MALAYSIA Hindu Council chief Datuk R. Nadarajah has called on the Government to ease entry of foreign priests into the country, reported Malaysia Nanban.
Nadarajah, who is Sri Maha Mariamman Devasthanam chairman, said they had invited priests and musicians from India to conduct training courses to train locals but the response has been poor.
He said the younger generation was not interested in becoming priests as it involved the learning of many scriptures and the need to follow a strict discipline.
Furthermore, the income was not encouraging.
He said many temples in the country were having problems conducting daily prayers and rituals, solemnisation of marriages and other religious prayers as they do not have trained priests.
He urged the Home Ministry to look into the problems faced by the temples and make it easier for the recruitment of priests from India
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC leaders, led by secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, yesterday paid their last respects to Malaysian Nanban chief editor K. Gurusamy who died on Tuesday.
Party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who is currently overseas, said Gurusamy was a dedicated and committed journalist.
"He devoted much of his life to his profession and to the community," he said in a statement.
The 60-year-old newspaper columnist, who was better known as Kapar Maan (Kapar Deer), is survived by his widow, Neela, and sons, Karthik, 30, and Vishnu, 29.
Gurusamy was cremated at the Jalan Lok Yew cemetery yesterday. - Bernama
JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor said he would never forget that Pedra Branca was part of Johor and would do whatever it takes to reclaim the rock.
Sultan Iskandar had used a significant platform to express his views on the Pedra Branca's sovereignty when he said this in his opening speech for the first term of the 12th State Assembly at the Bukit Timbalan here yesterday.
"I would like to remind all that I have not forgotten Batu Puteh (Pedra Branca). It was not Singapore's but Johor's. Forever, I shall look for ways to return it to Johor."
He earlier read a prepared speech calling the elected state assemblymen to fulfil their responsibilities with honesty, sincerity and full understanding of the people's needs.
At the end of the 10-minute speech officiating at the opening of the assembly, Sultan Iskandar continued with the impromptu remark, firmly expressing his feelings on Pedra Branca.
Meanwhile, Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, in response to the sultan's speech, said the state government was clear on the sultan's expression.
"We heard him loud and clear," he said but declined to elaborate.
On May 23, the International Court of Justice awarded the sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore, and the ownership of nearby Middle Rocks to Malaysia.
Singapore had on Feb 14, 1980 protested against the 1979 map published by Malaysia clearly placing Pedra Branca in the country's territory.
Singapore then expanded its claims to the nearby Middle Rocks and South Ledge in February 1993. On Feb 6, 2003, Malaysia and Singapore signed a special agreement to refer the matter to the ICJ.
The 16-member court's final decision, by a 12-4 majority, rested largely on Singapore's consistent conduct over the last 100 years. Singapore had argued that it had exercised sovereign powers over the island since the Horsburgh lighthouse opened in 1851.
The ICJ also noted that the strength of Singapore's claim lay in a letter sent by the state secretary of Johor in 1953 to the Singapore government.
Thousands of people would be mobilised for a mass protest against the shocking increase in fuel prices at the iconic KLCC Twin Towers on July 12.
MCPX
Organisers Coalition Against Inflation (Protes) hopes to gather 100,000 people to call on the government to reduce fuel prices to its original levels before the hike today.
"We believe that with such a drastic hike in fuel prices, we will get the support of the masses.
"This is not similar to the Bersih rally. It's going to be bigger. The impact would be bigger," Protes coordinator Dr Hatta Ramli told a press conference today.
Hatta explained that the KLCC Twin Towers was selected as the rally point because it was the headquarters of Malaysia's oil company Petronas.
He argued that Malaysia was an oil producing country and record profits from Petronas should be used to relieve the public from being burdened by the fuel hike.
“We have five weeks to mobilise the crowd and the government has five weeks to react to the people’s demands (to revert fuel prices to their original levels),” he said.
Roadshows throughout nation
For the time being, Protes will be organising road shows throughout the country to state the coalition’s position on the need to revert fuel prices.
The first stop is Seremban on June 14. Activities to be held include ceramah and distribution of leaflets.
The leaflets will include facts and figures regarding fuel prices and the impact on society.
“We urge Pakatan Rakyat component parties to mobilise their members for this event. We also urge the five states held by Pakatan to take action on the matter,” said Hatta.
Protes, a coalition that had held numerous anti-inflation rallies before, is also encouraging other groups to protest against the fuel hike and would provide assistance if necessary.
“If they want to protest in front of a mosque every Friday, we would encourage and provide whatever support we can,” he added.
Bersih style
He said Protes was not acting based on political motives but was a manifestation of the people’s desperation following the sharp hike in fuel prices.
“If the government rejects our recommendations, then we will continue to take mass action until our voices are heard,” he warned.
According to a Protes insider, the coalition hopes to gather a crowd from across Malaysia in ways similar to the mass mobilisation for the Bersih rally in November last year.
“It’s better to have one mass rally to stress our collective protest against the fuel hike than many smaller ones,” said the source.
Yesterday Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the pump price for petrol would increase by 78 sen - from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.
The price of diesel increased by a whopping 63.3 percent - from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58.
The price hikes were among government measures to drastically cut the spiralling bill for oil subsidies, which is expected to amount to RM56 billion this year.
After making the announcement, Abdullah also hoped that Malaysians would not demonstrate over the price hike.
The government has just announced that petrol price will go up by 78 sen at midnight - a 40.6 percent jump from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.
MCPX
The price of diesel will go up 92 sen, or 58.2 percent - from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.50.
The price hikes are among government measures to cut the spiralling bill for oil subsidies, which is expected to amount to RM56 billion this year.
At a press conference held at 5pm, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also announced that the government plans to offer rebates to motorists to offset the fuel price increase.
Under the scheme, vehicles below 2000cc will receive a RM625 rebate annually - to compensate for 800 litres of fuel used under the new price.
Motorcyclists will be given a rebate of RM120. The money will be paid by postal order.
Rebate will be paid when motorists renew the road-tax for their vehicles.
The government is expected to save RM4 billion under this new subsidy restructure.
If petrol is to be sold at full market prices, it could be as high as almost RM4 a litre - about 100 percent above current levels.
However the government is slowly expected to head towards totally abolishing the fuel subsidy.
What's with the contradicting news on this issue ( and many other publications) ? Media should verify the validity of their news before publishing. Hence, if anyone rebukes the allegations, Media should firmly uphold the authencity of the news.
KUALA LUMPUR: Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) has not stopped any plans to stop airing Tamil language programmes on RTM2, said Abdul Rahman Hamid, the director-general for broadcasting.
In a statement yesterday, he said RTM had also not received any directive from the Information Ministry or any other ministry on the matter and would continue to show both local and foreign Tamil programmes and films over RTM2.
"If there is any objection to broadcasting, it is due to the failure of the programme concerned to meet the conditions and quality set by the RTM Quality Committee and the Film Censorship Board that comes under the Home Ministry," Abdul Rahman said.
He said this to refute a report by a foreign news agency that alleged that the Information Ministry had decided not to air Tamil dramas from India over RTM2.
Instead, he said, RTM always studied the demand for broadcasts in various languages and would increase them, based on suitability.
Abdul Rahman said presently Tamil programmes took up 14.5 hours of airtime over RTM2 which was 8.63 per cent per week in three categories of programmes.
He said RTM also aired programmes in other languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, Arabic and Spanish.
Furthermore, he said, there were ongoing efforts to increase programmes by local production companies so they could compete and stand on their own globally. - Bernama
KAPAR: It looks like nothing is sacred to thieves.
Nine statues from the Sri Bala Thandayuthapani temple in the town centre were carted off in the wee hours on Sunday.
The theft was a brazen one, considering the temple was located a mere 400m from a police station.
The statues of various goddesses were made from a mixture of five metals, including gold, silver and bronze. The statues were valued at RM80,000.
Temple chairman N. Raman said the theft was discovered by a priest about 6am.
The priest and other workers had closed the temple about 11pm on Saturday and went to bed about 2am.
He said they woke up about 6am the next day to prepare for morning prayers and found the statues missing.
There were 10 statues inside, but the biggest and heaviest one was left behind as the thieves probably could not take it out in time.
Raman said there were no signs of forced entry at any of the temple entrances.
THE National Land Finance Cooperative Society (NLFCS) is willing to give land to eight Tamil schools if the Government fully supports the schools.
Tamil Nesan quoted its executive director Tan Sri K.R. Somasundram as saying that the board of directors had agreed to a proposal to transfer the land to the schools for the sake of the children’s education.
He said that currently the Government was only giving partial aid to Tamil schools as many were situated on private land.
He said it was the expectation of the Indian community that Tamil schools be fully-aided schools to enable the pupils to study in a conducive environment.
He said NLFCS had spent nearly RM5mil to maintain schools under its supervision
PUTRAJAYA: The Public Service Department (PSD) has provided “fast lane assistance” to 117 non-bumiputra Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia top achievers from low-income families, applying for scholarship to study abroad.
Public Service director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam said a total of 151 students were eligible to have their applications put on the fast lane and the remaining 34 were bumiputra students.
He said the assistance was extended to the students who scored 10 A1s and who came from low-income families, earning below RM1,500 a month.
“We accepted it as that and did not try to adjust anything,” he said, clarifying an earlier report, which said more bumiputra applicants were given “fast lane assistance” compared to the non-bumiputra.
Ismail pointed out the figure was actually the opposite, adding that while scholarships for these students were “almost assured of, they still had to attend interviews.”
He also said the department was mulling over suggestions to inform scholarship applicants as to why they were rejected, adding this was a common complaint among students and parents who were disappointed that they were not told why their application was rejected.
"It is positive feedback and we will look into this. However, there will be a lot of paperwork to be done because the number of applications that are being rejected are in the thousands," he said.
This year, the PSD is offering 2,000 scholarships for studies abroad. A total of 6,262 students who scored 9As and above applied for the scholarships.
Ismail said the Government could not offer more overseas scholarships due to constraints in quota that foreign universities have for international students, adding that medical degrees from certain countries like the United States and Japan were not recognised here.
He said students who sat for their SPM last year could also apply for some 10,000 scholarships available to study at local universities, adding those who are successful in obtaining a place at Ivy League universities could also apply for a PSD scholarship.
Watching the ICJ judgment of Pulau Batu Puteh and subconsciously my law lessons started flooding back and I found myself glued to the screen. Shocking.. I never thought I would ever find a court judgment interesting again but this one is really gripping.... at the moment the tribunal is showing favour to Malaysia....it keeps saying that the island is still part of the Johor sultanate but then it began wavering slightly…..oh the suspense
Then when it got to 1844 in the timeline, the court decided that the actions beyond this point will determine sovereignty----it said intention is crucial...
Did we acquiesce to the Singapore? Did Singapore's act require a response by Malaysia to determine that we conceded sovereignty...
It started by saying that Singapore is merely lighthouse keeper.....
Then said that Singapore is unclear of events in the preceding century....
But when a Johor state secretary gave away our claims to Singapore things get really interesting...
Singapore said this merely confirmed that Johor had no historic title to the island...huh?
Malaysia says state sec does not have rights to give away territory
But then we did nothing about it so it looks Singapore is getting into the lead..
Latest news: VERDICT:
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has delivered its judgment on the sovereignty dispute case over Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge between Malaysia and Singapore today.
The decision for Pulau Batu Puteh was in favour of Singapore and Malaysia was given sovereignty of Middle Rocks. Decision on South ledge was unclear.
JOHOR BARU: The state government will instal rubbish traps in Sungai Skudai, Sungai Segget and Sungai Tebrau in Johor Baru costing a total of RM94 million to rehabilitate the three rivers which are highly polluted.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said a private consultant had been appointed to clean the three rivers of solid waste."We will overcome the pollution caused by solid waste in the three rivers located in the Iskandar region. "These three rivers, together with Sungai Tukang Batu in Pasir Gudang, have been categorised as highly polluted," he said after a programme to clean the Sungai Tebrau, here yesterday.Also present at the gotong-royong were Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also Johor Baru member of parliament, and Johor Baru Mayor Datuk Mohd Naim Nasir. - Bernama
Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president MG Pandithan passed away this morning after a protracted bout with leukemia.The 68-year-old leader died at Hospital Kuala Lumpur at 8.30am. His wife Jevashree Pandithan was at his bedside.
The veteran politician was previously a popular leader in MIC who commanded strong grassroots support from the Indian working class. He later rose up the ranks to become vice-president.However, his ties with MIC president S Samy Vellu became strained when he backed a faction opposed to the president.
In June that year, Pandithan embarked on a hunger strike in front of the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. He brought along a coffin to signify that democracy was dead to signify that democracy was dead in the party in a protest which made headlines.This led to his expulsion on July 16 together with 13 of his loyalists.
Two years later, he formed IPF and since then the party has been trying to gain entry into the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition but Samy Vellu remained opposed to this.However during the Ijok by-election last April, the two sworn enemies buried the hatchet and hugged each other on stage.
During the IPF congress in July last year, a frail-looking Pandithan heaped praises on Samy Vellu and described him as a "hero of the Indians." He also likened him to the Hindu god, Lord Krishna.
This reunion did not go down well with some members in IPF who viewed it as an act of betrayal by their president.
In a statement today, Samy Vellu said he is deeply sad over Pandithan’s demise.
"We are shocked by his death and wish to extend our condolences to his family. Pandithan was a great leader who had the people in his heart."He worked tirelessly for the Indian community and had achieved many successes. He is looked upon as a people’s leader with the qualities of a statesman," he added.
The MIC president said Pandithan will be remembered for his sacrifices and deeds as a leader of the people.
"I will miss him a lot because he’s not only a leader of a mass-based party, but he was also my friend," he added.Meanwhile. Gerakan vice-president Dr S Vijayaratnam said Pandithan had been a great help to BN, including during general elections.
"We will never forget his untiring efforts to help Malaysians of all walks of life, not only from the Indian community, but from other races as well," said Vijayaratnam."He had an almost Gandhian image of being kind to all, never losing his temper, but being firm and resolute when the need arose."
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi paid his last respects to Pandithan at his residence in Seri Kembangan in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
"He had always shown deep concern on issues concerning low-income earners and poor Indians," he told Bernama.
"That was his struggle all along and he showed seriousness and dedication. His followers loved him dearly."The Malaysian Hindu Sangam described Pandithan's death as a great loss to the Indian community.In a statement, its president A Vaithilingam said he knew the late politician as a young journalist in the late sixties.
"He was then very popular with the San Peng Road Indian community who were mostly in the poverty group."I came to know him better in the seventies when we met at various seminars and youth training programmes. Though we had some differences in opinion, we were then together in the field of youth development.."
Vaithilingam said to Pandithan was a dynamic leader of thousands until his illness."He was a brave leader, a 'Makkal Thondan' (one who serves the people) and respected with love by his followers."
The Author
- M. Soorian
- I am a Malaysian first, pure and simple. One who is beyond race, color, creed and social standing. I fervently believe the truth is supreme - it has nothing to do with who is right but everything to do with what is right. “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.”
Johor MIC-Meet the ppl session
CONTACT ME : soorian19@gmail.com
