, Indian or Chinese friends. It did not occur to me (or to any of the others for that matter) that they were my Malay, Chinese and Indian friends. They were just ‘my friends’. In short, we were absolutely and thoroughly ‘colour-blind’,
But that was in the 1960s. Then, in 1969, we suddenly realised that there was a difference after all. We no longer had ‘just friends’. We had Malay, Chinese and Indian friends. Eventually, we drifted apart. I heard Rajadurai was murdered. I was beside Onn’s deathbed as he gasped his last breath. I don’t know what happened to Yim Seng, Yong Boon, Azizul and Karim. And I can’t even remember the names of the half a dozen or so other Malay, Chinese and Indian friends.
And this is most sad. It troubles me to this very day that these friends of mine are no longer part of my life, and I no longer part of theirs. We were once so close. We were closer than brothers. Now, they are faint memories of what could be equated as ships passing in the night.
What has this country done to us? What happened in 1969 that divided us so? What did not matter back in the 1960s is considered ever so important today.
This country has failed us. The politicians of today have turned the clock back and have destroyed what took many years to build. The destruction is so bad that in our lifetime we shall never see the country restored to what it was. It may never be restored even by the next generation.
I no longer see any hope for Malaysia. It will take a miracle to again see what we saw back in the 1960s. Today, Malaysia is all about the colour of your skin. Your break in life depends on which womb you happen to have come out from. Why must your future ride on the throw of the dice? Why must fate play a cruel game of chance while what lies before you relates to which family you were born into?
Malaysia needs a paradigm shift. But this shift can only occur if all want it to happen. It takes two hands to clap. And the way forward must be to bury the past and not play the blame-game. All are to blame for 1969. No one person or one community caused this. Just as it takes two hands to clap to see this paradigm shift that we so greatly need, it also took two hands to clap for what happened in 1969.
The glue that binds us
Dato' Mahadev Shankar
May 13, 1969 is nearly forty years behind us. What day of the week was it? Alas I cannot now remember! Perhaps it was a Friday? Friday the 13th has always had such an ominous ring to it! It was certainly before Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (the former prime minister) set our clocks back half an hour and thus took centre stage in our psyche. Of that I am sure.
As sure as I am that in 1969 with our Bapa Merdeka, Tunku Abdul Rahman as Prime Minister before he was deposed, we rose at sunrise and retired at sundown. May 13th 1969 marked a turning point in the history of our nation.
I had finished with the Fitzpatrick case at Court Hill, and made an uneventful return home a little earlier than I should. My wife and children were out somewhere in town and got back just before sunset.
By twilight, all hell had broken loose.
The shouting of a mob in full flow seemed to be coming from the junction of Princess Road (now Jalan Raja Muda) and Circular Road (later Jalan Pekeliling and now Jalan Tun Abdul Razak), which was less than half a mile from our house on the corner of Jalan Gurney Dua and Satu. We were well within earshot of the commotion.
I was then out on our badminton court with my wife and children when I saw a young Malay, face ravaged with shock as he ran past us, intermittently stopping to catch his breath and then run on. The panic he radiated was very contagious.
A few moments later, my neighbour Tuan Haji Ahmad shouted from across the road that a riot was in progress at the Princess Road junction and that we should immediately get back indoors.
Soon afterwards as the darkness set in, we saw red tongues of flame crowned with black smoke go up from the direction of Dato Keramat. From town there was a red glow in the sky of fires burning. The acrid smell of smoke was coming from everywhere. More to the point, the very air around us seemed to be shivering with terror. Fearing the worst, we locked ourselves in and huddled around the TV set.
Then I heard this high pitched wail. It was a female voice in distress - "Tolong, buka pintu, tolong. buka pintu!" (Please open the door!). A diminutive woman, with a babe in arms, was desperately yelling for shelter, obviously not having had much luck with the houses nearer the Gurney Road junction.
Without a second thought, I ran out, unlocked the gate and let her in. She was wide-eyed with terror and the baby was bawling away. The sheer relief seemed to have silenced her and she was not registering my questions. And she was not talking.
Once inside, she slunk into a corner in our dining room and just sat there huddled with her baby, not looking at us but facing the wall. It was now evident that she was Chinese, spoke no English, and was quite unwilling to engage in any conversation except to plead in bazaar Malay that she would give us no trouble and that she would leave the next day. Our attention soon shifted from her to the TV set.
A very distraught Tunku Abdul Rahman, came on to tell us that a curfew had to be declared because of racial riots between the Malays and the Chinese, caused by the over-exuberance of some elements celebrating their election victories, and gave brief details of irresponsible provocations, skirmishes, and fatalities. He stressed the need for calm whilst the security services restored law and order. Well do I remember his parting words to us that night,
“Marilah kita hidup atau mati sekarang.” (Let us choose to live or die now.)
As my attention once again shifted to the tiny woman and her tinier baby, let me confess to my shame, that the thought crossed my mind that living in a predominantly Malay area, I had now put my whole family in peril by harbouring this Chinese woman. It was manifestly evident from the TV broadcasts that her race had become the target of blind racial hatred.
It was an ignoble thought I immediately suppressed as unworthy of any human being. She, too, had been watching the TV and perhaps even more intently was watching me, and must have seen the dark clouds as they gathered around my visage.
None of us were in the mood to eat anything. We all just sat and waited and waited and waited, not knowing quite what to expect. Hours later there was a loud banging at our gate accompanied by a male voice shouting.
I realised then my moment of truth had finally arrived. I asked my cook Muthu, a true hero, if ever there was one to accompany me to the gate. In that half-light, I saw the most enormous Malay man I ever set my eyes on.
With great trepidation I asked him what he wanted. “You have got my wife and child in your house and I have come for them,” he said in English.
Still suspicious I asked him, “Before I say anything, can you describe your wife?”
“Yes, yes, I know you ask because I am a Malay. My wife is Chinese and she is very small and my baby is only a few months old. Can I now please come in?”
I immediately unlocked the gate. In he came and we witnessed the most touching family reunion. He thanked us profusely and without further ado they were on their way. In the excitement we did not ask his name or address.
What next?
I saw where my duty lay and immediately called the Emergency telephone number to volunteer for relief duty. An armoured car appeared the next morning. I was taken to Federal House and assigned to assist the late Tun Khir Johari (as he subsequently became) and the late Tan Sri Manikavasagam.
Our task initially was to transport and resettle the refugees into the Merdeka Stadium and thence into the low cost municipal flats in Jalan Ipoh. We then tied up with Dato Ruby Lee of the Red Cross to locate missing persons and supply emergency food rations to the displaced. Some semblance of law and order was restored and the town slowly came back to life.
If that baby who sheltered in our house that fateful night has survived life’s vicissitudes, he would be 38 years old today.
All the ethnic races, which compose our lucky nation, were fully represented in our house that evening when the Almighty brought us together for a short while. With our 50th Merdeka anniversary fast approaching, and our hopes for racial unity so much in the forefront of our minds, may I leave it to my readers to ask themselves whether there is a pointer here for all of us. Folded into our experience of the night of May 13, 1969, was there not the glue that binds all of us with the message that we must love each other or die?
May 13, 2007
Dato’ Mahadev Shankar joined the Victoria Institution (V.I.) after the war from Pasar Road School and was active in debating and in drama. Indeed, he was the first president of the V.I. Dramatics Society, a successor to the long-dormant VIMADS (V.I. Musical and Dramatic Society) of the 1920s. He is well remembered for his title role as Antonio in the Society's first major production, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which played to packed houses for five nights in August 1952.
He was also the V.I. Rodger Scholar of 1951.
Dato' Shankar is a barrister of the Inner Temple London and was enrolled as an Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court Malaya in 1956. Thereafter he practised law in Shearn Delamore and Company, Kuala Lumpur, till 1983 when he was appointed Judge of the High Court of West Malaysia. He served in Johor, the Federal Capital, and in Selangor till 1994 when he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
During his career as a lawyer he served on the Board of Several Public Companies including Malaysian Airlines System. He was the advisor to the New Straits Times Group on libel laws and the resident representative of the Medical Defence Union.
He has also represented Malaysia on several international conferences on a variety of legal subjects. These included Intellectual Property laws in Sydney 1984, Canberra 1987, New Delhi 1995 and Tokyo 1997, and Kanchanaburi Thailand in 1998, Price Variation and Escalation clauses in International contracts at the Singapore Business Laws Conference, and the Right to a Fair Trial in Heidelberg 1996 as well as conferences on Aviation Laws in Dallas 1979, New York 1981, and Taipei in 1990.
Apart from the hundreds of Judgements he has delivered during his tenure as a judge he also served as a Royal Commissioner on two national inquiries and was the Advisory Editor for Halsbury’ Laws of Malaysia on Civil Procedure.
With specific reference to Arbitration, whilst in practice he has acted as an Arbitrator in the Whitley Council to revise the Wage Structure of the Postal Department of Malaysia, in labour disputes on the first Industrial Arbitration Tribunal, and in private arbitrations in disputes between dissenting partners in legal firms. He delivered the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the inviolabilty of the awards of the Regional Centre from Judicial review.
Dato' Mahadev Shankar retired as a Judge of the Court of Appeal Malaysia in November 1997.
Since his retirement from the Judiciary he has acted as an Arbitrator in a corporate dispute between joint venture partners on severance terms, a major dispute between the Owner and Main contractor in one of Kuala Lumpur’s prime building projects. The ongoing arbitrations in which he is now involved include a construction dispute in East Malaysia, and a dispute between two corporate conglomerates on the enforceablity of put options.
He is currently a legal consultant in Zaid Ibrahim and Company, a law firm in Kuala Lumpur.
In April 2000 Dato' Shankar was appointed a Member of the Human Rights Commission Of Malaysia for a term of two years.
Vandalism and desecration of the Democracy Tree plaque has been completed in a three-day nefarious operation.
There is now not a trace of the Democracy plague or relic at the…
Vandalism and desecration of the Democracy Tree plaque has been completed in a three-day nefarious operation.
There is now not a trace of the Democracy plague or relic at the historic Democracy Raintree in Ipoh.
Ipoh City Council workers in a lorry and tractor were sighted at the site this morning at about 7.30 am this morning to “cleanse” the site, removing every bit and piece of the Democracy Monument.
Even the signposts for the five Democracy saplings were not spared.
This is the work of people who are mortally afraid of a Democracy monument and Democracy Tree – not realizing that they should be more afraid of the Democracy spirit in the hearts and minds of Perakians and Malaysians
The nefarious three-day operation to complete the vandalism and desecration of the Democracy plaque has only highlighted the fundamental legitimacy problem of the usurper Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir as well as the legitimacy of the impending sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Razak in orchestrating the divisive, undemocratic, unethical, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak and neglecting his responsibilities as the Finance Minister to single-mindedly rally and unite Malaysians to tide Malaysia through the world’s worst global economic crisis in a century.
Perakians and Malaysians must tell Najib and Zambry – You can vandalise and desecrate the Democracy plaque, but you cannot quash and destroy the democracy spirit burning ever stronger in the hearts of Malaysians.
Even the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has acknowledged that the power grab in Perak, orchestrated by Najib, was illegitimate, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional.
If Najib wants to be a Prime Minister for all Malaysians, and not just for Zambry, Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, and the rest of the BN component parties, then dissolve the Perak State Assembly and return the mandate to the Perakains to choose the government they want!
Smashed, scarred and now uprooted and gone without a trace - Photos by Kinta Kid
Now, who did this?: Bro Vincent Corkery, former director of St Michael’s Institution, inspects the…
Smashed, scarred and now uprooted and gone without a trace - Photos by Kinta Kid
Now, who did this?: Bro Vincent Corkery, former director of St Michael’s Institution, inspects the site
… and the rakyat are still coming
On the third day, the Democracy Plaque vanishes… Another metaphor for our lost democracy.
Kinta Kid reports from Ipoh:
The plaque under the now famous Democracy Tree has been removed. According to an eye witness account, it was removed at around 7.00am today, presumably by the Ipoh City Council’s enforcement department. A view of the site indicates that a tractor was used to remove the structure.
If the culprits think they can remove the quest for democracy by removing the plaque, they are sadly mistaken. Democracy is now deeply embedded in the hearts of many Malaysians by now, and no tractor can uproot that spirit.
But with positive indications in favour of justice, such as the Speaker now being allowed to appoint his own counsel and Mahathir’s remarks about the illegality of the new Perak government, it may not be long before the plaque is returned to its rightful place.
The legend of the Democracy Tree lives on…
Berikut adalah Soalan dan Jawapan YB Kapar di Parlimen pada 12 Mac 2009 .
Soalan No 6.
Tuan S. Manikavasagam [Kapar] minta Menteri Pelajaran menyatakan jumlah pelajar
yang berjaya memasuki…
Berikut adalah Soalan dan Jawapan YB Kapar di Parlimen pada 12 Mac 2009 .
Soalan No 6.
Tuan S. Manikavasagam [Kapar] minta Menteri Pelajaran menyatakan jumlah pelajar
yang berjaya memasuki Maktab Perguruan dan berikan pecahan mengikut kaum bagi tahun 2005 hingga 2008.
Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran I [Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong]: Tuan Yang di-Pertua,
bilangan pelajar mengikut tahun yang berjaya memasuki Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG) bagi
tempoh tahun 2007 dan 2008 adalah seperti berikut:-
Tahun 2007 - 20,187 orang
Tahun 2008 - 17,678 orang
Sukacita dimaklumkan bahawa jumlah enrolmen tersebut adalah berdasarkan kepada dua kursus adalah Kursus Perguruan Lepasan SPM iaitu lima setengah tahun dan satu lagi adalah Kursus Perguruan Lepasan Ijazah. Manakala data yang dipohon oleh Yang Berhormat sebenarnya selepas tahun 2006, satu keputusan telah dibuat oleh kerajaan di mana Kementeria Pengajian Tinggi dan Kementerian Pelajaran masing-masing mempunyai pengkhususan di mana IPG hanya melatih guru di peringkat sekolah rendah. Kerajaan ataupun Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia tidak mengkhusus ataupun menetapkan sebarang kuota kepada mana-mana kaum tetapi sebaliknya membuka peluang kepada semua calon yang layak untuk memohon ke IPG bagi mengikuti kursus perguruan yang ditawarkan.
Untuk makluman Yang Berhormat oleh kerana sekolah rendah sekarang adalah sekolahkebangsaan, sekolah jenis kebangsaan Tamil dan Cina, bermakna ada tiga aliran. Keperluan guru itu berdasarkan kepada tiga jenis sekolah tersebut. Itulah serba sedikit tentang gambaran di IPG. Terima kasih.
Tuan S. Manikavasagam [Kapar]: Terima kasih, Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Terima kasih
Yang Berhormat Timbalan Menteri. Soalan tambahan saya, berapakah jumlah keseluruhan pelajar yang memohon untuk memasuki maktab perguruan dan adakah kementerian bercadang untuk menambah lagi tempat bagi menampung keperluan tenaga guru-guru terlatih. Sekian, terima kasih.
Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong: Terima kasih, Yang Berhormat Kapar. Sebenarnya kalausaya memberikan satu senario jumlah permohonan yang diterima di kalangan calon Melayu untuk KPLI 2009 iaitu permohonan dibuat tahun lalu adalah 48,384 dan yang layak ditawar ialah 6,631 orang. Manakala untuk permohonan daripada calon Cina hanya 2,665 yang mana 838 layak ditawar setelah temu duga. Begitu juga di kalangan calon India seramai 1,910 yang mana 338 orang berjaya ditawarkan tempat.
Itu adalah senario yang terkini dan mengenai tempat yang hendak disediakan sebenarnya IPG sedang mengadakan satu perancangan terperinci untuk kita mempertingkatkan kapasiti di IPG termasuk kita membina kampus induk di Nilai. Ini adalah antara usaha yang kita jalankan termasuk kita mengambil lebih ramai pensyarah untuk menjadi pensyarah di IPG.
Terima kasih.
Dr. Haji Mohd. Puad Zarkashi [Batu Pahat]: Terima kasih, Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Kitasering dibangkitkan tentang masalah kekurangan guru terutamanya guru yang berkualiti untuk mengajar anak-anak murid ini. Contoh yang dibangkitkan ialah kemampuan guru kita mengajar dalam bahasa Inggeris. Jadi, saya ingin tahu kemampuan institut perguruan kita ini dalam melahirkan guru-guru yang berkualiti ini. Saya juga ingin tahu apakah kita membezakan lulusan di institut perguruan dengan yang lepasan ijazah ini yang membangkitkan bahawa mereka sukar mendapat tempat untuk menjadi guru sebenarnya.
Datuk Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong: Terima kasih, Yang Berhormat Batu Pahat. Ada dua soalan yang dibangkitkan. Pertamanya dari segi kualiti guru bahasa Inggeris. Sebenarnya kita mempunyai satu kampus khusus iaitu IPG khusus untuk melatih guru dalam bahasa Inggeris. Itu memang kita sedang merancang kaedah yang terbaik untuk kita mempertingkatkan penguasaan bahasa Inggeris itu sendiri dan cara pedagogi untuk mengajar yang paling berkesan kepada murid. Itu memang dalam tindakan kita.
Keduanya, apa yang disarankan oleh Yang Berhormat sebenarnya setelah MOHE mengambil alih latihan untuk guru di peringkat sekolah menengah, itu memang adalah satu masalah yang sering dibangkitkan oleh graduan yang telah menamatkan pengajian di universiti. Mereka menganggap mereka terpaksa melalui temu duga. Sebenarnya ini adalah satu proses yang perlu dilalui oleh kerana ia dilatih di universiti dan ia perlulah melalui proses pengambilan guru ke dalam sistem kita. Maka kalau kita hendak lihat dari segi sistem kita di IPG, kita telah mengadakan latihan amali yang secukup-cukupnya.
Jadi, sebab itulah kita melihat advantage bagi mereka yang memasuki IPG adalah dari segi pendedahan untuk mengajar dan kita mempunyai sekolah dalam maktab itu sendiri untuk mereka diberi pendedahan. Saya rasa dalam konteks ini kita tidak membeza-bezakan kelulusan daripada universiti tetapi sebaliknya dari segi pengambilan kita perlu teliti dan kita kena berdasarkan kepada apa yang telah kita buat dari segi kualiti guru yang kita tekankan. Terima kasih.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — Amid grumblings about crumbling public institutions, the new Malaysian Bar Council elected today promised to continue to act as…
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 — Amid grumblings about crumbling public institutions, the new Malaysian Bar Council elected today promised to continue to act as a proactive pressure group in protecting the interests of the public.
“I think the movement for change has come and we all have a role to play in change and reform,” said its newly-minted president Ragunath Kesavan, who is taking over from Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan.
Speaking to reporters after its 63rd annual general meeting here this afternoon, Ragunath noted there were many “issues of conflict”, especially those revolving around “sensitive matters” related to religion.
“We need to know how we can deal with these issues of conflict,” he said, promising to hold more dialogues with activists, non-governmental organisations from both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds such as the Malaysian Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) and Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to exchange views and build better understanding of religion for both sides.
Asked whether the Bar Council was acting in the interest of the public in carrying out the “Allah” polls on its website, Ragunath replied that the poll merely reflected public opinion and was not necessarily its own.
“It’s a matter of No. 1, public opinion, and No. 2, it’s not binding on anyone; it’s not even binding on the Bar Council,” he explained.
He pointed out the council has carried out many polls considered sensitive before, such as whether one is happy with the judiciary and the police force.
Ragunath noted that just because a subject is sensitive, “it doesn’t mean we stop any form of discussion on the matter.”
“As long as it is measured, tempered, I do not see why we cannot have any discussion on any sensitive topics.
“Even when the court has decided you can or can’t use it, doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with the decision,” he said, and added: “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Likewise, asked to comment on the abuse of freedom of expression on the Internet over the recent controversy involving six bloggers who were yesterday charged with insulting the Sultan of Perak online, Ragunath reasoned there was hardly a need for worry.
“In a country of 26 million people, how big a problem is it with things like that?” he threw back.
“Isn’t it more important to demonstrate we are a democratic country?” he added.
Ragunath laughed when a reporter pointed out the Bar Council was seen to be “anti-government and pro-opposition because of its strong views on a number of issues.
“What’s projected is only 10 per cent of the work we do,” he said.
He explained that 90 per cent of the work the Bar Council undertakes, which happens behind closed doors, “are complementary with what the government of the day wants”.
Asked to comment on the de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s statement that the Bar Council is subject to the rule of law like everyone else, Ragunath agreed.
“I agree with Datuk Seri Nazri we cannot be treated differently from anybody else,” he said.
However, he explained fear of prosecution has never stopped the Bar Council from doing its duty and would not stop it in future from speaking out against the authorities should the situation call for it.
“Whatever we do, we do in the interest of the public, of our profession,” he said.
“If action has to be taken, so be it. We’ll face the action when it comes,” he added.
The other office bearers for the new term 2009/2010 are vice-president Lim Chee Wee, secretary George Varughese and treasurer Tony Woon.
From Thaarani's blog
Dear Sir. Waythamoorthy, I had just received my SPM results and i scored straight A'S. 8 A1'S AND 2 A2'S.I even appeared in news and was interviewed.…
From Thaarani's blog
Dear Sir. Waythamoorthy, I had just received my SPM results and i scored straight A'S. 8 A1'S AND 2 A2'S.I even appeared in news and was interviewed.
I would like to mention here that i dedicate my success to you as you are my inspiring leader. I wish to be like you in future. Your will to never give up and stay strong through all odds, has inspired me. I also hope that new generation Indians do not forget your contribution to Indian society. Your bravery shall be a stepping stone to all Indians in Malaysia towards acHieving their dreams.
Besides that, my true ambition is to become an Indian leader whom capable of setting Indians in this country 'free'. I bow to upon my honour.
I am currently pursuing my ACCA in Sunway University in Bandar Sunway.
Sir, Thanks a lot for inspiring me and teaching me valuable lessons in life.
MAKKAL SAKTHI
Last Thursday I visited Rumah Nur Salam, a centre for homeless children in KL’s Jalan Chow Kit area. Rumah Nur Salam is founded and led by the indefatigable Dr Hartini Zainuddin, the daughter of dear departed friend of mine. I spent some time with the children and toured the centre, which is, as its name implies, a haven of peace in a very troubled area.
Here, in Chow Kit, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur,
less than a kilometre from the Twin Towers and a stone’s thrown from PWTC, life is cheap, drug users shoot up in the back alleys and children wander the streets hungry. Infants are bought and sold by syndicates, young children are supplied for prostitution and child-pornography. Hundreds of children are on the streets or homeless. They beg and hustle and sell themselves for sex. They are runaways or abandoned or neglected children, vulnerable to STD and HIV, to drug addiction and to rape and murder. Many among them have no registration papers. Although they may have been born to Malaysian parents they are “stateless” and therefore ineligible for free inoculation, medical education or education. They are abused and traded with impunity by criminals and corrupt officials because when they disappear it is without trace. They are nobo
dy’s constituency.
Homeless children and street children in Malaysia number in the tens of thousands. They are in Chow Kit, but also in Dengkil, Jinjang, Pantai Dalam, Kepong, Selayang, Subang Jaya, Petaling Street and Pudu and in the bigger towns across the country. In Sabah and Sarawak, the problem of stateless children is acute.
I sat down to listen to a small circle of community leaders, social workers and volunteers. Some worked with these children. Others worked with other “at risk” groups such as prostitutes, drug users and transsexuals. What these groups have in common is that they are rejected by society. Many of the leaders come from the very groups they now serve. Having picked themselves up, they immediately felt called to give back to other
s. The work they do is more than a job. It is a full-time commitment around which they have shaped their lives. Some have served here for decades, walking daily up and down streets that the police recently considered “too unsafe” to keep a beat base open in.
They told me of a set of linked issues: poverty, bigotry, crime, social breakdown and bureaucratic indifference. They spoke about government that could not join the dots between ministries to help people, and of announcements of assistance that amounted to nothing.
Having served a constituency in the depths of Kela
ntan for forty years, I have seen my share of poverty, but urban poverty is brutal. The family unit is broken. Women and children are left to fend for themselves. The weak are prey to the strong. People are bought and sold like things.
Chow Kit holds up a mirror to our society. It is an image we would rather not see. The way we treat the weakest among us places the worth of our entire society in the balance. In God’s sight this weighs more than all the wealth we could accumulate.
There is another sense in which urban poverty test us. It is the weathervane of our social and economic ills. Since December, the number
of abandoned children has risen dramatically. For the children freshly abandoned to the street, and for their parents, the recession occurred more quickly, and undeniably, than for our leaders.
Behind the evasive and woolly talk we have had about growth figures and fiscal stimuli are the absolutely tangible consequences of our policy decisions in the lives of ordinary people. Economic management, or the lack of it, has disproportionate consequences on the life-prospects of the most vulnerable members of our society.
I came away humbled by the visit. The quiet, day by day heroism of the community leaders and volunteers working to make a difference in Chow Kit was a lesson in leadership as service. I am grateful for all that they and the children shared with me with such open hearts.
It's bad news for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors, the dividend for 2008 is expected to be as low as 4.5%.It's bad news for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors, the dividend for 2008 is expected to be as low as 4.5%.Friday the 13th, 1.30am: The light at the centre of the image is from the headlights of a car parking before a vandal alights…
Friday the 13th, 1.30am: The light at the centre of the image is from the headlights of a car parking before a vandal alights to smash the Democracy Tree plaque - (Click to expand) Image sourced by Kinta Kid
Smashed and scarred: A disappointed little girl looks sadly at what remains of the Democracy Tree plaque - Photos and images by Kinta Kid
The tragicomedy surrounding the Democracy Tree continues as the resourceful Kinta Kid reports from Ipoh:
The plaque was vandalised a second time today. This time the wording was covered with what appears to be road tar. The general consensus amongst all present was that it was once again a sad and cowardly act.
It was more disappointing for a group of 27 Keadilan Cheras branch supporters who had arrived by bus to view the “Democracy Tree”. Its Wanita head, Felicia Ling, said they had decided to visit the tree two days ago. But when they heard the tree had been vandalised on Friday the 13th, they brought forward their trip - only to discover today it had been further vandalised.
Their branch donated RM500 for the reconstruction of the plaque. At a press conference immediately afterwards, Nga Kor Meng showed CCTV footage of the first vandalism incident. “The incident took place at 1.30am…. One person…parked the car next to the tree and used a hammer to damage the plaque.” He plans to upload the incident on YouTube.
(Kinta Kid had earlier reported here that a neighouring house had heard dogs barking at 1.30am that day.)
Those who want to make donations for the plaque may make out cheques to “DAP Perak” and write “Tabung Pembinaan Monumen Demokrasi” on the reverse side and bank it into Public Bank account 311-044-1003.
Meanwhile, the Ipoh City Council, now wanting to be left out, has taken up the cudgel. Someone from the Council stuck a memo (see below) on the tree on Friday the 13th which said the plaque was an “obstruction” to the public and had to be removed within 24 hours failing which the Council would remove the structure. The notice was not addressed to any particular person or party and did not have a mailing address. Instead it was addressed to “pemilik/pemunya” (the owner); so it was presumed it was addressed to the Democracy Tree itself. Either that or it could be addressed to Malaysians in general as many feel the Democracy Tree and plaque are now part of our heritage.
And so the comedy of errors keeps growing. There is only one way to stop it: dissolve the assembly and call for fresh elections.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Ragunath Kesavan has been elected as the new president of the Malaysian Bar Council for the 2009/2010 term.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Ragunath Kesavan has been elected as the new president of the Malaysian Bar Council for the 2009/2010 term.
The new office-bearers of the Bar Council were also elected. Lim Chee Wee is now vice-president (taking over from Ragunath), George Varughese the secretary (taking over from Lim) and Tony Woon Yeow Thong, treasurer (taking over Varughese).
He also urged the government to investigate all deaths in police custody and called on the setting up of a royal commission to investigate such deaths.
PENANG, March 14 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he is leaving it to the Umno Management Committee to determine whether Datuk Mohamad Norza Zakaria…
PENANG, March 14 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he is leaving it to the Umno Management Committee to determine whether Datuk Mohamad Norza Zakaria can contest in the end of the month party polls.
