De facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim today announced that he will contest a by-election in Permatang Pauh, which already been vacated by his wife, party leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

KUALA LUMPUR: The widow of Indian Progressive Front (IPF) founder Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan says she is in full control of the party formed to champion the rights of poor Indians.

At her first press conference after her husband's death three months ago, Puan Sri Jayashree quelled rumours of a leadership crisis in the party.

Speaking at the IPF headquarters here yesterday, Jayashree, 55, said: "I was elected as party president earlier this year by the party's supreme council.

"As such, I have begun presiding over party affairs and implementing its policies."

Jayashree, in her visit to several states, said the party's 380,000 members had pledged their loyalty and support to the leadership.

"I'm determined to carry on focusing on eradicating poverty, solving welfare and health issues and creating an educated Indian society."

She said a splinter group which had left the party years ago had been attacking her leadership to tarnish the name and image of the party.

"This group, claiming to be leaders of IPF Bersatu, has been campaigning against us nationwide, saying it is the actual and legitimate IPF.

"They have been deceiving the people and confusing everyone by using our party's name, flag, letterhead and registration number."

She said IPF's checks with the Registrar of Societies showed that IPF Bersatu was never registered as a party or society and the group had been functioning under IPF's name claiming to be its promoters.

"This is a theft involving the party's name and symbols and neither Pandithan nor I have appointed anyone to be our promoters."

She said the group's activities had started before Pandithan died, adding that when he fell sick the group started tarnishing his name.

"Although Pandithan was upset, he did not want to take action against them as they were former party members and had taken part in the party's struggle in the early days.

"But it is unfortunate that they continue to damage our name and reputation even after Pandithan's death, giving us no option but to take legal action."

IPF has filed a RM1 million suit against IPF Bersatu for using its name, logo and registration number.

IPF Bersatu is headed by former IPF secretary-general K. Panjamurti.

Asked about IPF's plans, she said the party had approached Barisan Nasional chairman Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to join BN.

"We're waiting for an appointment with Abdullah in September and hope that we will be accepted into BN.

"Later, we will hold our party general assembly, which was postponed from June following Pandithan's death."

Asked if IPF had considered joining Pakatan Rakyat, she said: "We will never join Pakatan Rakyat as we are BN loyalists.

"I extend my appreciation and gratitude to the leaders of BN who had supported IPF during Pandithan's leadership."

ALOR STAR: Muslim women featured in billboard advertisements in Kedah must wear tudung (head scarves).

State Housing and Local Government committee chairman Datuk Taulan Rasul said the state government was in the midst of introducing new regulations on the matter.

He said if the regulations were approved, companies must adhere to the ruling.

Taulan said this was an effort by the state government to preserve and respect women's honour.

"Basically, the new ruling is similar to the one which had been imposed in Kelantan since the early 1990s.

"We have implemented the regulation in phases. A giant beverage company has already adhered to the requirement," Taulan said.

Checks by the New Straits Times found that a billboard advertising Nescafe, near the Alor Star Toll Plaza (north) here, had already complied with the requirement for women to wear tudung.

In the advertisement, Fara Fauzana, a well known radio announcer with Hot FM, was pictured wearing a tudung.

"I don't see any benefit featuring women wearing sexy dresses in advertisements. Some of them are not even relevant to the product being advertised," Taulan said.

KLANG: It is a miracle that she survived four days after being left to die without food and water in a muddy ditch in an estate in Kapar, near here.

It was only by chance that dehydrated and barely conscious M. Sellamah, 53, was found by estate workers yesterday morning -- gagged, hands bound behind her back and with mud waters up to her neck.

Shocked estate workers did not even know if she was alive when they saw her as she did not respond to calls. The police came quickly, realised she was alive and rushed her to hospital.

Relating her ordeal to the New Straits Times from the hospital bed, Sellamah said she had left her house in Taman Intan Jaya on foot last Sunday about 7am to attend a funeral at a neighbouring housing estate.

Sellamah, who works as a cleaner, said two men on a motorcycle stopped her enroute. She knew them as workers at a nearby restaurant. One of them offered to send her to Taman Emas, where she was headed.

"I got on his motorcycle but, instead, he took me to an area in Jalan Acob estate, which was some distance away. When I questioned him, he said he had some errands to do and would send me after that. But when he rode into a secluded area, I knew something was wrong.

"When he stopped, I tried to run away but he hit me with his helmet. I was bleeding from the head and passed out."

She said when she regained consciousness, it was about noon and she was in a ditch.

"My mouth was gagged and hands tied behind my back. The water was at ankle level and I walked along the drain hoping to see someone but there was nobody."

She said later in the evening, the man came back.

"He was surprised that I was alive. He poured the contents of a bottle in my mouth -- I believe it was samsu -- and I passed out again."

She regained consciousness to find herself in a different and bigger ditch, with the water level reaching her neck.

"I was in a leaning position against the side of the ditch and could not move. Then the days and nights passed. I was so thirsty and hungry but could not even open my mouth."

She said she dipped her mouth in the muddy water and sucked the water from the towel that was used to gag her.

"I knew that I could not last much longer and the cold was unbearable. I thought I was going to die and kept thinking of my four children."

She did not know how many days had passed and only realised that she was being rescued when she was pulled out from the ditch.

When seen at the hospital, her skin was wrinkled and muddy and the skin had peeled off at her elbows, where she was tied. She spoke in a barely audible voice.

Her daughter M. Seetha, 32, said she first thought her mother had gone to stay with a relative and when her search came up empty, she lodged a missing person's report on Monday.

"When I was told she was found alive, I was so glad but the condition she was found in was shocking."

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Mat Yusof said police were amazed by how she survived.

He said police had classified the case as kidnapping and hoped to arrest the suspect soon as the victim had identified him.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf wants the participants of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions (APF) to ask Suhakam – Malaysia’s human rights institution – to explain its role to them.

The group distributed a nine-page document titled, Suhakam: Malaysia’s Human Rights Omission, that was signed by Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy and which criticised Suhakam and the Government, to APF participants on Tuesday and yesterday.

Among the accusations was that Suhakam served as a tool of the Government and had covered-up matters to help the Government do damage control.

Waytha Moorthy also accused Suhakam of using Indian commissioners to “probe” Indian issues, only to mislead the community.

MALAYSIA NANBAN front-paged a report that the state authorities had revoked land allocated to the Azad Tamil School in Bagan Jermal, Penang.
The school, which began operating in 1946, is presently “squatting” at the Penang Indian Association building and had submitted numerous applications to the state government for allocation of land so that new premises with proper facilities could be built.

The school does not have enough classrooms. There is also no computer laboratory, science laboratory and library.

The paper also reported that the previous government under chief minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon and former state executive councillor P.K. Subbaiyah had approved the land near a Hindu temple in the Waterfall area that was identified by the school parent-teacher association in 2005.

The Penang Municipal Council, which owns the land, had also approved the allocation for the school.

MIC president and former works minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had also obtained the necessary funds amounting to RM750,000 from the Federal Government to build the new school.

The Penang Municipal Council cancelled the land allocated to the school after the recent general election.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth leaders must go to the ground to find out the community's problems if the party is to regain ground lost in the March general election.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department S.K. Devamany, in making the call, said many Youth leaders did not perform.

“If this culture continues, we will not be able to gain the trust of the Indian community. Only those who are committed should take up posts in the Youth wing. We don’t need seat warmers,” he said after a two-day brainstorming session for 50 MIC state youth leaders on Sunday.

Devamany, who is Cameron Highlands MP, also briefed the leaders on the current political situation in the country as well as the Government’s efforts to assist the community.

National MIC Youth coordinator T. Mohan admitted there were weaknesses in the wing.

“I admit there are some Youth leaders who have not performed in their states for more than six years but goals have been set for the new state leaders,” he said.

Mohan, who was appointed last month, said leaders who failed to perform effectively would be replaced in the Youth polls scheduled next May.

“I have given them guidelines to carry out in implementing the programmes in their states. If they adhere to them, there is no reason for them not to succeed,” he said.

Mohan, who also urged the leaders in the division and state to be vocal on issues affecting the community, promised to give RM1,000 monthly allocations to the states to carry out their activities.

He said leaders must not be satisfied in getting their activities highlighted in the Tamil newspapers but should also strive to get publicity in English and Malay newspapers as well as television stations.

The Youth leaders discussed ways to rebuild the image of the wing, effective community development and service as well as how to woo 50,000 youths into the party before the year-end.

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC says that it has been wooing the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in secret discussions but the group has rejected this claim outright.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the party had been holding discussions with Hindraf youth leaders in Kedah, Perak and Selangor, which he said went well.

He said the Hindraf leaders realised that the MIC was also fighting to upgrade the living standards of the Indian community.

“Whatever happened in the past, especially in the March polls, is history. We must work together for the betterment of the community,” he said, claiming that some of the Hindraf leaders also regretted supporting the Opposition.

In an immediate response, Hindraf national event co-ordinator Kannan Ramasamy pooh-poohed Samy Velu’s claims, saying none of the group’s 10 coordinators had met MIC leaders.

“Hindraf does not have a membership roll. It is led by P. Waythamoorthy who is assisted by 10 co-ordinators and as far as I know, none of us had met anyone from the MIC,” he said when contacted.

He stressed that Hindraf never regretted convincing the Indians to vote for the Opposition in the March general election, as the move had brought much improvement for the community in some parts of the country.

“We have noted that a lot of improvement has taken place for Indians in the five states led by the Pakatan Rakyat coalition since the election,” said Kannan.

Hindraf national coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran agreed with Kannan, saying the best thing that happened from supporting the opposition was the awareness created on the plight of Indians.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu lashed out at certain leaders who he said had started campaigning 10 months ahead of the party polls, likening them to “political addicts.”

Comparing himself to them, the former Works Minister who lost his long-held Sungai Siput parliamentary seat in the general election said he had been working tirelessly to regain the Indian community’s support since.

“We lost the election, we lost the support of the Indian community. I sit in the office and work for 10 to 12 hours (daily) trying to bring the community back to us but there are people in the party who only think of positions.

“These people don’t care about the Indian community,” he told reporters after opening the Koperasi Pekerja Jaya annual general meeting yesterday.

Samy Vellu clarified that he had never endorsed anyone for any position at the party polls scheduled next June, when elections for the deputy president, three vice-president’s and 23 central working committee posts will be held.

The MIC presidential elections will be held earlier in March, with Samy Vellu expected to defend his post.

Samy Vellu described it as “bad practice” to campaign for positions without working for the party.

“We should not encourage. I have said before, if anyone thinks they have the support of delegates, they can contest ... nobody is stopping them from contesting.”

“Even if somebody wants to contest for the presidency ... let them contest. It is up to the delegates to decide,” he added.

Samy Vellu , Datuk S. Gopalakrishnan and Tan Sri G. Pasamanickam retained their positions as Koperasi Pekerja Jaya directors while Datuk M. Davendran edged Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan to clinch the fourth directorship.

The Times of India, Jul 26 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian-Indian girl has had to drop out of school in Kuala Lumpur because her birth certificate registered her as a boy.

T Gomathy has not managed to get her record corrected despite six years of running around with appeals to the national registration department (NRD). Now 18, she remains under-educated.



She got a fresh certificate last week at a camp set up by the Birth Certificate Registration Programme organised by the ministry of women, family and community development.

Two hundred cases like those of Gomathy were tackled with the assistance of one of the co-organisers, the Yayasan Strategik Sosial (YSS), an NGO.

The mistake in Gomathy's birth certificate was detected only when she was 12, when she applied for her national identity card.

"Because of this problem, I had to stop schooling," Gomathy told the New Straits Times .

Her problem was compounded since the authorities wanted her biological mother to testify. But she went missing when the daughter was 11, and could not be contacted.

"Why did they ask her to bring her mother who went missing years ago when her biological father was with her?" asked YSS assistant director V. Vanitha Ramany.

Ramany criticised the NRD for the delay in correcting the mistake in Gomathy's birth certificate.

The problem of registration and identity card is an old one among the Indian settlers in Malaysia who came here during the British era.

After independence in 1957, the government asked them to register. But thousands were illiterate and too poor and did not realise its importance.

The problem has come down since, but persists among the poor.

Ramany said a child born in an unregistered marriage might not get a birth certificate as some NRD officers would register a child in the absence of the parents' marriage certificate while others would not.

She cited a case where seven brothers and sisters, aged four months to 10 years, did not have birth certificates because their parents did not register their marriage as it was the woman's second marriage.

Then there are married women without birth certificates.

In such cases, even if their children were to get their birth certificates, they would remain non-citizens, Ramany said.

She called for holding of more registration camps and the appointment of more Tamil-speaking officers at NRD offices to help Indians who only spoke their mother tongue.

The three Tamil dailies in Malaysia – Tamil Nesan, Malaysia Nanban and Makkal Osai – will cost 30 cents more daily and 50 cents more for Sunday edition effective august 31st which are currently priced RM 1.00.

The dailies cite printing paper cost and petrol price rise for the inevitable increase.

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC-owned Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) is once again offering study loans to Malaysians enrolled in or applying to study in local or foreign institutions.

Although preference will be given to those enrolled at the Kolej Tafe in Seremban or the AIMST University in Kedah, students from other institutions can also apply so long as they have proof of rejection of their loan applications from their respective institutions, or for courses which are not available at Tafe or AIMST.

Applicants pursuing diploma programmes must have a minimum of four credits, including English and Mathematics for their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia while those pursuing degree programmes should have a minimum of three Principle D in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia or its equivalent. Overseas loans are limited to students studying medicine in Asia.

The MIED loan application forms are available online at its website www.mied.com.my. Completed forms must reach the MIED office by Aug 15.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has challenged the claim that half the Tamil schools in the country would have closed down without the support of wealthy Indians.

He was reacting to Malaysian Indian Businessmen Association president P. Sivakumar's claim that if not for private donations and wealthy businessmen, half of the 523 schools would have closed down a long time ago.

"The subject of Tamil schools is very dear to me because I was a Tamil school student.

"Since I became a minister in 1979, I started studying the position of Tamil schools.

"In 1981, I came out with the first programmes for educational empowerment of the Indian community.

"I asked JKR (Public Works Department) and my officers to study schools that needed attention.

"I then approached then prime minister (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) in 1984 for RM5.5 million from the Prime Minster's Fund. At that time there was scarce funds for partially-aided schools.

"He approved RM6 million and we built nine Tamil schools with the money."

Later, Samy Vellu said, he approached then finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin for funds and received RM4.5 million to build more schools.

He said MIC was committed to continuously seek funds from the prime minister, education and finance ministers to keep on building Tamil schools to provide a better standard of education for Indian children.

"Recently, we secured a RM30 million grant and we have allocated RM11.3 million for building 10 schools in Selangor and 15 in the rest of the country, also costing RM11.3 million. Tenders are now being called.

"We have also obtained RM2 million for repairs of Tamil schools in Selangor this year while the government is building a RM1.2 million Tamil school in Kampung Lindungan on a 0.6ha site. The Education Ministry is also building 15 fully-aided Tamil schools costing RM11.5 million."

From now until the end of next year, RM43.5 million has been committed for the upgrading and construction of Tamil schools, he said.

"For me, MIC is the guardian of Tamil schools and we have set up the MIED (Maju Institute of Educational Development), Yayasan Strategik Sosial to improve the lot of Indian children."

He pointed out that it was through MIC initiatives that on July 1, the Cabinet Committee on Development of the Indian Community chaired by the deputy prime minister had agreed in principle that all Tamil schools should be converted to fully-aided schools.

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) president P. Waythamoorthy has asked the Perak state government to set aside at least four hectares of land to 16 families who have been squatting on Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) land for the past 40 years, reported Malaysia Nanban.

In a letter to Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, Waythamoorthy said these families had received eviction notices, asking them to vacate the land within 30 days.

He urged the state government to intervene and secure a stay from KTMB until a suitable piece of land was found to accommodate the 16 families.

He said the current state government had, after all, granted 60,000 families living in Perak's new villages freehold titles to the land they had been living on for a long time.

KUALA LUMPUR: Subang MP R. Sivarasa was questioned by the police for about four hours over private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s first statutory declaration on the murder case of Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Sivarasa, who is also one of the lawyers for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said he was asked if Balasubramaniam had made the statutory declaration under duress.

The PKR vice president said the investigation was mainly focused on the first statutory declaration except for one question on the second statutory declaration, with which he said he was not involved.

“I told the police that I was convinced the first statutory declaration was made voluntarily and not under duress and the first statutory declaration was the truth.

“But I do not know about the second statutory declaration,” Sivarasa told reporters after giving his statement to the police at the Commercial Crime Investigation Department here yesterday.

Sivarasa said he was asked about his first meeting with Balasubramaniam and what he knew about the first statutory declaration.

“I told him to get a lawyer and record whatever it was he wanted to say and when I was told that the statutory declaration was ready, I met him again and called for a press conference,” he said.

Sivarasa said although he was willing to cooperate with the police, he felt there should be an independent investigation.

“PKR reiterates its call for a Royal Commission, an independent body to investigate which of the statutory declarations is true,” he said.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government will consider converting the status of partially aided Tamil primary schools to fully aided, if the land issue can be solved.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said the problem was that about 250 Tamil primary schools were presently built on estate land.


Status problem: Hishammuddin (right), Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department S.K. Devamany (middle) and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T. Murugiah holding copies of the ministry's reports on the status of Tamil primary schools after the meeting yesterday.

“We can’t have a fully aided school if the land doesn’t belong to us,” he told reporters after chairing a special committee meeting to overcome Tamil school issues.

He said the ministry had to identify if the land belonged to government-linked companies, private companies or individuals.

Besides land, he said, the Government also had to look at other issues such as the supply of teachers, upgrading of schools and under-enrolled schools.

“There is no point converting a school if it only has three pupils. This is why in our meeting, we identified the actual number of pupils and schools, schools which need to be upgraded or are overcrowded,” he said.

There are presently 523 Tamil primary schools in the country.

He said the committee found that the overall situation at Tamil primary schools was not as bad as painted by some parties.

“We are also working closely with the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry to upgrade the infrastructure of Tamil schools in plantations,” he said.

Hishammuddin said 171 applications had been approved in cases of children who do not have birth certificates as long as their parents obtained a confirmation letter from their village headman or the Village Development and Safety Committee (JKKK) head to allow them to go to school.

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional must take care of all Malaysians with fairness regardless of their ethnicity in a multiracial society, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting.

Umno should also consider the feelings of Barisan component parties when it has dialogues with other parties concerning the interest of all ethnic groups, he said.

“Umno has a right to discuss with any party on racial harmony and religious issues,” he said when asked to comment on the high-level meetings between Umno and PAS after chairing the party’s central committee meeting at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

Asked whether the MCA would hold dialogues with the DAP, Ong said:

“We are not having dialogues with the DAP. We will have our discussion for the benefit of the people with our component parties.”

On the party elections, Ong reminded candidates to comply with the election rules and regulations.

He said stern action would be taken against those involved in immoral acts such as money politics or violence during the campaign period.

“We want to have a clean, fair and democratic election,” he said, adding that the state convention would start in Johor on Sept 7 and end in Perlis on Oct 12.

Asked whether he would endorse his brother Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan for a higher post, Ong replied:

“As I have said before, I will not interfere in the party election. Let us have a fair and democratic election.”

On the possible formation of factions, he said the central committee unanimously agreed that it was not true and unhealthy.

He said the party would invite two observers from its five overseas clubs, including the newly-approved club in New York, to its national convention in October.

MUCH has been said and written about the plight of Tamil schools in the country, often said to be treated as the step- child or, as an educationist puts it, "the Cinderella of the Malaysian educational system".

But who is treating it as a stepchild? Most fingers point at the government, but there are several pointing at the Indian community itself.

Comparisons are sometimes made with Chinese schools which, like most Tamil schools, are not fully funded by the government.

Malaysian Indian Businessmen Association president P. Sivakumar dismisses outright claims that the community is not doing enough to assist Tamil schools.

If not for private donors and wealthy businessmen from the community, Sivakumar argues, half of the 523 Tamil schools in the country would have been closed down a long time ago.

He cites a recent example where a hall for a Yahya Awal Tamil school in Johor Baru, costing RM700,000, was built with public donations.

Does this mean the community can now stop asking for government handouts? Can it become like the Chinese community, which even runs private independent schools?

Sivakumar says it is unfair to compare the two communities.

"Almost 90 per cent of the (Indian) community are wage earners. There is no way for these people to contribute when they themselves often do not have enough.

"It is high time these schools were turned into fully-funded schools. Don't drag out the problem any more."

Education, Welfare and Research Foundation Malaysia (EWRF) president S.P. Pathi agrees that the community cannot take care of the Tamil schools on its own.

He dismisses as illogical the comparison between the Indians and the Chinese as economically, the Indians were way behind them.

"About 10 years ago, 85 per cent of the Tamil school-going pupils came from families earning RM1,200 and below. Things have not changed much," he says.

A dissenting voice comes from YSS director of policy research, K. Manikam.

"Many businessmen and well-to-do Indians are not coming forward to help Tamil schools," says Manikam, who has been involved in Tamil school issues for eight years.

"Most Indians are willing to spend on temples rather than Tamil schools. Temples are given very little allocation but Indians fork out their own money and build big temples costing millions of ringgit.

"Why can't the same be done for Tamil schools?"

Manikam says the community must take the initiative to invest its resources in primary education.

Perhaps there is another major difference between Chinese and Tamil schools.

The Chinese, although speaking different dialects at home, have a common "Chinese language" in Mandarin whereas Tamil schools are mainly for Tamils and not for all Indians, who have their own written and spoken languages. This could be why, although there is a growing number of well-to-do Indians, the contribution to Tamil schools remains small.

Manikam agrees that most of the other sub-ethnic groups like the Telugus, Malayalees and Punjabis prefer not to send their children to Tamil schools as it is not their mother tongue.

"The English-speaking and non-Tamil speaking families also prefer to send their children to national schools.

"Many feel it is beneath their status to send their children to Tamil schools as most of the pupils there are from poor families," he says.

Tamil schools in the country began in 1816 when the first was established in Penang. More followed with the opening up of rubber estates although not all owners supported or provided funds.

Things improved in the 1930s when the Indian government raised the issue of the treatment of Indian labourers with the colonial government in then-Malaya.

Soon, the government started providing financial aid and teacher training and appointed inspectors for Tamil schools.

At its height in 1957, there were 888 Tamil schools, but the number had fallen to 523 by last year. Nevertheless, the enrolment has seen a 108 per cent increase, rising from 50,766 pupils in 1957 to 105,618 pupils last year.

The number of teachers has also risen from 3,258 teachers in 1970, to 7,126 last year.

The numbers clearly show that there is a demand for places in Tamil schools.

Or is it a case of parents having no choice but to send their children to such schools because national schools are too far from their homes?

Manikam says there is an increase in the enrolment in Tamil schools because of the improvement in academic performances.

"In 2002, only 45 pupils scored 7As in their UPSR but the number increased to 583 pupils last year," he says.

NATIONAL Tamil Schools Headmasters' Council head G. Manoharan had called on the Education Ministry to absorb the temporary teachers now teaching in the Tamil schools, reported Malaysia Nanban.

He said there were about 500 temporary teachers in Tamil schools nationwide and the standard of education in the schools had been affected by this problem.

He said that in Johor, there were 150 temporary teachers while Selangor and Perak had more than 200.

He said that many of these teachers, who had been teaching for nearly three years, obtained high marks in their annual assessment but were not given the opportunity to attend courses during the holidays.

He hoped that MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who had been successful in building new Tamil schools in the country, would look into solving the problems being faced by the temporary teachers in the Tamil Schools.

KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said hit back at critics who rebuked him for purchasing 14 Mercedes Benzes to be used as state official cars.

"You can go to some of the cabinet ministers' houses. I am sure you will see Mercedes Benz cars in their garages."


Defiantly, he said all the menteris besar in other states knew that the official Proton Perdana V6 Executive cars were faulty, but did not want to admit it.


"I am not a hypocrite, I am telling the truth. I am being transparent here. Proton should see this in a positive light and improve itself.


"I have to think of how to save the rakyat's money. Ask any engineer around and they will tell you that the Mercedes E200 Kompressors are more economical in the long run," he said before chairing the weekly state exco meeting at a five-star hotel here yesterday.


Ahmad sparked an outcry last week with the revelation of the state's RM3.43 million expenditure on the Mercedes as a "cost-cutting measure".


He later said that the gearbox and fuel consumption of the Perdana were the main cost culprits, and that the cars would be given away to other government departments.


Yesterday, he also said that the state government had spent RM1.15 million to maintain its fleet of 16 Perdana since they were purchased in 2004.


Former menteri besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh himself had spent nearly RM131,600 in maintaining his Perdana this year, in the two months that he was head of the state government.

Ahmad said the cost of maintenance for the Perdana here was low because "all the officials in Kuala Lumpur do is use it to get to the airport".


"Politicians in the city can use the helicopter. I still have to drive, even to get from Kuala Terengganu to Kemaman."


He also questioned the need for an electronic media organisation to call for an SMS poll for viewers' reaction regarding the issue.


He added that he personally had not changed his official car, an 18-year-old Mercedes Benz, saying that it was still in good condition.


"Kalau bini masih cantik, buat apa tukar?" (If the wife is still beautiful, why change?)

Thestar-IPOH: The five children abandoned without birth certificates in a home in Buntong are a step closer to realising their dreams of attending school.

A five-man team from the Welfare Department visited the Arutperam Jothi orphanage yesterday to help S. Velan, K. Tharsini, both 10, and N. Pandian, 7, Dineshkumar, 6, and Roja, 5, apply for their birth certificates.

State Welfare Department director Chong Phaik Hee and adviser to the Women, Family and Community Development minister, Datuk Shamsiah Abdul Rahman, were also present.

An official from the National Registration Department took down the children's particulars to help ascertain their identities.

The five, who can count, read and write in Bahasa Malaysia and English at kindergarten level, can now smile as the Welfare Department will approach the Education Ministry to see whether they can be enrolled in primary school before they get their birth certificates.

Last week, their guardian and the founder of the home, Indu Adigalar, enlisted the aid of state MIC chairman Datuk G. Rajoo to solve their problems.

Rajoo had asked the Education Ministry to allow the children to go to school until their birth status is determined and they are registered.

Indu has attempted to enrol the children in numerous primary schools since the first unregistered child arrived at the orphanage in 2004.

Shamsiah and Chong said the Education Ministry would be contacted and their decision on the children's admission would be relayed to the home immediately.

Chong said the problem of unregistered children had far-reaching implications beyond just identity or citizenship.

FORMER MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam said that no one should question benefits given to the non-bumiputras by the Government, Tamil Nesan quoted him as saying.

He said that Indians also should not question the benefits given to the other races, referring to the questions raised in Parliament regarding the 55:45 allocation of scholarships to bumiputras and non-bumiputras as announced recently.

He said that the Government had taken the decision after considering the plight of the Indian community but pointed out that the bumiputra quota had not been reduced.

He was speaking to reporters after addressing an educational seminar organised for pupils taking the UPSR in Gopeng yesterday.

Those found to be negligent resulting in the destruction of government records will face legal action

Civil servants, university staff and employees of government-linked companies (GLCs) found to be negligent resulting in the destruction of government records will face legal action from next year, Malaysia Nanban reported.

Offenders can be fined not more than RM5,000 or one year’s jail or both for contravening the National Archives Act and Government Management Record.

National Archives director-general Sidek Jamil said that the tough action was necessary so that civil servants take record management seriously.

He said that in the case of Pulau Batu Puteh, Malaysia failed to defend itself effectively because of poor record management.

He was speaking to reporters at a pre-Congress seminar on “Records Management For Good Governance” at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra memorial in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The state government has defended the purchase of 14 Mercedes E200 Kompressor cars at RM3.43mil for the use of its state executive councillors and senior officials.

Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the state government had planned to purchase the cars for a long time now to replace its Proton Perdana V6 Executive fleet in a move to cut cost.

“Please understand that the Proton Perdanas go through continuous long-distance journeys. It’s costing us a lot of money due to high cost of maintenance.

“We are not saying that the national car is not good but in reality we are coughing up more money for maintaining the Proton Perdanas, particularly the gear boxes,” he said.

Ahmad cited the example of the Proton Perdana of state Commerce, Industry and Environment committee chairman Toh Chin Yaw, which has twice undergone expensive repairs costing RM50,000 within 36 months.

“In the long run, Mercedes cars are cheaper to maintain and could also save us fuel costs.

“This is the state’s long-term plan – we are farsighted. The cars could also fetch a high market price, when sold as second-hand cars.

“We studied all angles before deciding to buy the Mercedes E200 cars,” he added.

Ahmad also denied that the oil royalty money was used to buy the cars.

“In the first place we have yet to receive the oil royalties from the Federal Government.

“The funds to procure the cars were from our own coffers and has nothing to do with the oil royalties,” he said.

BY YB.Gobalakrishnan ( MP Padang Serai ): www.ngobalakrishnan.com

It has quite a while since I blogged. My busy schedule and recent events kept me away from jotting down my opinions.

The recent remarks from Mukhriz caused a commotion in parliament. His question was “There are leaders over there who are demanding for four witnesses (to the alleged act of sodomy). How can there be four witnesses? They would have sinned if they saw the commission of the act but did not do anything to stop it!” Immediately most of my fellow friends from opposition including me rise to dissent. MP Titiwangsa stridently objected saying Mukhriz should withdraw what he had said about Anwar because it was Qazaf (slander) and those found guilty could be whipped according to Islamic Law. He demanded for an apology from Mukhriz for insulting the religion.

I was very disillusioned on how can they insult their own religion. No matter how liberal you’re, don’t forget the roots of your origin. I arose and stipulated the truth to be heard subsequently to end all these accusations towards my dear friend. I quoted a phrase in Arab which means “only the truth and nothing but the truth”. I’m a Hindu living in this multi racial country would never think that an MP from a Party which comprises many races would speak ill and challenge his own religion.

In another part during Supplementary Supply Bill 2008, while Deputy Minister Yb.Devamany addressing the Bill for IDR (Iskandar Development Region), I stood up and questioned him on the allocation of projects for Indian Contractors and Businessmen and if/will the Government cling on to their promise (which have been made several times) in achieving the 3% equity for Indians under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

YB.Devamany replied “ saya menjamin and saya akan pastikan kontractor-kontractor Indian akan mendapat projek –projek yang secukupnya dalam IRDA bagi meningkatkan taraf ekuiti ekonomi yang akan menyokong pencapaian 3%. Hence, I stood up again and questioned:

“Jikalau begitu, adakah kerajaan sudah melantik ahli-ahli lembaga sebagai wakil kaum India di jawatankuasa induk IRDA?”

YB.Devamany menjawab bahawa dia kurang pasti dan akan menjawab soalan ini secara lisan selepas rujuk kepada pegawai –pegawai yang berkenaan.

Question: Holding a position as Deputy Minister and a Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) representative at ministerial level whom addressing the Bill on IDR, says he does not know if there is any representative for Indians or the name of Indian representative in the board? To who should any Malaysian Indian contractors or businessmen seek information? Ignorance and negligence of a representative from MIC is well publicized in this scenario. It is distressing that Deputy Minister has not done his homework. Time and again, rising Malaysian Indian businessman/contractors whom desire for government projects would be left in lurch. This is still occurring in Malaysia because of MIC’s laxity in acquiring jobs and contracts for Indians.

As expected, The Speaker came in rescuing YB.Devamany before I further raise question in relation to gain more knowledge about IDR project commitments to Malaysian Indians. Regrettably, this rhythmic incident shows the fiasco of another MIC leader who declares to represent Indians in Government.

I would like to challenge YB.Devamany to acquire at least 5% of that total projects allocated in IDR for Indians if he meant to prove what he promised. He stated that he will make sure the achievement of Malaysian Indian equity to 3%. If the target of 3% to be attained, definitely 5% allocation of IDR or any projects offered by Malaysian Government throughout the country won’t be sufficient. Nevertheless, I urge that YB.Devamany keeps his promise on ensuring the 5% of the projects would be given to Indian contractors and businessmen to uplift Indian community. Something is better than nothing, rightJ

AS the government unveiled a scholarship scheme for top Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students, the 55:45 scholarship ratio between Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras became a point of contention in the house.

A shouting match over the ratio erupted after Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, announced that the new Public Service Department scholarships would go to students of all races, religions and economic status.

He said the government had yet to set the minimum standard to qualify for scholarships under the programme but "if they score 15As, we will just close our eyes and let them have the scholarships".

However, as he detailed the new scheme, Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak) interjected to say that he was against the current scholarship ratio as it purportedly compromised the rights of Bumiputeras guaranteed under the constitution.

"If the government puts forward a populist policy just to please others, I will not support this policy. We cannot compromise the constitutional right of Bumiputeras," he said, sparking protests from M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) and Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam).

Both opposition MPs described Tajuddin's statement as racist because it did not consider the plight of poor Chinese and Indians.

A heated exchange ensued with Kulasegaran calling Tajuddin "dumb", prompting the latter to challenge Kulasegaran to step outside the house.

The argument, which began as Nazri was winding up the committee-level debate on the Supplementary Supply (2008) Bill 2008, continued for several minutes until Barisan Nasional backbenchers managed to calm Tajuddin.

As things returned to normal, Nazri said economic status would not come into the equation as far as selection of candidates for the new scholarships was concerned.

This was because any use of economic status as a yardstick would discourage the best minds from staying in the country.

The new ratio was introduced last year to replace the previous quota of 90 per cent for Bumiputeras and 10 per cent for non-Bumiputeras.

Nazri denied that the new ratio was part of a populist policy or that the government was compromising on the constitutional right of Bumiputeras.

"We are not questioning the rights of Malays or the social contract. This is not a populist policy; it is just fair.

"The ratio needs to have a basis and I think the population would be a good reference. If you are talking about setting an 80:20 ratio, no way. But if we follow the population ratio, at 55:45 or 60:40, that is easier to accept.

"What I can guarantee is that the Bumiputera quota will not go below 50 per cent."

IPOH: Perak's 338 local councillors are scheduled to be sworn in Friday but protests and dissatisfaction over the list of appointments seem unending.

The latest to express their disappointment are Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members from Sungai Siput.

Sungai Siput PSM branch secretary M. Sukumaran handed over a memorandum on the matter to Perak Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming.

Sukumaran said Sungai Siput MP Dr D. Jeyakumar had sent a letter recommending four people to be councillors for the Kuala Kangsar Municipal Council.

"We are surprised that not even one was selected for the post. We are working closely with the people of Sungai Siput but not a single one was chosen,' he added.

He pointed out that it was perplexing that the state government could choose a former judge but not those who worked closely with the people.

The four persons that PSM had recommended were Sukumaran, M. Agastim, Chong Kim Foo and Adam Ngah Naim.

Since the Pakatan Rakyat government released the names of local councillors last Monday, protests over the selection had been voiced by non-governmental organisations such as Ipoh Ratepayers Association and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf),

The posts for the 15 local authorities in Perak were made up of 93 representatives from members of the public, 70 from the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, 54 PAS, 104 DAP and 17 civil servants.

Sukumaran claimed that it was Nga who had asked Dr Jeyakumar, who is also PSM committee member, to recommend some people as councillors.

If Selangor could select three PSM leaders for councillor posts, there was no reason why the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak should marginalise the party here, he said.

Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin said that he was ready for his day in court as he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters this morning.

MCPXHe is expected to charged with criminal defamation in relation to allegations in his statutory declaration that implicated Rosmah Mansor - wife of deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak - in the murder of Mongolian national Altantuya Shaariibuu

Accompanied by two lawyers and his wife, Raja Petra said he was in the mood to fight.

"I'm in the mood to f*** the government. What more do you want me to say?"

Raja Petra and his lawyers went into to police headquarters at 10am.

His wife, Marina Lee Abudullah, is worried that Raja Petra would decide not to pay bail and decide to be held under police custody.

"This is a bailable offence. I hope he does not surprise me again and do not take bail."

Two months ago when Raja Petra was charged with sedition for publishing an allegedly seditious article entitled 'Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell' in his Malaysia Today website, he refused to post bail.

He was eventually released from Sungai Buloh prison after bail was posted three days.

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was released on police bail Thursday morning after having his statement recorded the night before, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said.

He was safely back at his home in Bukit Segambut in Kuala Lumpur by 10.05am, and is expected to hold a press conference at 2pm.

Anwar's statement was taken down to facilitate police investigations into the report lodged on June 28 by his 23-year-old former aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan alleging he had been sodomised by the PKR de facto leader.

"He was arrested yesterday (Wednesday) as he was a suspect, and his arrest was made in accordance with the law," Ismail said.

"Police followed every procedure and had even informed him and his lawyers that the warrant for his arrest had been obtained.

"He was treated fairly and according to due process of the law, which included allowing his wife (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) to visit him at about midnight," he added.

Ismail said police would continue with their investigations.

He also appealed to the public not to speculate and to allow the police to investigate this case as they would any other case.

The police have taken PKR de facto Anwar Ibrahim to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for medical tests.


Anwar left the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters at 8.35pm with a convoy of 10 police vehicles and a dozen outriders.

The veteran politician, who was arrested this afternoon in connection with a sodomy report, had his statement recorded at a marathon six-hour session - from 2.30pm to 8.30pm.

Anwar arrived at the hospital's emergency unit at about 8.50pm. Some 40 police personnel have been deployed in the area.

The politician was later taken to the hospital's royal ward but no further details are available. The police have cordoned off the area.

Earlier today, his lawyer Sankara Nair said that under the law, Anwar is not obliged to provide the police with a DNA sample.

Lawyer: No DNA sample given


About two hours later, Anwar emerged from the hospital accompanied by dozens of police officers.

He smiled and waved to about 50 supporters who were waiting outside the building.

The crowd shouted 'reformasi' as he was escorted into a car where he was taken in a police convoy back to the KL police headquarters.

He arrived at the police headquarters at 10.30pm.

According to Anwar's lawyer R Sivarasa who had accompanied the opposition leader to the hospital, a full medical check-up was performed.

"No DNA sample was given. We did what we considered was reasonable"

Syed Hamid: He's likely to be detained overnight

Meanwhile, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told AFP that Anwar is likely to spend the night in detention.

"I doubt Anwar will be released tonight as this is a very serious allegation and there are a lot of things to be investigated and the police must carry this out fully," he said.

Syed Hamid dismissed Anwar's claims that the accusations levelled by a former aide were a government conspiracy, and discounted the prospect of mass demonstrations if the opposition leader is charged with sodomy.

"There is no conspiracy as Anwar likes to point out. Every time he is detained he claims it's a conspiracy, this is mind conditioning and we will make sure that no one is above the law."

At about 11pm, Anwar left the police headquarters in the same convoy to an undisclosed location.

KUALA LUMPUR, The Star: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was taken to the Hospital Kuala Lumpur at about 8.35pm Wednesday for DNA testing after spending about seven hours at the city police headquarters.

He arrived at HKL at 8.45pm and was taken to the royal ward amidst heavy police presence.

Anwar was seen to be in good spirits and even waved to reporters gathered at the hospital entrance.

In a mark departure from previous rallies, the police have decided not to crack down on the 500-strong crowd gathered outside the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters this evening.

MCPXAt 5.45pm, the police gave the supporters of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim 20 minutes to disperse. But when the deadline ended, no action was taken against them.

An hour later, another ultimatum was given, and this led to negotiations between the police and Batu parliamentarian Tian Chua, who is also PKR information chief.

Both sides agreed that the illegal demonstration could proceed so long as the protestors behaved themselves.

Two water-cannon trucks and four truck-loads of about 100 Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) riot police have been deployed in the area to keep an eye on the crowd.

The protestors began gathering in Jalan Hang Tuah outside the police headquarters from 1.30pm to condemn the arrest of Anwar.

The police subsequently sealed off the busy road, leading to a massive traffic jam.

Earlier, supporters chanted ‘reformasi’, holding up placards spelling bantah tangkapan Anwar (oppose Anwar’s arrest) and getting passing motorists to honk in support.
A large number of foreign journalists were among those covering the event.

Anwar was arrested at his Bukit Segambut house about 1pm, after giving his statement to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in Putrajaya this morning.

He was called for questioning by the ACA in relation to his police report alleging fabrication of evidence regarding his 'black eye' incident in 1999.

Supporters told to remain calm

PKR has issued an immediate call for its supporters to rally outside the police headquarters where Anwar was taken.

Anwar has earlier dismissed the sodomy accusations as a conspiracy to prevent him from seizing power, and said it was a re-run of events a decade ago when he was slapped with charges widely seen as politically motivated.

The allegations were levelled by Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old who was a staff in Anwar's office.

"There's no basis for this whole fabrication and malicious attacks. It is just a repeat of the 1998 script. You can see the pattern," Anwar told reporters this morning. "I will challenge them on every ground."

Anwar's downfall a decade ago triggered massive protests in a reformasi movement that continues to reverberate in Malaysian politics.

PKR said it would ensure that the gathering outside police headquarters remained calm as there were concerns the government was planning to launch a crackdown including further arrests of opposition leaders.

"There's a possibility that they would like to provoke so they can justify a much wider crackdown against the democratic movement in Malaysia," said Chua.

This afternoon at 1:05pm Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister, was arrested outside of his home in Kuala Lumpur. He was due to issue a statement at IPK KL (Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent headquarters) at 2pm based on an agreement reached with the police on Tuesday.


MCPX
Anwar was returning from the Anti-Corruption Agency to his home after giving a statement pertaining to the police report that has been filed regarding suppression of material facts in the case involving him in 1998. He was accompanied by his senior legal team, staff, and security.

As he entered the neighborhood of his home, a contingent of 10 police cars, half unmarked and half patrol, forced the two cars in Anwar's entourage to stop.

There was a contingent of 20 balaclava-clad masked commandos (UTK) who accosted him, reminiscent of the forces sent to arrest Anwar at his home in September 1998 (right).

An officer approached Anwar and demanded that he accompany the police in an unmarked vehicle to the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent headquarters. His lawyers were not permitted to travel with him to the police station.

This arrest has taken place less than 15 hours after Anwar appeared live on Malaysian television for the first time since 1998, and announced to millions of viewers his intention to stand for election, and upon the formation of a new government, to lower the domestic price of fuel by 50 sen. The overwhelming majority of Malaysians expressed their support of his televised statement.

These events are deeply disturbing to us and indicate that this entire episode is a repeat of the actions taken against Anwar in 1998.

During the last few weeks the government-owned mainstream media has demonised and vilified him. His staff has been harassed and we see a conspiracy being hatched to thwart the political change that is imminent in Malaysia.

Under no circumstances will the people of Malaysia and the international community tolerate any harm coming to Anwar. We remind Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi of the promise he made to ensure Anwar's protection.

We have been able to communicate with Anwar, who calls upon his supporters and the people of Malaysia to remain calm and to reject any attempts at provocation, which will give a pretext for an emergency situation to be declared.

Office of Anwar Ibrahim

About 250 people have gathered in Jalan Hang Tuah outside the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters to condemn the arrest of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today.

Supporters are chanting ‘reformasi’, holding up placards spelling bantah tangkapan Anwar (oppose Anwar’s arrest) and getting passing motorists to honk in support.

More people are swelling the ranks of those there.

A large number of foreign journalists are among those outside the police headquarters. News of the arrest has been flashed around the world, based on a check of news websites.

Anwar was arrested at his Bukit Segambut house about 1pm, after giving his statement to the Anti-Corruption Agency in Putrajaya this morning.

He was called in concerning his police report alleging fabrication of evidence regarding his 'black eye' incident in 1999.

Supporters told to remain calm

PKR has issued an immediate call for its supporters to rally outside the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters where Anwar was taken.

Earlier today, Anwar has dismissed the sodomy accusations as a conspiracy to prevent him from seizing power, and said it was a re-run of events a decade ago when he was slapped with charges widely seen as politically motivated.

The allegations were levelled by Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, a 23-year-old who was a staff in Anwar's office.

"There's no basis for this whole fabrication and malicious attacks. It is just a repeat of the 1998 script. You can see the pattern," Anwar told reporters. "I will challenge them on every ground."

Anwar's downfall a decade ago triggered massive protests in a reformasi movement that continues to reverberate in Malaysian politics.

PKR said it would ensure that the gathering outside police headquarters remained calm as there were concerns the government was planning to launch a crackdown including further arrests of opposition leaders.

"There's a possibility that they would like to provoke so they can justify a much wider crackdown against the democratic movement in Malaysia," party's information chief Tian Chua told AFP.

Popular blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin is to be charged with criminal defamation - he has been ordered to surrender at the Kuala Lumpur contingent police headquarters (IPK) tomorrow at 10am.
MCPX
His wife Marina Lee Abdullah told Malaysiakini that Raja Petra was issued a warrant of arrest this morning through his lawyers.

“We spoke to one ACP Aziz at 2pm just now and he confirmed that Petra must report to IPK KL tomorrow,” she said.

She confirmed that he will be charged for criminal defamation, in relation to allegations in his statutory declaration that implicated Rosmah Mansor, wife of deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak, in the murder of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Raja Petra (file photo, middle) also named the two others - acting colonel Aziz Buyong, who is described as ‘a C4 expert’ and his wife, known only as Norhayati, who is also said to be Rosmah’s aide de camp.

He further alleged that premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his son-in-law Khairy Jamaluddin and a Malay ruler had been briefed on the matter and are fully aware of the allegation against Rosmah.

Raja Petra claimed that Abdullah has handed over a written report from military intelligence on the matter to Khairy for "safekeeping".

Rosmah has denied the allegation.

IPOH: The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) will split allegiances with Pakatan Rakyat if the coalition showed that it could not improve the lot of the Indian community.

Its national information coordinator S. Jayathas foresaw a time when Hindraf would have to split ranks and support Barisan Nasional instead, if Barisan proved it could do better.

“It would be up to the Hindraf chairman to decide whether to split from Pakatan,” Jayathas said after leading an anti-Internal Security Act convoy of 100 vehicles from a temple here yesterday.

“The challenge now is for Pakatan and Barisan to prove who can do better. We will wait and see.

“Until then, we will keep on demanding that Pakatan work for the betterment of the Indians,” he added.

Jayathas said Hindraf sought support from the Opposition because MIC had failed to address the community’s issues in Parliament.

Jayathas stressed that Hindraf was a group that also wanted better job opportunities, respect and dignity for the Indian community.

He added that Hindraf’s allegiance with the Opposition parties did not mean that the group had given up on MIC.

Perak is the latest state after Negri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor to host the road show convoy aimed at calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act and the release of all detainees.

Fifty-five Tamil school heads and PTA chiefs nationwide attended the three-hour meeting. Most of them spoke softly, asking Samy Vellu about school facilities that needed to be upgraded.

After the meeting, Samy Vellu said some of the Tamil schools did not have a computer room, counselling corner, music and television room.

"Some schools also need extra classrooms."

He said the government had proposed to provide RM30 million to build 25 Tamil schools nationwide. However, Samy Vellu said he would ask for an additional RM20 million due to the rising price of building materials.

"We are now in the tender process and construction should start in two months."

He said each school would cater for about 300 to 400 students. At present, some 100,000 students study in 523 Tamil schools nationwide.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam wants the awarding of government scholarships to be based purely on academic achievements.

He said the Public Service Department should abolish the additional criteria, especially the focus on co-curricular activities.

"Fix a system whereby students are awarded based on their academic qualification. Why should there be additional interviews on personal strengths or achievements in non-academic activities?"

PSD scholarships are award- ed based on academic achievement, co-curricular involvement and family income.

Subramaniam was speaking after presenting the Nesa Multipurpose Cooperative merit achievement award to 45 top Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia achievers at Dynasty Hotel yesterday.

The high-achievers were given certificates of recognition and RM100 for each "A".

Subramaniam, who is also Nesa president, handed out taxi licences to 10 members to provide services from the city to the low-cost carrier terminal.

On MIC's grouse against the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), Subramaniam said he was supportive of Hindraf so long it operated as an non-governmental organisation, free from political affiliation.


"They rallied people who had grievances to be voiced, but I was disappointed when they asked the public to support opposition parties a few days before the general election."

Sources : MIC GUIDELINES TO ALL DELEGATES  WHO ARE ATTENDING THE 62ND MIC GENERAL ASSEMBLY .

Resolution 1 : Support For the Leadership Of The Prime Minister

Appreciating the leadership qualities and administrative abilities of the PM , in developing the Nation holistically and noting the efforts undertaken by the BN Government to regain the undivided support of the people for his leadership;

Pledges undivided support for the leadership of PM and expresses its gratitude for increasing the corporate wealth of the Indian Community and for ensuring that all ethnic groups benefit from the economic growth of this county.

Resolution 2: Support For The President MIC

Recognising the dynamic leadership of Dato Seri Samy Vellu and appreciating his contributions and commitments towards the advancement of the Malaysian Indian community;

Noting that the support of the Indian community towards the BN Government during thre GE 2008 had significantly diminished;;

Pledges full support to the President for his efforts to unite the Indian community and to strengthen the Party machinery through the “Re- Branding MIC” exercise.

Resolution 3: Barisan Nasional Committees

Noting That The BN had lost control of the State Governments of Selangor,Perak,Kedah,Pulau Pinang and Kelantan to the opposition parties at the GE 2008;

Further noting that MIC has no representation at State and Local Government levels in those five states;

Urges the Federal Government to establish representative committees at State and District levels under the BN to serve the people of those states.

Resolution 4: Special Assistance For The Indian Community

Noting the announcement of the PM that the equity share of the Indian community will be increased from 1.1% to 1.5% by the end of 2010;

Appreciating the announcement by the Government that the special assistance would be given by establishing a Trust Fund and by creating opportunities for skill training and given entrepreneurship development programmes so as to involve the Indian community in the modern sectors of the economy;

Urges the Government to monitor all the delivery and implementation mechanisms in order to achieve the targets within the specified time frame and to allocate sufficient time frame and to allocate sufficient funds and personnel for this purpose.

Resolution 5: Price Increase In Rural Areas

Noting that the recent petroleum price increase in the global market has affected fuel price in Malaysia and made consumer products more expensive and thereby caused hardship to many low and medium income earners in Malaysia;

Noting further that the price hikes in the rural areas, especially in plantations and squatter areas , are rampant as shopkeepers charge as they wish and do not display price tags;

Urges the MINISTRY OF DOMESTIC TRADE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS to set up enforcement squads to monitor the prices in rural areas and to prosecute retailers and shopkeepers found to have raised prices without approval.

MIC Rebranding  Workshop Basic Manual consists 21 pages. The manual contents varies from objectives, methodology and the details of the program. Another manual of the workshop would be given to branch chairman's soon.

Below are bried explanation on MIC Rebranding.

OBJECTIVES

TO INTRODUCE THE CONCEPT OF THE PARTY’S RE-BRANDING PROGRAM TO ALL BRANCH AND DIVISIONAL HEAD

TO ENSURE THAT THE CONCEPT OF RE-BRANDING IS WELL UNDERSTOOD AND ALL PARTICIPANTS HAVE THE SAME UNDERSTANDING ON THIS SUBJECT MATTER.

TO OBTAIN THE “BUY-IN” FROM THE MAJORITY OF LEADERS ON THE NEED TO RE-BRAND AND TRANSFORM THE PARTY

TO CONDUCT THE SESSIONS “EMOTIONALLY” TO ENSURE THE CONCEPT OF RE-BRANDING IS FELT BOTH IN THE HEART AND MIND OF EACH PARTICIPANT

TO GUIDE EACH LEADER ON HOW TO USE THE RE-BRANDING MANUAL AS A SOURCE OF BRINGING CHANGES AND TRANSFORMATION AT EACH BRANCH AND DIVISION LEVEL.

To be continued..

Hola everyone,


To whom attended the President’s Dinner today (11/07), do you consent to Dato Seri’s remark and decision?


I enjoyed my day and it was nice to meet all the MIC delegates’ again. The singers and dancers were pleasurable although the “marching” part were comical. I had an informative moments conversing with our leaders, Due to certain glitches and surplus attitudes, the function were brought to a halt. I was moved with Dato Seri’s speech and his anger was comprehensible. I understood his anger but could not acquiesce to his verdict.


What say you? Should it continue or this would be the last year?

THE Hindu Rights Action Force in Perak is not happy with the number of Indians being appointed as councillors, Tamil Nesan reported.

Its coordinator S. Vethamoorthy said the state government had announced the list of councillors which contained 48 Indians, 134 Chinese and 124 Malays.

He added that it was surprising to note that some current state executive councillors and their assistants had been appointed.

He said the last government appointed 41 Indians as councillors and this time, the Indians had expected more to be selected.

“The Pakatan Rakyat state government could have discussed with us and we could have proposed more educated people from the Indian community to serve as councillors,” he said.

HINDU temples in the federal territories will not be demolished but relocated, said Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk M. Saravanan.


He was winding up points raised by MPs during the debate on the Mid-Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.


Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) had earlier asked the ministry for its stand on Hindu temples.


Citing an example, Saravanan said there were eight temples located on a small lane, which was affected by development works.


"We gave them a piece of land to relocate and it is up to the temple authorities whether to build a large temple or maintain the eight at the new site."


However, he stressed that while the ministry guaranteed that no temples will be demolished, it did not encourage any new temples being set up either

KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 -- After its worst ever performance in the March 8 general election, the MIC will push ahead with reforms when its 3,300 branch chairmen gather here tomorrow to chart the future direction of the 62-year-old party.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will open the partys 62nd general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre where he is expected to "open the path" towards the party's rejuvenation, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Friday.

"The delegates will hear from the prime minister himself on what and how the government and the MIC can work hand-in-hand to better serve the Indian community, he said in a statement to Bernama here.


He said the one-day assembly would receive a further boost with the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The focus would be the MICs rebranding exercise.

"Our objective is to introduce the concept of rebranding to all branch and divisional leaders to ensure that it is well understood by them," he said.

He said the MIC would conduct 18 workshops with 72 training sessions with 50 participants for each session. A total of 3,600 grassroot leaders would be involved.

"This exercise is aimed at generating new ideas from the branch and divisional leaders. We will conduct the training sessions to ensure that the concept of rebranding is accepted in the hearts and minds of every leader, he said.

To achieve that objective, the party had developed a Rebranding Manual which will guide the leaders to implement changes and transformation at the branches and divisions, he added.

Another area of concentration at the assembly would be the governments decision to form the special Cabinet Committee, chaired by the deputy prime minister, to look into the needs of the Indian community.

He said that at its first meeting on July 1, the committee, among others, agreed in principle to convert the 372 partially-aided Tamil schools into fully-assisted schools and ensure at least eight per cent of Indian representation at all levels in the civil service.

The committee also decided that the MIC-run Asian Institute for Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) be re-categorised as one of the five private universities which recognise government-sponsored students to boost the intake of Indian students into critical sectors like medicine and engineering.

It also agreed that Indian entrepreneurs be given more opportunities in the development of vendor development schemes through companies like state-owned oil firm Petronas and national car-maker Proton, while there would be easier access to government loans for Indian entrepreneurs, he said.

Other decisions included more taxi and bus permits for Indian companies and increasing the Indian corporate equity from the current 1.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent in 2010 where the government was planning to set up a unit trust scheme based on the Permodalan Nasional Berhad model to allow Indians to invest in the scheme to increase their equity in the market.

"These are some of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee. It is a step in the right direction," Samy Vellu said, adding that the party would raise more issues at subsequent meetings of the committee.

He said the biggest challenge now was to ensure that these decisions were implemented, and to achieve that, a monitoring team would be established within the MIC.

-- BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR: If you are a Malaysian under the age of 30 and wish to pursue your master and doctorate degrees, you are eligible to apply for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong scholarship with the Public Service Department (PSD).

Only 12 candidates -- six each for master and doctorate programmes -- would be given the scholarship to earn their degrees from local universities, Ivy League universities abroad or accredited institutions of higher learning, PSD said in a statement yesterday.

The scholarships are for those who plan to pursue their studies in science and technology, economics and law.

Priority will be given to applicants who have earned cumulative grade point average of not less than 3.75 or first- class degrees.

"Applicants must also be active in co-curricular or community activities or have produced creative and innovative works, fluent in more than one international language and have secured places in the universities," the statement said.

Short-listed candidates will will go through a stringent selection process, including an interview. The closing date for applications is Aug 6.

Successful candidates will be bonded to render their services in Malaysia for not less than five years and those who study abroad must return home.

The application form can be downloaded from www.jpa.gov.my or http://esila.jpa.gov.my. For more details, call 03-88853419.

SALEM (Chennai): An Indian university has conferred an honorary doctorate in philosophy on MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel for his contribution to politics and the Indian community in Malaysia.


The former deputy women, family and community development minister became the first Malaysian to receive the doctorate from Vinayaka Missions University at its inaugural convocation here. About 200 Malaysian students are currently studying here. -- Bernama

KLANG: Klang MIC division chief Alex Thiagarasan has been expelled from the party for criticising Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and lodging a police report against him.

The party's three-man disciplinary committee, headed by Tan Sri G. Vadiveloo, made the decision on Monday when Thiagarasan did not turn up for a hearing.

The committee also expelled R. Mookan, a former Subang Jaya councillor.

Thiagarasan was first scheduled to meet the committee on July 2, but could not make it because he was ill. He was then told to appear on Monday, but he wrote to the committee asking for a different date citing prior engagements.

Vadiveloo said Thiagarasan had been given ample opportunity to appear before the committee but did not make use of it.

The committee had earlier sent Thiagarasan a show-cause letter for acting in a manner detrimental to the party, stating that a complaint had been received about an article in a Tamil daily on May 25, in which he had claimed Samy Vellu had misappropriated Telekom Malaysia Bhd shares allocated by the government and government funds allocated to Tafe College and the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology.

The committee also said it had received a complaint that Thiagarasan had not remitted all of the funds collected by the division for the new MIC headquarters building fund.

Vadiveloo said Thiagarasan had replied to the show-cause letter and did not deny making the allegations. He added that Mookan, when asked to explain, replied that he stood by Thiagarasan.

Vadiveloo said both have two weeks to appeal the expulsion to the party's central working committee.

Thiagarasan could not be reached for comment, and Mookan said he had yet to receive his expulsion letter. Several party members, however, have questioned the haste in expelling the duo.

"It was done so that Thiagarasan will not be at the party's annual general meeting (AGM) this Saturday, where he is likely to ask many questions," said one member.

Another said the committee could have easily given him another date, as he was given only three days notice of the new date for the hearing.

Vadiveloo denied this, saying the decision to take action against Thiagarasan had been made some time ago and there was no rush to expel him. He also denied allegations that he was acting under the instructions of the party president.

Meanwhile, in Kuala Lumpur, Samy Vellu said this year's AGM would be open to all its 3,300 branch chairmen. He said this was to accommodate grassroots leaders who had expressed their desire to hear the opening address by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Samy Vellu said the AGM would also be shortened to just a day instead of two days to cut costs, adding that the money saved from it would be used for the Indian community.

He added that issues to be discussed during the AGM included the party's re-branding exercise, development plans for the Indians and how the government could help the community.

Tanda Tanda Gila Kuasa!

IPOH: The appointment of Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran as city councillor has drawn flak from various quarters.

Ipoh Ratepayers Association (Irata) vice-president Victor Sankey expressed concern whether Kulasegaran could spare the time from his tight schedule as a parliamentarian to attend to local issues.

“No doubt, his credentials qualify him as a councillor but he has enough on his plate as a parliamentarian,” he said yesterday.

Pointing out that local councils were the third tier of government and closest to the people, Victor said ratepayers had high expectations.

He added that the people were already annoyed that only 30% of the councillors’ posts were allotted to non-governmental organisations.

Perak Education, Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming had on Monday announced the list of councillors.

Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang was also sceptical if Kulasegaran could handle the appointment. He added that the Ipoh Barat MP’s appointment had also set a bad precedent.

“A politician should not be given excessive power. Kulasegaran’s appointment is a form of monopoly.

“As there were other candidates applying to become councillors, it should not be monopolised by politicians,” he said.

Perak MCA organising secretary Dr Mah Hang Soon questioned whether Kulasegaran could carry out his duties as a councillor as he would be away in Parliament for more than 100 days a year.

“Being a councillor, he needs to be regularly available to the people,” he said.

Kulasegaran, however, said he would not face problems in carrying out his duties as both MP and councillor.

“As I have vast knowledge on local council affairs, I am expected to play a pivotal role in Ipoh City Council,” he said.

He added that he would quit as a lawyer soon to concentrate on his dual role.

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC has shortened its annual general meeting to a single day to cut costs, party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said here yesterday.

“We have no choice. We need at least RM1mil to conduct the meeting over two days so we decided to have it for a single day from this year,” he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will open the one-day AGM on Saturday.

Samy Vellu said 3,300 branch chairmen would be invited to the assembly, which would be extended to 7pm to provide more time for discussions.

MIC leader Dr S Subramaniam has described the series of measures unveiled by the government recently to help the Indian community as a sign that it never marginalised the community.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has announced several policies to help uplift the community’s opportunity in the fields of education, business and civil service.

The announcement was made by the deputy premier after chairing the cabinet meeting on Indian community. Also present were various government agencies and MIC top guns like party president S Samy Vellu.

Subramaniam, who is the party secretary-general and human resources minister, acknowledged the announcement was a government response to the March 8 polls result.

“As a responsible government, not only has it responded to the message (by voters), it also sent the message back to the community that ‘look here, we never intended to marginalise you’.”

“We (government) have been helping (the community) and if there are issues now, we will continue to address them and we are sincere in wanting to address them,” said Subramaniam during an interview at his ministerial office in Parliament earlier this week.

‘Major achievement’ for MIC

He described the outcome of the meeting as a “major achievement” for the MIC and praised the government for their commitment to address the Indian community’s problem.

“The government has been very sensitive to the requirement of the community and is actually committed to address the Indian community’s problem so that it can be at par with the other communities,” Subramaniam said on the outcome of the meeting.

The MIC suffered it worst electoral outing in the last general election, having only won three parliamentary seats out of 140 that the ruling BN controlled. Samy Vellu also lost his Sungai Siput seat which he held since 1974.

Among the key decisions or those agreed in principle by the government at the cabinet committee include:


- To convert 372 partially-aided Tamil schools into fully-assisted schools.
- Consolidate schools which had an enrolment of less than 50 students.
- To ensure at least eight percent of Indian representation at all levels in the civil service. To achieve that, it will also see more promotions for Indian civil servants.
- The MIC-run Asian Institute for Medicine, Science and Technology (Aimst) to be re-categorised as one of the five private universities which recognise government-sponsored students to boost the intake of Indian students into critical sectors like medicine and engineering. At present, students who receive government scholarship were only given a list of choice of universities which does not include Aimst.
- To allow Indian contractors to take part in government projects at all levels. For government’s mega projects, it is suggested that certain sub-contract jobs be given to Indian contractors.
- Indian entrepreneurs to be given more opportunities in the development of vendor development scheme through companies like state-owned oil firm Petronas and national car-maker Proton.
- Easier access to government loans for Indian entrepreneurs.
- More taxi and bus permits for Indian companies.
- To increase the Indian corporate equity from the current 1.1 percent to 1.5 percent in 2010. To do this, the government is planning to set up a unit trust scheme based on the Permodalan Nasional Berhad model to allow Indians to invest in the scheme to increase their equity in the market.

Grab the opportunity

Elaborating, Subramaniam said the cabinet committee will have a monitoring team, led by his ministry, to check implementation progress of these policies.

He also called on the Indian community to take up what was offered by the government.

“It's for the community to move forward now and avail themselves to these opportunities. Of course the opportunity can be given but the person must also take the initiative to come forward,” said the MIC leader.

To another question, Subramaniam said bumiputeras are not affected with the government’s decision to give certain government projects to Indian contractors.

“It will be done in a way that will not be detrimental to the bumiputera community as far as their opportunity or rights is concerned,” he added.

IPOH: Two groups claiming to be leaders of the Perak MIC Youth Brigade were caught in a war of words after one of them dissolved the state’s 500-member strong movement.

The drama began shortly after national MIC youth information chief K. Rajakumar called a press conference to announce that he, as the state coordinator of the Perak MIC Youth Brigade, had dissolved the movement as of yesterday.

Rajakumar, 42, said the move was to protest against MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s decision to remove him as a national youth council member because he had exceeded the age of 41.

“This is unfair and unconstitutional. The age limit in the MIC Youth section by-laws had never been put into practice,” he told reporters here yesterday.

He also claimed that MIC Putera and Puteri leaders had already exceeded the age limit.

He pointed out that he was 40 when he won the post in 2006, and should serve the full term until May 2009.

Rajakumar also claimed the state’s brigade was dissolved as a show of support for national party Youth chief S. A. Vigneswaran who was also asked to step down because he had passed the age limit of 40.

Also present were S. Pannir, who identified himself as the Perak MIC Youth Brigade chief, and some 20 other members.

However an hour later, word went out that Rajakumar and Pannir were “impostors” and that the dissolving of the Perak MIC Youth Brigade was invalid.

Perak MIC chairman Datuk G. Rajoo contacted the media to insist that P. Muniandy was the real chief and not Pannir.

“They have no right to dissolve the Perak brigade. How many members of the brigade turned up?

“Pannir is only an honorary Perak MIC Youth Brigade member and Rajakumar is only the national MIC Youth information chief,” said Rajoo, who said the brigade still supported Samy Vellu.

In an immediate reply, Rajakumar claimed that Muniandy had resigned three months ago and that it was Vigneswaran who had appointed Pannir as the new chief.

In Alor Star, MIC Kedah dismissed claims that its Putera Brigade had collapsed following the resignation of over 1,000 members.

State MIC chief Datuk V. Saravanan said: “From what I heard, about 100 to 200 Putera members have quit. And that number is negligible.”

Saravanan said this in response to former state MIC Putera Brigade chief M. Magendiran’s claim that the brigade had ceased to exist following the mass resignation.

The brigade members had allegedly quit en masse in protest against Vigneswaran's removal.

The MIC Youth Brigade was formed in 2003 to help Indian youths.

Private investigator P.Balasubramaniam today retracted all statements that he had made about Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s alleged involvement with Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu in his statutory declaration dated July 1.

“I wish to retract the entire contents of my statuutory declaration dated July 1 2008. I was compelled to affirm the said statutory declaration under duress,” he said in his new statutory declaration dated today.

Speaking through M. Arulampalam, a lawyer who accompanied him at the news conference, Balasubramaniam told the reporters that the statements contained in his previous statutory declaration were inaccurate and not the truth.

The new statutory declaration states: “I wish to expressly state that at no material time did (Abdul) Razak (Abdullah) Baginda inform me that he was introduced to Altantuya Shaaribu by a VIP and at no material time did Razak Baginda inform me that Datuk Seri Najib had a sexual relationship with Altantuya Shaaribu and that she was susceptible to anal intercourse.

“At no material time did Razak Baginda inform me that Datuk Seri Najib instructed Razak Baginda to look after Altantuya Shaaribu as he did not want her to harass him since he was the Deputy Prime Minister;

“At no material time did Razak Baginda and or Altantuya Shaaribu inform me that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, together with Razak Baginda and Altantuya Shaaribu, had met and all been together at a dinner in Paris;

“At no material time did Altantuya Shaaribu inform me that she wanted money in the sum of US$500,000 as a commission for a submarine deal she assisted with in Paris;

“At no time whatsoever did Razak Baginda and/or Altantuya Shaaribu inform me that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak met with Altantuya Shaaribu in Singapore;

“At no time whatsoever did Altantuya Shaaribu inform me that she wanted me to arrange to see Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak;

“At no time did I tell the police during the course of their investigations about any relationship between Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Altantuya Shaaribu as no such relationship existed to my knowledge. Accordingly, the statement I signed before the police is complete;

“At no time did Razak Baginda inform me that he had sent Datuk Seri Najib an SMS the evening before he was arrested; and

“At no time did Razak Baginda inform me that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had sent him an SMS on the day of his arrest to the effect that he was going to see the IGP (Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan) that day and that the matter should be resolved and for Razak Baginda to remain calm."

Yesterday, Najib reiterated that that he never knew Altantuya and referred to the claim linking him with the murdered Mongolian woman as “a terrible lie”.

Najib described this latest attempt to connect him to the crime as a
“malicious, slanderous fabrication aimed at tarnishing my image.”

IPOH: The High Court here on Friday dismissed without costs the election petition against Kuala Kangsar Member of Parliament Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

The petition against the returning officer and election commission were dismissed with costs.

The election petition against Kubu Gajah assemblyman Datuk Seri Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar was also dismissed with costs at the High Court here.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- More than 50,000 Indian youths are expected to be recruited by the "re-energised" MIC Youth wing by the end of the year, bringing the total membership of the movement to 150,000.

MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu said Thursday that the new coordinator of the youth wing, T.Mohan, 35, had been entrusted with the task. Currently, the MICs membership stands at 630,000, with 100,000 members from the youth wing.



"The Youth wing will embark on a nationwide recruitment exercise to register at least 50,000 new members by the end of the year," Samy Vellu told a news conference after chairing the partys Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting here.

He said the "re-energised and more youthful" wing of the MIC would chart a new strategy to woo more youngsters to join the party.

Mohan took over the movements top post from S.A.Vigneswaran, 42, had to vacate the post last month because the MIC constitution states that MIC youth leaders who have reached the age of 41 years must vacate their posts in the wing.

Mohan, who is the MIC Youth Social and Welfare Bureau chief, contested and lost the Batu Caves state seat in Selangor on the Barisan Nasional ticket in the last general election while Vigneswaran lost the Bukit Raja parliamentary seat in Selangor.

Last June 29, Vigneswaran quit the MIC in protest of the CWC ruling on the holding of posts by youth leaders who had attained the age of 41.

Samy Vellu said Mohan would be assisted by S.Murugesan, a CWC member and a former Youth national committee member. Murugesan too lost when he contested the Subang parliamentary seat in the last general election.

He said Mohan and Murugesan would run the movement based on the advice of the newly-formed National MIC Youth Advisory Council headed by S.Ramis who had to vacate the MIC Youth deputy chief post due to the age limit ruling.

"Mohan and Murugesan will be the coordinator and deputy coordinator respectively until the next Youth wing elections in the middle of next year," Samy Vellu said.

He said that after the election of the new MIC Youth chief next year, the posts of coordinator and deputy coordinator would be discontinued.

He said the CWC would stick to its ruling on the age limit for the Youth wing. "We want to give opportunities to the thousands of youths out there who want to serve the party," he said, adding that the Youth wing "must look and act like a youth movement".

He said many youths had complained that the Youth wing was not representing the youths who, they said, should be 40 years and below.

-- BERNAMA