Nazri says ending scholarships may stop brain drain

Nazri said sending students abroad would stunt the progress of local institutions of higher learning. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has defended the government’s plans to redeploy bright students to study locally instead of overseas, arguing that this could prevent a further “brain-drain” of talent.

“Sending overseas students causes brain-drain where some of them won’t want to come back after studying there for a few years.
Grab a Celcom Blue Bear(TM) and stand to walk away with RM10,000!

“If you keep sending students overseas, when are we going to improve our standards (locally)?” Nazri told The Malaysian Insider earlier this week.

He also believed that the money saved from the scrapping of the Public Service Department’s (PSD) overseas scholarships will be put to better use in “improving the facilities” of local universities.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s department said that if the federal government keeps sponsoring billions of ringgit for students to go abroad to study, local universities would never get to improve.

Nazri claimed that by channelling funds as well as the country’s brightest students within the confines of local universities, the “infrastructure” as well as quality of these institutions would gradually improve.

“We are concentrating on increasing the number of local universities, learning institutions at home. The money can be better off used to improve facilities here,” said Nazri.

In an interview with The Malaysian Insider, the law minister reiterated his points made two days ago in Parliament that the issue of cutting off scholarships was really a “question of affordability.”

Nazri refuted arguments brought up by MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr. Wee Ka Siong that the government should opt to maintain the allotted 1,500 scholarships for undergraduate students and instead make the criteria of awarding the scholarships more transparent. “Wee does not understand. It is not a matter of defining the criteria.

“The question here is affordability. As the government, we have to allocate resources according to priority, and we have to also take into consideration the critical mass,” said Nazri.

Nazri’s remarks come after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s confirmation yesterday that the government will eventually phase out overseas undergraduate scholarships.

Najib had said that government will focus on building more institutions of higher learning to accommodate the increasing number of undergraduates.

Nazri himself had first highlighted the issue when he revealed in Parliament a few days ago that the Cabinet had decided to eventually scrap the 1,500 scholarships offered to students for undergraduate studies overseas.

He had noted that the 1,200 of the 1,500 presently offered to the students would slowly be phased out from next year onwards.

Nazri also brushed off concerns that the standards of public examinations in Malaysia had dropped drastically, therefore resulting in too many students scoring excellent results before entering university.

“I don’t think that the standards have gone down. The students are now getting better. They are scoring good results,” said Nazri to The Malaysian Insider.

Sabah blogger queried over ‘Allah’ posting

By Queville To - Free Malaysia Today,

PENAMPANG: A Sabah blogger was questioned by police here for an alleged offence under the Communications and Multimedia Act.
Ronnie Charles Klassen, who is currently the Sabah PKR’s information chief gave his statement to the police regarding a posting in his blog on Jan 14.
Klassen, 50, told reporters waiting at the district police station that he was being investigated under Section 233 of the Communication and Multimedia Act over his comment regarding a call by the president of Council of Justices of the PeaceClarence Bongkos Malakun for the Christian community to refrain from using the word 'Allah' to refer to their God.
Klassen's posting entitled 'Sabahans fed up, no more compromise' questioned Malakun's call to Sabahans to drop the use of the word Allah voluntarily.
Under Section 233, a person is liable to a fine RM50,000 and 12 months jail if found guilty of the offence of posting any comment, request, suggestion or other communication which is obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.
Klassen, who was accompanied by lawyers Ansari Abdullah and Jonathan Yassin, insisted that posting was not criminal in nature and described the investigation as "political intimidation".
He said Malakun should have taken him to court "if he (Malakun) thinks that he has in anyway humiliated him, instead of using the police" to intimidate him.
The social activist also questioned why the authorities were not going after controversial blogger, Raja Petra Kamaruddin since Malakun had in his police report also named the blogger for posting the same article in his Malaysia Today website. Raja Petra is believed to be currently living in self-imposed exile in Europe.
Klassen also took a swipe at Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept, citing a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz in mid January this year that the word Allah could be used by Christians in Sabah and Sarawak as a paradox.
“What 1Malaysia is he (Najib) talking about if only Christians in Sabah and Sarawak are allowed to use the word Allah?” he asked.

'Not enough done to curb human trafficking'

By Patrick Lee - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: Government officials may be congratulating themselves that Malaysia has moved up the US-based Trafficking in Persons watch list, but others are not as optimistic.
Aegile Fernandez, consultant and programme manager of Tenaganita, a local NGO, said that while there have been some government efforts to curb human trafficking, they were not enough.
“Little changes have been made, but not major ones,” Fernandez told FMT today in an interview. She also said the government did not go out of its way to work with local NGOs to combat this vice.
“The problem with Malaysia is that there is a lack of openness and transparency,” she said. “Countries that have multi-disciplinary approaches to the problem have been able to deal with human trafficking.”
While she admitted that a few sex traffickers have been charged, many others involved in other forms of trafficking have gone unpunished.
“For instance, not a single employer involved in labour trafficking was charged.”
She added that the government was focused on the sex trade but not on other types of human trafficking, such as migrant labourers, mail-order brides, baby factories and human organs.
Fernandez also said that missing children may be victims of trafficking.
She claimed that many enforcement agencies were not serious in tackling the problem, adding that they were not given enough training to handle it.
“We have filed cases (on human trafficking) in the last two years to the police and the Attorney-General's Chambers but to date, no investigation has been done.”
Detention camps
In recent years, Malaysia has enacted the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, formulated a five-year National Action Plan Against Trafficking in Persons, and provided training for enforcement agencies.
However, Fernandez said trafficked persons were still classified as illegal immigrants. As a result, many were sent to detention camps where they would be deported, or in some cases were back in the arms of waiting traffickers.
Asked on the number of victims of trafficking in Malaysia, she said it could be in the millions.
She said that human trafficking was the world's second most prolific crime, next to illegal weapons trade.
She added that Malaysia had been part of the human trafficking scene as early as 1983.
On average, Tenaganita handles 15 to 20 different cases of human trafficking a month, involving 200 to 300 people.

PKR's 'defection drama' backfires

By Zefry Dahalan - Free Malaysia Today,

KUALA LUMPUR: For the past week, the rumour mills have been working overtime after it was revealed that three Umno state assemblymen were about to jump ship to PKR.
PKR Perak information chief Zulkifly Ibrahim told a press conference that their names cannot be revealed because negotiations were still ongoing.
Following this, BN's Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir was forced to deny the issue, almost on a daily basis.
However, it seems that PKR's strategy has backfired since it was a state rep from its Pakatan Rakyat partner DAP who threw in the towel
Malim Nawar assemblyman Keshvinder Singh yesterday quit DAP and declared himself a Barisan Nasional-friendly independent.
Stop the drama
Following this, a PKR leader told FMT that his party leaders should stop with their so-called psychological warfare which serves no purpose.
It was Opposition Leader and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim who started the ball rolling shortly after the 2008 general election when he claimed that Pakatan would form government on Sept 16 that year with the help of defections from BN.
Despite the euphoria it generated, the take over plan turned out to be a dud.
The PKR leader, who wished to remain anonymous, said the same strategy was employed in Negeri Sembilan in 2008 and Terengganu in 2009.
“They claimed that a number of Umno state assemblymen will be crossing over. Yes, it caused Umno to panic for a while and that was all the impact it had.
"If there is any basis to the claim that Umno reps will jump ship, then why is there a need to make this public. The matter should be kept under wraps until it actually happens,” he added.
He said this is a case of revealing your plans to the enemy, and allowing the latter to do his level best stop it from happening.
“Simple common sense will tell you this,” he added.
In view of this, the PKR leader said only the party's top leaders should be allowed to make such revelations in future to prevent any further embarassment.
According to him, the “defection drama” staged by Perak PKR has only eroded public confidence, especially among the fence-sitters.
The people, he said, may feel as if Pakatan is trying to make fools out of them by recyling this issue.

Cuts that bleed the poor

By G Vinod and Ken Vin Lek
FMT FOCUS PETALING JAYA: The poor will have to spend a third of their income on essential goods if the government reduces subsidies on them, as proposed by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) of the Prime Minister’s Department.
An FMT survey among Petaling Jaya residents found that the poor currently spend about 29.7 percent of their income on rice, sugar, cooking oil and other essential items. In contrast, high-income earners use up only 3.5 percent of their earnings on these essentials.
With the proposed subsidy cuts, the percentage will rise to 33.6 percent for the poor and 3.97 percent for the rich.
FMT’s findings on public reaction to the proposed cuts are vastly different from Pemandu’s reported findings. Eighty-two percent of respondents to FMT’s random survey opposed the cuts. Pemandu’s parallel figure was 39 percent.
Wan, a security officer employed at a local commercial building, said his family would suffer.
“I have three children to feed,” he said. “I earn about RM1,100 a month and I already find it hard to make ends meet.”
However, he seemed resigned to facing harder times, saying the government had the “might to impose its will” on the people.
“If the government really cares for the people, it should fix prices for essential goods.”
Mohan, a taxi driver, said he was not too anxious for himself but agreed that the cuts would make the poor poorer.
“I don't really feel it will affect my monthly expenses much as I earn a daily income,” he said. “However, I believe it will strain the pockets of common people.”
He said unscrupulous businessmen would make matters worse. “I notice that a lot of restaurants love to hike up food prices, citing petrol price increases, etcetera, but I don't see the connection.”
Priorities wrong
Peanut vendor Letchumy, 57, said the government should never consider cutting subsidies on essentials, especially food.
“Never increase food prices,” she said. “The government can go ahead and increase the prices of cigarettes and liquor as those things are hazardous, but everyone needs to eat.
“I earn less than RM500 a month, and subsidy cuts will strain my purse.”
Businessman Choo Kay Weng questioned the wisdom of removing or cutting subsidies, saying the government had its priorities wrong.
“The government should first improve its financial management skills,” he said.
“Any move to remove subsidies will affect my household expenses as well as my business. I am involved in landscaping, and I will have to spend more on transportation and labour costs. Surely I will then need to increase my prices.”

1Malaysia not about melding races

By New Straits Times

THE 1Malaysia concept, which focuses on unity, differs from the concept of assimilation practised in other countries.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said under the assimilation concept, the identity of ethnic races was replaced with a national identity.

"However, 1Malaysia appreciates and respects the ethnic identity of every race in Malaysia and treats it as an asset that we all can be proud of," he replied to a question by Wee Choo Keong (independent-Wangsa Maju).

Wee had asked Najib to define 1Malaysia since Malaysians continue to have categories for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera.

Wee wanted to know whether the New Economic Model (NEM) would create a just society.

Najib said the 1Malaysia concept took into consideration the spirit of the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.

Najib said there was no problem with the Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera classifications as they were in the Constitution.

"What's important is that unity under 1Malaysia is supported by acceptance, principles from the Constitution and Rukun Negara, as well as social justice."

Najib said NEM reduced income disparity.

It has three goals: high-income nation, sustainability and inclusiveness.

"There is a need to restructure society as there is a big gap between the bottom 40 per cent and the top 20 per cent."

NEM will improve the income of the bottom 40 per cent through training programmes, quality of education, giving small- and medium-sized enterprises access to funds, and giving them access to technology and fund

Ironic Malaysia : No More PSD Scholarship But Spending Millions on New Buildings

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz had said that government scholarships for undergraduate studies overseas would be phased out from next year.

He was quoted as admitting that the government does not have the “capacity” to finance the studies of the growing pool of bright students.

Although it is an unpopular move, the public will have to accept the reality of the government's situation, he had added.

Both MCA and MIC are against the move. What else can they do?

Ironically, this government is willing to spend another RM800 million to build a new parliament building in Putrajaya.

More than RM810 million has been budgeted for the still under construction new palace at Jalan Duta. I am sure the the royal highness would rather see the money being used to send our brightest to acquire skills and knowledge from some of the best universities in the world since ours can't even break into the top 500 league.

With such contradictions, how can the government help to move our workforce up the value chain and help to enable them to earn higher salary?

This is the second flip-flop after the finance minister said that no sports gambling license was ever issued to Ascot Sdn Bhd.

Who is telling the truth? Vincent Tan or Finance Minister?

Saham Amanah Sabah: Yong dares BN to probe him

By Queville To - Free Malaysia Today

KOTA KINABALU: Former Sabah Chief Minister Yong Teck Lee has dared the Barisan Nasional government to take action against him if there was any wrong committed by him as the chief minister at the time Saham Amanah Sabah was launched.

He also reiterated his challenge to the BN government to be transparent and publish a full account of the SAS debacle.

Yong was responding to a statement by the new Warisan Harta Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Rahman Ghani at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday that the company had finally recovered from a share swap deal that went sour a decade ago.

Rahman told the AGM that the deal was executed during the chairmanship of a former chief minister in December 1997.

Rahman said Warisan Harta, the state government's investment arm, was hurt in the share swap of its very strong blue-chip counter, MISC, in exchange for the shares of North Borneo Timber Corporation (NBT), a trading company, and the shares of fast-food company Sugarbun Corporation Bhd (Sugarbun).

The deal involved 32 million MISC shares -- disposed of at RM5.70 per share valued at RM182.4 million in exchange for three million NBT shares transacted at RM32 apiece valued at RM96 million and 4.76 million Sugarbun shares traded at RM7.60 each valued at RM36.176 million.

He said NBT was de-listed when it was trading at 19 sen per share and Sugarbun (now changed to Borneo Oil) is trading at 14.5 sen.

The losses continue to affect Warisan Harta Sabah's financial position and it was estimated that Warisan Harta Sabah had registered unrealised losses exceeding RM200 million. This does not include profits derived from any bonus issue, rights issue of shares, price appreciation and dividends declared by MISC.

White Paper

Rahman said Warisan Harta Sabah had taken legal action against Suniwang Holdings Sdn Bhd for breaching a condition of the sale of shares agreement, in particular, the "put option" that was emplaced to protect Warisan Harta Sabah's interest.

However, in November 2001, a winding-up order was issued against Suniwang and subsequently Warisan Harta Sabah submitted its claims against the company through the official assignee.

Yong, who was the chief minister at the time referred to by Rahman, said the BN Cabinet should now publish a White Paper to reveal the culprits, if any, behind the SAS fiasco since Rahman has revealed possible malfeasance in the dealings.

He, however, regarded Rahman's statement as political in nature rather than an attempt to get to the bottom of the share fiasco that affected thousands of Sabahans who lost their savings.

“I want to congratulate Rahman for his excellent achievements as the chief executive officer of Warisan Harta.

“But it is strange that his press statement was released by the Chief Minister’s Department at his company’s AGM. The timing was perfect for political purposes.

“Rahman was careful not to suggest that the 'massive losses of RM114 million' was caused by me.

“Instead, Rahman protected himself by merely stating that the share swap was 'executed during the chairmanship of a former Chief Minister.'”

Political masters

Yong said Rahman had served the interests of his political masters to attack him but without saying if he had done any wrong.

Yong urged the state government to reveal the truth behind the flop.

“Why should ministers be cowards like at the April sitting of the State Legislative Assembly when the Cabinet relied on the trick called 'defeated by time' in avoiding the issue of a White Paper on the SAS fiasco?

"Who are the culprits that the BN government is trying to protect? Yee Moh Chai (Minister of Resources and Information Technology) and his PBS cohorts have been the most vociferous on the SAS issue but yet chose to remain dumb and mute when the issue was raised in the State Legislative Assembly."

He said the government's silence has left the people wondering if it was trying to protect the real culprits.

Yong, who is also Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president, reiterated that Yee is the best person to tell more on the NBT-Warisan case, because he had lodged reports with the then Anti-Corruption Agency in 1997 and 1998.

He noted that the issue was litigated in the High Court from 1998 to 2003 in the defamation suit of “Yong Teck Lee vs. Yee Moh Chai”.

But on Sept 11 2003, Yee had agreed not to continue with the proceedings.

Cash Vendor Sings the blues no more in Malim Nawar

Addendum : Malaysianinsider reports that ‘it is understood that the first-term assemblyman has personal money issues and his car had been repossessed after defaulting on the month(ly) repayments’.
______________________________
25th February, last year, Malam Nawar state assemblyman, Cash Vendor, alleged that he had been propositioned by certain quarters with the sum of RM20 million and a state executive councillor post as inducement to quit his party, DAP, and become an independent or join BN.
And if he joined BN, the Perak MIC head’s post could also be his.
Cash said then that these offers were made by agents claiming to represent then DPM Najib.
“I urge Najib to come forward and explain the matter because this shows that the federal government is corrupt and desperate,” , Cash said.
Malaysiakini has that story HERE.
Ah, but that was then.
Cash has since seen the bright lights of BN.
Today, Malaysiakini reports that Cash announced that he was calling it quits on DAP.
He is now an independent who supports BN.
Yes, the same BN that he said last year was resorting to corrupt practices to garner his support.
His reason : DAP has not helped him in his constituency, and that he has had to use his own funds.
A matter of cash, Cash?
Cash says he’s clean, though, and denies that cash was involved in his decision to quit DAP. If we are in doubt, he says, then feel free to check his bank accounts.
And he says he did it for the well-being of the people of Malim Nawar.
“I know the initial response from my constituents won’t be good, but I will go to the ground to explain to them that I did this for their good,” , Cash says.
Gues what, Cash?
We’re going to go to ground, too, to explain to your constituents what a political whore you are!

OIC seeks help of legal eagles

The New Straits Times 
by Siti Nurbaiyah Nadzmi

KUALA LUMPUR: The Organisation of the Islamic Conference is calling on legal experts to help it prosecute Israel for the atrocities committed against Palestinians and the assault on a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

OIC secretary-general Tan Sri Professor Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the organisation would assist the experts put together a case against Israel for attacks and its abuse of human rights and get recourse to the courts for justice.

“This is an open international appeal to all legal experts who share with us the same position vis-a-vis the bold aggression and the defence of human life and dignity.”

Ihsanoglu believes that the legal path is the only way to deal with Israel’s blatant disregard for humanity, despite previous failed efforts.

“We have to seriously explore ways and means so as not to create another case of impunity this time for Israel to kill innocent people and ambush ships in international waters. The only way to do this is through the legal course,” he told The New Straits Times Monday.

Ihsanoglu was here to receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from the International Islamic University.

He said the OIC had immediately reacted to the May 31 Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara, the lead vessel of the Freedom Flotilla aid mission sailing to the Gaza Strip, by pushing the United Nations to convene and condemn the attack in which nine Turkish civilians died.

A week later, the OIC extraordinary executive committee meeting in Jeddah passed a resolution which sought to reconsider ties with Israel, among other things.

The resolution also called for the blockade on Gaza to be lifted and for a meeting of the UN general assembly to take the necessary measures against Israel.

Ihsanoglu said the OIC had been pushing for the blockade to be lifted from the day it was imposed on Gaza but the recent attack on the aid flotilla was an eye opener for the international community.

“We in the OIC believe that the embargo was unjustified and punishing the people of Gaza for nothing. This is against basic human rights. The people in the Gaza Strip are living in an open air prison. Their rudimentary needs are not answered.”

Brazil beat resilient Koreans

Brazil secured a 2-1 win against Korea DPR but they were made to work extremely hard to secure maximum points after the Asian outsiders showed impressive resilience. The Koreans kept the Brazilians scoreless until ten minutes into the second half when Maicon scored a stunning goal from an outrageous angle. Elano doubled the lead midway through the second half and the contest appeared all over, but a late goal from Ji Yun-Nam ensured Brazil endured some nervy moments in the final minutes.

On paper the contrast between the pair could not have been starker, in what was the first match between the two nations. Five-time world champions Brazil, are currently placed at the top of FIFA Coca-Cola World Ranking while Korea DPR sit at 105. The Koreans came into the contest on a run of eight outings without a victory, while Brazil conversely, had won their previous four matches.

The first half was largely all Brazil, though they had very few clear sights of goal, and Korea DPR weren’t without their own lively moments going forward. Defender Cha Jong-Hyok fired a shot wide, while Japan-based striker Jong Tae-Se, who had tears streaming down his face as the national anthem played, looked particularly keen to offer drive in his role at the point of the attack.

Kaka made a dangerous run into the penalty area in the opening minutes, which seemed likely to set the tone for the match, but a Korean side which conceded just seven goals in their 14 qualifying matches are known for their swarming defence in their own third.

The nearest Brazil came to scoring in the first half was through a Michel Bastos drive from distance which clipped the roof of the net but, in truth, the shot never looked like dipping under the crossbar.

Korea DPR went into the half-time interval looking relatively comfortable, despite conceding 63 per cent of possession. The Koreans no doubt allowed themselves at least brief thoughts of repeating the heroics of their nation in that famous defeat of Italy at England 1966.

Brazil started the second half brightly, and a Bastos’ free-kick from a central position looked dangerous, but the blistering effort curved wide of the mark. As did Robinho's snapshot moments later, as Brazil were often forced to resort to shooting from distance.

Ten minutes after the interval, a moment of brilliance from Maicon broke the deadlock. There appeared little danger as he chased down a slightly overhit pass into the penalty area, and with the ball just about to roll over the byline, he blazed a shot between Ri Myong-Guk and the near post, in a goal reminiscent of fellow Brazilian right full-back Josimar at Mexico 1986.

The goal opened up the match as the Koreans started to show more endeavour with numbers going forward. Luis Fabiano looked set to take advantage midway through the second half after being set up by Robinho but the Sevilla man could not find the target.

The contest appeared over as Elano comfortably finished past an exposed Ri Myong-Guk with 18 minutes remaining, with Robinho the provider thanks to an exquisite pass that check-mated the entire Korean defensive quartet.

It was A Selecao who looked more likely to score, but with two minutes remaining Ji Yun-Nam burst into the penalty area and drove a memorable past Julio Cesar - Korea DPR's first goal at a FIFA World Cup™ for 44 years.

Honours even in Port Elizabeth

Although much has been said about the attacking power of Côte d'Ivoire and Portugal, the two Group G giants proved themselves solid at the back, cancelling each other out in a scoreless draw in Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth .

The first half at Nelson Mandela Stadium was one of the most even of the tournament so far, with both teams pushing forward but giving no quarter in defence or in the tackle. Côte d'Ivoire’s attacking triumvirate of Gervinho, Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane confirmed themselves to be full of pace and movement, but it was Portugal’s own fleet-footed forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had the best chance of the opening period.

The Real Madrid man turned something into nothing in the 11th minute when he smacked an unstoppable, dipping shot off the outside of the post to the goalkeeper’s right from 30 yards. But the Elephants were not fazed by the Germany 2006 semi-finalists, and shortly after Ronaldo‘s attempt, Siaka Tiene zipped a free-kick just past the post and Ismael Tiote fizzed a shot just over the bar.

If the two teams engaged in trench warfare for the rest of the first half, the second half burst to life early on. Two minutes after the break, Gervinho’s shot was flapped at by goalkeeper Eduardo, and from the resulting corner, Tiate rose, but couldn’t get a clean header on it. Half chances came fast and furious then, with Gervinho’s wayward header from Tiote’s cross on the hour mark being the pick of the bunch. The introduction of Didier Drogba in the 66th minute threatened to turn up the action even more, but as a heavy shower settled on the area, the match lost some steam.

As the clock ran down, Portugal went close from long range efforts from Raul Meireles and Ronaldo, while Kolo Toure might have done better at the far post with a header. In injury time, the west Africans pushed hardest and a chance finally came to Drogba, who clutched his injured arm throughout his time on the pitch, but the big Chelsea man hooked Kader Keita’s through-ball off target.

Côte d'Ivoire will now face group favourites Brazil in Johannesburg’s Soccer City on Sunday, while Portugal take on Korea DPR the following day in Cape Town.

All Whites snatch last-gasp point

A last-gasp Winston Reid header snatched New Zealand an improbable draw against a dominant Slovakia side in their Group F opener in Rustenburg. Robert Vittek had put the Europeans in front, also with his head, in the 50th minute but the All Whites hit back for a result that leaves the section's four sides level on one point – and goal difference – after Italy and Paraguay also drew 1-1 yesterday.

New Zealand defied their underdogs' status in the opening five minutes. First Chris Killen broke free from his marker just inside the Slovakia half, charged forward and unleashed a shot that flew over. Then the same player headed wide from an inviting Leo Bertos cross. That seemed to awaken the Europeans. Vladimir Weiss, son of the Slovakia coach, darted down the right flank before producing a low cross that Mark Paston did well to hold, before Robert Vittek cut inside before blazing a shot high and wide.
The flair of Weiss was thrilling the crowd and on 22 minutes, the Slovakia No7 found space down the left and threaded the ball through to Marek Hamsik, who curled it wide from inside the area. Weiss then craftily laid on a chance for Stanislav Sestak, who fired into the side-netting. Minutes later the No9 missed another chance, this time from a close-range header following a corner. With ten minutes of the half remaining, Vittek cut inside from the right and fired a fierce 20-yard shot wide.

New Zealand, who had been spectators for a period, then went close. Following a neat passing move, Smeltz played a give-and-go with Rory Fallon before shooting into the side-netting from a difficult angle. It proved a brief respite, as the Slovaks dominated possession for the remainder of the half, albeit without creating any meaningful opportunities. They did just that five minutes after the restart, though, and this time they took full advantage. Sestak crossed from the right, and Vittek powered his header into the bottom corner. It was just reward for Slovakia's relentless assault on the Kiwis' goal.

Rather than sit back, the team in blue went in search of a second goal. After 58 minutes Sestak held the ball up well and touched it into the path of Hamsik, who failed to keep his shot down from the edge of the area. Slovakia almost doubled their lead soon after. Zdenko Strba and Sestak exchanged passes, before the latter set up Vittek. However, Paston rushed from his line to make a smart block from the 28-year-old forward.

It took an alert Tony Lochhead to deny Vittek a clear sight on goal with 15 minutes remaining, before Smeltz headed wide from a rare New Zealand attack with just minutes remaining. It appeared then that their last chance had gone, but deep into injury time Smeltz crossed for Reid to steal in and nod home a dramatic equaliser.

Photos : Memo to PM Najib Razak at Parliament 15/6/10

SPM top Indian students segregation Memo to PM (15/6/2010). Abolish STPM. One Matriculation for One Malaysia. RM10 Billion scholarships and RM10 Billion loans for all One Malaysians.

HUMAN RIGHTS PARTY MALAYSIA
NO.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference     :
In Reply                 :
Date                        : 15^th June 2010
YAB. Dato’ Seri Najib Razak
Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Blok Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,                              BY HAND
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,                          Fax: 03-88883973
62502 Putrajaya                                            E-Mail: najib@pmo.gov.my

REF: 1)       ABOLISH STPM, CREATE ONE PRE-UNIVERSITY EXAM
                   FOR ALL IN ONE MALAYSIA
2)       STOP RACE BASED HIGHER EDUCATION ENTRANCE 
CRITERIA. PRACTICE NEEDS BASED CRITERIA
3)       SCHOLARSHIPS, MATRICULATION AND 
UNIVERSITY PLACES FOR ALL AND NOT EXCLUDING POOR INDIAN STUDENTS SCORING 7As’ AND ABOVE IN SPM
4)       PTPTN LOANS FOR ALL OTHER ESPECIALLY POOR MALAYSIAN INDIAN STUDENTS.
_____________________________________________________________
With reference to the above matter we are writing to your goodself to abolish the pre University STPM and create a one pre-university examination for all Malaysian students so that the higher education opportunities are given out fairly to all deserving students especially so as not to exclude the Indian poor.
2. As it is education, which is the responsibility of the federal government (and similarly by any other government in any other part of the world), it is not fair because it is race, supremacy and segregation based as opposed to what should rightly be needs based. Through one Google or Wikipedia search the whole world would know that our education system is not fair. How can it be fair when we have different pre-university programmes? Many qualified poor Malaysian Indian students have been denied their basic rights to higher education in contravention of Article 8 (Equality before the law and Article 12 (no discrimination in higher educational institutions entry financed by the government) of the Federal Constitution. They have to go through the tougher path of STPM without any guarantee of securing a place in the Universities. They are growing up with inequality and injustices in every corner of their lives. How then do they become a part of One Malaysia?
3. Whereas almost all Malay Muslim students opt for the matriculation programmes. Almost all of the over 40,0000 places in the eleven Matriculation colleges nationwide are reserved for malay muslim students in the 10 month course as opposed to the two year STPM course (Wikipedia). This has become a source of contention because matriculation students, who will enter university one over year earlier compared with their STPM peers, are considered on equal standing with STPM only in Malaysia for the purpose of university admission though it is significantly easier than STPM with a streamed down Form 6 syllabus.
4. Not all applicants for matriculation are admitted and the selection criteria have never been made public which has led to the perception that the entry has not been fair. The matriculation programme is not as rigorous as the STPM. The matriculation programme has come under some criticism as it is the general consensus that this programme is much easier than the sixth form programme leading to the STPM and serves to help malay muslim students enter the public university easily. Having been introduced after the supposed abolishment of racial quota based admission into local public Universities, the matriculation programme continues the role of its predecessor, albeit in a modified form. It is considered easier because in the matriculation programme the teachers set and mark the final exams that their students sit for whereas in the STPM the final exam is standardised and exam papers are exchanged between schools in different states to ensure unbiased marking. Also, the matriculation programme adopts a semester basis examination (2 semesters in the programme) whilst STPM involves only one final examination, covering all 2 years’ syllabus in one go. The scope and depth of the syllabus in matriculation is also lesser to that of STPM. The disparity between the programmes does not end there, for it is a known fact that in critical courses offered by local public universities (such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Law), almost 70% of the students comprise matriculation students. On the contrary, STPM students form the majority in courses which are less in demand, such as a Bachelor in Science. Defenders of the matriculation programme have described the two programmes as distinct and different, drawing the analogy of an apple and an orange. However, having served the same purpose (i.e. as an entrance requirement to Universities), we criticize the matriculation programme as a blatant practice of double standards.
5. For the year 2010, RM 2.44 Billion worth of JPA scholarships has been allocated for the 1,500 overseas University scholarships and 10,500 local University scholarships. Also in 2010 7,987 students scored all As’ in SPM, 214 scored all A+ (NST 13/6/2010 at page 20). Based on the above figures each and every student having scored 7As’ and above should have been granted scholarships for either overseas or local higher education. But scores of top and high achieving especially poor Indian students including some with 13A’s have complained to us that they have been denied the aforesaid higher educational opportunities and scholarships in JPA, Mara, Petronas, PNB, Khazanah, TNB, TMB, Sime Darby, Shell etc. Why is this so in One Malay-sia?
An initial list of 36 7As’ to 13As’ students rejected of the above is as per Enclosure 1 herein.
6. Our estimate is a mere 0.1% to 1% of these 12,000 and other scholarships  public University and matriculation places are granted to especially the poor and underprivileged Indian students.
7. The following is a fact – bright Indian students are systematically denied their entitlements for Government Scholarships, for admission to Public Universities especially in critical courses and for the Matriculation programme and this is becoming a more serious problem as more Indian students begin to excel academically as has been highlighted by HRP in the past few weeks.
8. Our sincere question is why does the Government not become transparent about the selection process? Why do we need double standards in 1 Malaysia? Why hasn’t the public Universities and scholarship list and it’s selection criteria not been made transparent and public?
9. This has become the very same recurring and repeating problem year in and year out in over the last 53 years since independence from Britian and we hereby call for an end to this race segregation and supremacist based higher education policy.
10. We hereby call for the end to this race segregationist and supremacist based higher education policy and for the implementation of needs based higher education policy where all the poor Indian, Orang asli, Kadazan, Iban, Malay and Chinese students are given in the right to equal access to higher education.
To this effect we propose that from the RM 191.5 Billion 2010 Budget an allocation is made for a total RM 10 Billion to cater for all the aforesaid proposed scholarships so that all students in particular the poor Indian students scoring 7As’ and above in SPM are granted scholarships in Higher Educational Institutions in the courses of their choice either in foreign Universities, local private Universities or the local public Universities in their order of excellence. And a further RM 10 Billion to cater for all the aforesaid proposed PTPTN government study loans so that all students in particular the poor Indian students would be granted loans in Higher Education Institutions in the courses of their choice in the local public or private Institutions of Higher Learning and not limited to the Ivy League of Universities. This way every citizen irrespective of their ethnic origin gets a fair place under the One Malaysian Sun.
We regret to note that unlike for the Gaza Flotalia issue both sides of the political divide ie the ruling Barisan Nasional and PKR, DAP and PAS did not jointly and amicably debate in a Special Motion this 53 year long outstanding Higher Education Policy problem affecting especially the poor Malaysian Indian students being denied equal higher educational opportunities.
Also regretted is to date there has been no Emergency or other Motions on this matter by even the opposition PKR, DAP and PAS as almost all the victims are “merely” the poor Indians.
Abolish STPM, create One pre-university for One Malaysia!
Kindly revert to us accordingly.
We hereby call upon the Prime Minister of Malaysia to also form a Royal Commission of Inquiry with the view to end this 53 year old race  segregationist and supremacist based higher education policy in Malaysia.
Thank you.
Your faithfully,
_______________
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro tem)
Note: The list of top and high achieving students that we have received to date is enclosed herewith as per Enclosure 2 together with the 10,000 signature petition calling for “Hindraf & Human Rights party (HRP) Petition to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak demanding equal rights in JPA scholarships overseas & locally, Matriculation and University places especially in critical courses for all, in particular Indian students with 7A’s above in SPM. Also a Royal Commission of Enquiry to stop future such racially discriminatory, segregationist and supremacist practices by UMNO/BN” as per Enclosure 3 herein.
c.c     1)       Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim
                   Opposition Leader of Parliament,
                   A-1-09, Merchant Square,                   Fax : 78850531
                   No. 1, Jalan Tropicana Selatan 1         By Hand
                   47410 P.J
2)                 Lim Kit Siang
Adviser DAP
No. 24, Jalan 20/9,                    Fax : 03-79575718
Paramount Garden                    By Hand
46300 P.J
3)                 Dato Seri Hadi Awang
President PAS                          Fax: 03-26938399
318A, Jalan Raja Laut,               By Hand
50350 Kuala Lumpur

Education is a Human Right.

Education is a basic human right. It not only gives you the knowledge of 3R’S, but also educates you morally, socially, religiously, culturally, and spiritually. It is the only path to get success in your life, to get a job with fatty packages, to make money, to fulfill all you desire and wishes, to convert your dreams into reality, to lead a respectable life.
To know the difference between right and wrong .It can convert your empty mind into an open mind. It makes you aware of your rights as well as duties. It is a powerful tool in the hands of a man to make his life better and worth living. So important is education in an individual’s life that the right to education is a fundamental human right.
Every individual irrespective of race, gender , nationality , ethnicity , religion or political preference is entitled to an  education. It is responsibility of the government of the day  to provide  education to all its citizens.
Everyone one of us has the right to education. Education should be fair and free at all stages . Technical and professional education should be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. This however does not seem to be happening in our country.
Education is strictly advocated on a race basis thus denying the non malays the right to education. By denying  the non malays the right to education, the UMNO govt. deliberate  aim  is to  systematically  keep the non malays  backward so that they are not able reduce their  social and economic disparity. Two groups that are most effected are the Indian rural community  and the indigenous community . Without investment in education for these communities they have remained suppressed and poor.
It all began in 1971 when the NEP was implemented .
The aim of the NEP was quite simplistic – affirmative action for the malays in all areas of life and marginalization and suppression for the non malay citizens in all areas of life especially in education. The government of the day has been so blatantly racist  in it education policies that The govenment has 2 separate exams for the university entry. STPM for non Malay and matriculation for Malays. The purpose for differential exams on race basis is yet again another tool on the part of the govt. to discriminate against the non malays.
The STPM exam that the non malays are required to sit for is so very much harder compared to matriculation. An A at the matriculation exam is equivalent to a C or D at the STPM exam. Yet at the point of university entry, Marticulation is given a higher preference over STPM. Most students today shy away from doing STPM.
This is perhaps the only country in the world where students are required to indicate on their exam paper whether they are bumiputra or not. This clearly shows the govts. intention to use education as a tool to discriminate against the non-Malays.
The education system has become so racially bias  that meritocracy is totally irrelevant. This has gone on for almost 40years. 
We are continuously faced with  a dilemma where many  students who have just completed their SPM  with excellent results are denied the right  to higher education. This is because they have  not been awarded scholarship nor places to do  matriculation. Their basic human rights under universal declaration of  human rights have been violated . 
Malay student even from rich and prestige’s families are awarded easy scholarship to study in expensive countries like UK US Australia Canada etc. Whist the poor non-Malay student are not even given the opportunity to study at local public universities.

Many good students come from poor families and do not have the financial means to peruse their undergraduate studies at private universities of overseas.  It is so obvious that the govt racist polices in education is a violation of human rights. It completely violates the United Nations  Universal Declaration of Human rights . 
What actually is the aim of the govt.to deny non Malays the right higher education. We can only conclude that the aim of the UMNO govt is to deprive the Non- Malays the right to education and the other component parties in the BN like MIC, MCA. PPP, Gerakan have all been a willing partner to this racist policy.
by Malini Dass

Hindraf HRP back on the streets. UMNO can no longer go on cheating the Indians unchallenged.

At 11.00am about 200 HRP, Hindraf,supporters with representatives from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, K.L, N.Sembilan and Johor, were in attendance.
Also present were two FRU water cannons, two trucks of FRU riot policemen two trucks of light strike force and about 100 civil and uniformed policemen.
We were not allowed anywhere even near the Parliament gates as we were blocked by the riot police. Only four of us were invited and that too to only the Parliament gates to hand over our 750 page Memorandum containing our seven page letter to Prime Minister Najib Razak, dated 15/6/2010 48 students result slips, and 12,639 Petition signatures as at 15/6/2010.
But we instead insisted that the Prime Minister’s Representative come down to meet us as we were not allowed to go anywhere near Parliament and had to wait at the junction between the main road and the road leading to Parliament. There were two separate road blocks in the one hundred meters or so on the road leading to Parliament itself. The UMNO fear of Hindraf! As usual UMNO sent their ASP police Indian mandore to talk to us so that any quarrel, arrest or arguments would as usual become an Indian and Indian affair as UMNO had successfully been doing in the last 53 years. In the meantime we proceeded to brief the press on the contents of the seven page letter to Prime Minister Najib Razak. At this juncture HRP & Hindraf banners were unfurled with the words “1 MALAYSIA! KOSONG !!!, 10A, 11A, 12A& 13A! TAK DAPAT BIASISWA., INIKAH 1 MALAYSIA!, HAK MASY INDIA DITINDAS, JANGAN ANIAYA PELAJAR CEMERLANG INDIA, JANGAN KECAIKAN CITA- CITA KAMI, CITA-CITA KAMI BERHARGA., JANGAN TINDAS PELAJAR CEMERLANG INDIA, BERI HAK KAMI, KAMI PELAJAR CEMERLANG, WHAT ELSE YOU NEED FOR US TO BE QUALIFIED?, KATA MERITOKRASI! TETAPI BUKAN UNTUK MASY INDIA., MANA BIASISWA KAMI?, KAMI  ANAK  MALAYSIA,
Also “Memo to P.M. Najib Razak at Parliament 15/6/10. Abolish STPM: One Malaysia, One Exam, One Matriculation. HRP & Hindraf Makkal Sakthi”
“Prime Minister: Why Deny Top Indian Students JPA Scholarships, Study Loans, Matriculations, University & Critical Courses.”
“Abolish STPM 1 Pre-U Malaysia HRP & Hindraf.”
After we had repeatedly refused to go up (as only four were allowed), to the Parliament gates Prime Minister Najib’s Officer in charge of Special Functions (Pegawai Tugas-Tugas Khas Perdana Menteri) Dato’ Ghazali Ibrahim was forced to come down to where we were.
Even then he stood at a distance waiting for us to come to him but we refused to. To us we have to break the UMNO “tuan” and “kuli” mindset and send the message to these UMNO supremacist that we are not the Indian mandores that UMNO has been so used to dealing with in the last 53 years.
The trademark Hindraf & HRP song Tholvi Nelaiyana Ninaithal was sung by HRP and Hindraf members.
Finally the UMNO Dato’ come to us and introduced himself. We asked for his business card but he said he did not have one. P. Uthayakumar had asked Dato Ghazali if the Prime Minister or the Higher Education Minister or the Secretary General or the Deputy Secretary General of the Higher education Ministry would see us today as per our letter to the Prime Minister dated 11/6/10 to which he replied in the negative.
P. Uthayakumar then briefed him on the contents of the Memorandum despite the Dato saying never mind. We reminded him that we had given the UMNO led Malaysian government hundreds of previous memorandums over the last 20 years and nothing happens after that. We wanted action. P. Uthayakumar then asked for an urgent meeting to discuss our said Memorandum within one week either with the Prime Minister, Higher Education Minister, the aforesaid Secretary General or his Deputy the to which Dato’ Ghazali said he “would try”. At this juncture HRP and Hindraf National Adviser N. Ganesan suggested that in that case we shall not hand over the Memorandum today but at the meeting which he may have felt may not be honoured by UMNO.
After some consultation we handed over the Memorandum but insisted on an urgent meeting within one week as the top students would have to go to Universities failing which we would come back to Parliament for an answer.
Supporters then shouted Hindraf and was responded with “Valga” (long life) and HRP and Hindraf “Manitha Urimai and “Valga”.
S. Jayathas then led shouts of “ Jangan aniaya penuntut-penuntut India”, Satu Pre U, Satu Malaysia, Manushkan STPM, Kami tuntut biasiswa JPA”.
The Dato’ shoke hands with us but we made it very formal as in our minds we are most likely to be cheated again by UMNO.
Later P. Uthayakumar told reporters that this top students denied higher education and scholarships and the scores of the critical Indian problems is because of the very some UMNO government ruling for 53 long years in a row without a break in the chain. P. Uthayakumar reiterated that while HRP and Hindraf is committed to ending the 53 year UMNO/BN rule in Malaysia, we are not going to trust PKR, DAP and PAS by giving them a blank cheque to Putrajaya. We simply do not trust PKR, DAP and PAS with the welfare, well being and future of the Malaysian Indians as they have no history of seriously championing even the critical Indian issues. But they are instead only interested in the Indian votes. We would be the third force to check and balance PKR, DAP and PAS when they get to Putrajaya.
The latest being zero serious questioning, Emergency Motion or other Motions to end this 53 year racist, segregationist and supremacist education policy in Malay-sia. But both UMNO and also PKR, DAP and PAS with a breeze rightly did so for Gaza Flotalia issue PKR, DAP and PAS top leadership refused to call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry. All because almost all of the “victims” and aggrieved students are the poor Malaysian Indians.
And neither did PKR, PAS and DAP’s 11 Members of Parliament Indian mandores want to champion the above as they are bound by and have to “kow tow” to their Tuan Anwar Ibrahim, Towkay Lim Kit Siang and they do not have their parties mandate to speak up seriously on Indian issues. These PKR, PAS and DAP Indian mandores are mere showpieces like how MIC and PPP MP mandores had been showpieces for UMNO in the last 50 years.
These Indian MP mandores may fear losing the 80-90% Malay muslim and Chinese voters who had voted them in. They are over conscious not to be branded “racist” “extremist” or pro- Indian by their 80-90% Malay and Chinese voters.
This yet again reaffirms our Project 15/38 to create 15 Indian majority Parliamentary and 38 state seats to fight our own battle at the political front as even PKR, DAP and PAS is a lost hope for us.
For a start we have started with the opening of our Bilek gerakan in Tawan Puteri Wangsa/ Tebrau in Johor in March 2010, Tawan Sri Andalas/ Kota Raja in Selangor on 16/5/2010 and Tawan Prai/ Batu Kawan this weekend on the 20^th of June 2010 in addition to our HQ in Bangsar and to be followed by the other frontline states of Perak, N. Sembilan, Kedah and Pahang.
We have had four Think Tank training sessions and the fifth this weekend to train our very own MPs’ and State Assemblyman who would champion Indian causes without fear or favour or fear, upsetting 80 to 90% of their Malay and Chinese voters.
Today’s event ended peacefully.
But the 100 odd police presence, Water Cannons, FRU, Riot Police we thought was a very nice way the Polis Raja Di Malay-sia get to spend their RM 1 Billion allocation in the 2010 Budget.
Most of the HRP and Hindraf supporters from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, and Johor, then adjourned to the HRP HQ at Bangsar.
At this meeting we finalized our next action plan in anticipation of UMNO doing zero to address this very serious higher education problem. Our next action plan will be revealed in our posting tomorrow.
S. Jayathas

List of 48 top and high achieving Indian students denied JPA scholarships, University and Matriculation places submitted to Prime Minister Najib Razak today (15/6/2010)

NO		NAME	IC		ADDRESS		RESULT
1		Deborah Anne a/p John Philip	920608-14-5120		SMK Covent Bukit Nanas		13 As
2		Mohana Priya a/p Kasanathan	920122-14-5390		SMK Ibrahim		13 As
3		Shobanaa Rubini a/p Ganesarao	920305-08-6522		SMK Perempuan Methodist, Ipoh		12 As
4		Elwinder Singh a/l Jasvir Singh	920121-14-6017		SMK Sri Dasmesh KL		12 As
4		Sasvin a/l Manimaran	920816-10-5717		SMK Taman Sea		11 As
5		Sharmalla a/p Subramaniam	921218-05-5124		SMK Senawang Seremban		11 As
6		Gomalah a/p Ganeswaran	920728-05-5082		SMK Tuanku Jaafar Seremban		11 As
7		Sangitha a/p Elango	921218-05-5474		SMK King George V Seremban		11 As
8		Thenmoli Hanbrasi a/p Jothy	920520-08-5180		SMK Tawar		11 As
9		Deepashini a/p Rajindran	921106-08-5580		SMK Methodist (ACS), Sitiawan		11 As
10		Arvind a/l Rajan	920605-14-5045		SMK Kepong		11 As
11		Santhini a/p Ramani	921012-10-6096		SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong 1		11 As
12		Shivanashini a/p Mathiyalagan	920428-02-5914		SMK Covent Father Barre		11 As
13		Prabagaran a/l Kanapathy	920829-08-5539		SMK Anderson Ipoh		10 As
14		Santhira a/p Vijaya Kumar	920814-14-5156		SMK Tengku Ampuan Rahimah		10 As
15		Divya Mala a/p Shanmugam	921118-10-5358		SMK Tawau		10 As
16		Serena Susan a/p Peter Manickom	920528-01-5078		SMK Iskandar Shah		10 As
17		Eiswaran a/l Ramasamy	920125-05-5227		SMK King Gedage V Seremban		10 As
18		Komathi a/p Muniandy	920719-02-5094		SMK Kulim		10 As
19		Pavithiraen a/l Segeranazan	921225-08-5903		SMK Dato’ Haji Hussein		10 As
20		Jayasri Nair a/p Janardanan	921219-07-5338		SMK Bedong		10 As
21		Ravind a/l Amaresan	920928-14-5867		SMK Ibrahim		10 As
22		Prabagaran a/l Kanapathy	920829-08-5539		SMK Anderson, Ipoh		10 As
23		Mogan a/l Mahadevan	921022-07-5641		SMK Datuk Haji Abd Kadir P.Png		10 As
24		Yuana Rooja a/p Murugah	921002-02-6092		SMK Ibrahim		10 As
25	Moganpriya a/p Thillamuthu			920924-02-5868		SMK Covent Fat .+her Barre		10 As
26	Thulasi a/p Palakrisnan			920310-08-6412		SMK Sains Raja Tun Azlan, Taiping		9 As
27	Uneshddarann a/l Nagandran			921125-01-5123		SMK Buloh Kasap		9 As
28	Nageeshvari a/p Tachinamurti			920129-14-6142		SMK Damansara Damai 1		9 As
29	Kesevaan a/l Morgan			920717-14-5947		SMK Raja Abdullah KL		9 As
30	Ghaithrie a/p Subramaniam			920312-01-5140		SMK Tinggi Kluang		9 As
31	Pavitra a/p Sehalinggam			920926-07-5658		SMK Convent Pulau Tikus Pinang		9 As
32	Priyatharisan a/l Balaraman			920609-05-5153		SMK Bukit Mewah Seremban		9 As
33	Yogeswary a/p Gunasegaran			920808-14-5416		SMK Convent Jalan Peel KL		9 As
34	Nandarcobini a/p Rajendran			920917-01-5662		SMK Dato Penggama Timur		9 As
35	Tarashini a/p Suthesan			920228-14-6682		SMK Convent Kajang		9 As
36	Lingeswaran a/p Ratnam			921110-01-6027		SMK Dato’ Penggama Timur		9 As
37	Rupini a/p Manoharan			920418-04-5428		SMK Undang Rembau N. Sembilan		9 As
38	Narmatha Darshini Nanthini Subramaniam			920903-14-5238		SMK (P) Sri Aman		9 As
39	Pavitra Sri a/p Ramaya			920202-02-5866		SMK Taman Ria Jaya		9 As
40	Parthiban a/l Perumal			920520-07-5105		SMK Kulim		9 As
41	Yasheera a/p Vasudevan			920103-14-5950		MAKTAB		8 As
42	Thennarasei a/p Pannir Selvam			920373-07-5018		SMK Tinggi Bkt Mertajam P. Pinang		8 As
43	Saraniah a/p Kalidasan			920624-08-5324		SMK Covent Father Barre		8 As
44	Kogulavarman a/l Asokan			920302-14-5195		SMK (L) Bukit Bintang		7 As
45	Dineshwary a/p Nadthan			920121-10-5370		SMK Subang Jaya		7 As
46	Kalaimalar a/p Perumal			921113-14-5502		SMK Seri Garing		7 As
47	Gadura Kishdra a/l Viswenaden			921103-14-5015		SMK Hillcrest		7 As
48	Navindren a/l Murugasen			920614-14-5135		SMK (L) Bukit Bintang		7 As

PKR and UMNO denies poor and sickly Indian single parent with two toddlers job and welfare help

K.Sarojini (31) started becoming sickly after the delivery of her second child when her small intestines was also cut as a result of the doctor’s negligence. Sarojini now suffers from muscle disorder and is unable to do heavy work.
She gets a token (we estimate RM200) per month to feed herself, her ageing mother and her two toddlers M.Thavin (3) and Dharwin (1). Though UMNO acknowledges the Urban Poverty Line Index household income at RM687 per month, (The Star 24/10/09 at page N6) RM3,000 per month as the low income households (The Star 29/1/10 at page N41).
UMNOs’ welfare department grants only a mere RM200 or so to this Indian family which may not even be  enough to pay her house rentals.
Had Sarojini been a poor Malay, Orang Asli, Kadazan or Iban she would have a village or some ancestral land to go back to or fall back on as her social safety net.
Had Sarojini been a poor Malay, Orang asli, Kadazan or Iban her village community if not her relatives would take care of her.
Had Sarojini been a Malay muslim some Pusat Urus Zakat, Jakim, Tabung Haji, Perkim or some giant corporate like CIMB Foundation or so would have helped her out financially and on a permanent month to month basis.
Had Sarojini been a Chinese some Chinese Clan Association, business or corporate company would have bailed her out.
But her already poor relatives and the poor Indian community have their own monthly family expenses and are in no position to help Sarojini So Sarojini lives on the mercy of her neighbours for her daily rice and food.
It is a pity that Sarojini only at 31 years of age has to undergo this level of hardships, indignity and misery in prosperous Malay-sia. This is an moral indictment of the conscience of the majority Malay and Chinese communities who uphold these irresponsible governments!
The UMNO Federal and PKR Selangor State government could help give her a permanent job with any of the local councils or SEDCs which has free babysitting facilities.
But both UMNO and PKR would not do it. And neither would the Penang DAP or Kedah PAS state government help Sarojini out. Simply because Sarojini is Malaysian Indian, and the minorities can be ignored.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the plight of hundreds of thousands of other Indian poor suffering and living in misery on a day to day basis.
This level of racism meted out on the Indian poor does not happen in any other part of the world except in UMNO’s One Malaysia, PKR, DAP and PAS’ ‘multi-racial’ ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ states!
S. Jayathas

Selangor PKR land gone to waste. But NO NO to Indian poor and landless

“Farmers allocated state land in Ladang Sungai Blankan, Sepang, may lose their plots if found to be left idle.” (Star Metro 4/6/2010 at pages M 1 and 2)
But like UMNO which had denied the Indian poor and landless lots in the 442,000 ten acre land ownership schemes like in Felda, Risda, Fama, Mardi, Agropolition (BH 25/2/2010 at page 4) and the hundreds of thousands more of acres in the 13 parallel state government schemes, PKR too would rather this and other land go to waste rather than granting the same to the Indian poor and landless. They would not reallocate this idle land to Indians.
P. Uthayakumar

MSU takes in 10,000 students per year but almost zero Indians. UMNO refuses disclosure of student list.

The Management and Science University (MSU) will increase their intake to 10,000  per year, almost all of whom would be malay muslim students. (BH 9/7/10 at page 24).
We are yet to hear of Indian students in this University.
Some 0.1% ‘showcase’ cases may have been taken in. But UMNO will get their MIC and PPP mandores to make Tamil newspaper statements that there are not enough qualified Indian students to qualify into this and the 20 other public universities.
But they have no answer when HRP points out the estimated 2,237 top and high achieving Indian students who have been denied places in universities.
Why don’t the UMNO led Malay-sian regime publish the full list of the student intake eact year in each university?
P. Uthayakumar

Small Malay protest and PKR stops 25 storey project. But Indians denied even basic drinking water but PKR cares a damn

 
For the small Malay protests MPAJ decides to hold dialogue after residents. (Starmetro 10/6/10 page M10). This is the extent of UMNO racism that has spilled over to even PKR led Selangor State government.
In One Malay-sia even in One Selangor if you are a victim your ethnicity matters, ie., whether you are a Malay muslim or an Indian!
In Coalfield Estate the Indians have been denied even clean drinking water under the two over year old rule of Selangor. Is PKR waiting for the recently elected Hulu Selangor MP Kamalanathan to fix the water problem in Coalfield Estate?
What more PKR Selangor refused to honour even the long overdue Estate Workers Housing Scheme.
Where is the change promised by PKR, DAP and PAS?
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Karunai Nithi @Compassionate Justice

Nizar: Pakatan not engineering defections

Malim Nawar state rep quits DAP, now Independent

HRP goes to Parliament

Najib reaffirms commitment to Bumi equity target

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak tonight dismissed claims that the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP) was inconsistent with the New Economic Model (NEM) for maintaining the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity target.

“There is no conflict. We must understand the presentation by NEAC was their report. The presentation in Parliament was the government’s position,” the prime minister said referring to the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) chaired by Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz.

Najib added that he had never proposed for the Bumiputera equity target to be dropped saying that it was a misunderstanding.

“I did not promise for the affirmative action to be abolished. I only said the affirmative action policy would be made market-friendly and based on merit, better than before,” he said after chairing the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council here.

He also added that government will continue to provide assistance to the bottom 40 per cent of households.

Since unveiling the NEM last March the Najib administration has been under pressure from Malay rights groups Perkasa and the Malay Consultative Council to maintain pro-Bumiputera policy.

The government however was accused by the opposition for being inconsistent for maintaining the 30 per cent equity target in the 10MP, tabled last week.

When tabling the 10MP, Najib also announced the formation of a high-level council to be chaired by him to plan, co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the Bumiputera development agenda.

361 Indian students got PSD scholarships

PUTRAJAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) has awarded scholarships to 361 Indian students for this year, said MIC vice-president Dr S Subramaniam today.

The human resources minister said the number included those who applied for the overseas degree programmes or PILN (Program Ijazah Luar Negara) and local public and private universities.

“Of the figure, 161 Indian students have been offered scholarships under the PILN, an increase of 25 students from the earlier figure of 136 students as announced recently,” he said in a statement.

He said 3,750 places made available for both the PILN and local public and private universities.

“The increase in the number of Indian students for the PILN scholarship this year was made possible after the students’ appeals were considered favourably by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

“It is to be noted that a total of 1,011 Indian students were interviewed for the PILN scholarships this year (2010),” he said.

200 given scolarships to study locally

Subramaniam said another 200 Indian students have been offered scholarships to pursue their studies at local public and private universities this year.

“As such, a total of 361 Indians secured the PSD scholarship for this year (2010), compared to 354 students last year (2009).

“In 2008, some 159 Indian students secured the PILN scholarship, while 111 Indian students were successful in their applications for the PILN in 2007,” he said.

On the courses offered for the 2010 PSD scholarship for the PILN, 81 Indian students have been offered to do medicine, an increase of 11 Indian students from the list of students announced earlier, while another 45 Indian students offered the same course (medicine) in local public and private universities, he said.

“There have been a lot of speculations on the actual number of Indian students offered the PSD scholarship, and I hope with the release of the latest official figures by the PSD, it will put to rest all speculations.

“I wish to thank our prime minister and the government for providing additional scholarships for the Indian students,” he added.

New twist: Keshvinder was 'blackmailed'

By G Vinod - Free Malaysian Today

KUALA LUMPUR: The latest defection to hit Pakatan Rakyat is shaping out to be a tale of intrigue, peppered with allegations of theft and blackmail.

And as usual, the alleged chief antagonist is Umno.

The plot centres around RM45,000 which purportedly went missing from the law firm of Keshvinder Singh, the Malim Nawar state assemblyperson who quit DAP this afternoon.

While Keshvinder denied Umno having a hand in this, Perak DAP vice-chairman A Sivanesan however claimed otherwise.

According to the Sungkai assemblyman, Keshvinder had related his ordeal when the two met some three weeks ago.

“He told me that one of his clerks in the law firm had embezzled RM45,000 of his client's money and he was in a fix.

“Unfortunately for him, the news reached Umno. From then on, they used this issue against him and coaxed him into defecting,” he said, adding that he had advised Keshvinder to file a police report.

Sivanesan said that Keshvinder had revealed this to several other DAP leaders, including Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

He also challenged Keshvinder to deny that he had informed him and the rest about this issue.

'Umno-linked clerk'

Contacted later, Kulasegaran not only confirmed this, but added another twist to the plot, claiming that the clerk who had allegedly absconded with the money was linked to Umno.

“Keshvinder told me that the Umno-linked clerk had not only run off with the money but also took along the client's receipts.

“He was worried that the receipts could be manipulated to tarnish him,” he said, adding that he too had advised Keshvinder to lodge a report with the authorities.

“He (Keshvinder) went missing yesterday and we feared the worst,” he said.

Kulasegaran also urged Keshvinder “to do the honourable thing” and resign as state assemblyman since he had won the seat under a DAP ticket.

Perak fell into the hands of Barisan Nasional after the defection of several Pakatan MPs, leading to the allegation that they were paid a hefty sum to abandon ship. A charge which BN has denied.

On Feb 25, 2009, Keshvinder himself filed a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission claiming that he was offered RM20 million to defect to BN.

In a related matter, Sivanesan lashed out at Keshvinder for accusing DAP of not supporting him in serving his constituency.

“ When he was offered to contest in the 2008 general election, we told him clearly that the BN government may not provide allocations to constituencies under opposition control.

“At the time he said that he understood the situation and was ready to contest. Opposition reps in Malacca, Johor and Negri Sembilan are also not getting proper allocations but we find ways to raise funds to serve our constituencies,” he said.

“The people know and understand our predicament. That is why they believe in our cause” he added.