M Kula : New contract for temporary teachers is too unfair and must be reviewed.

Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Thursday, December 08, 2011

New contract for temporary teachers is too unfair and must be reviewed.

There are roughly over 400 temporary teachers now in Perak. They are what it is called the Guru Sandaran Tidak Terlatih (GSTT). Many of these teachers have been teaching for 3-4 years. 

All these teachers who are teaching in Perak were recently asked to attend a briefing held on 25/11/11 in a school in Silibin, Ipoh.

At the briefing, they were told that all temporary teachers would be now employed on a “contract for service” basis instead of the traditional contract of service.

This change came as shock to the teachers present. The new contract entails new unfair terms which include among others:

1)      No payment of EPF by the Government;

2)      No payment of COLA;

3)      Restricted medical coverage;

4)      Daily paid instead of the previous monthly paid

Temporary teachers have made immense contribution to the nation, yet the government has decided to implement a new system which removes their right s, rather than protect them.

The change means the relationship of master and servant or employer /employee relationship is done away with and replaced with sort of a self employed relationship. 

With this new arrangement, effective 17th November( last day of school) all temporary teachers will cease to be paid till December 2011 unless the schools request the teachers to report to work and for that they will be paid daily. 

I have been given to understand that at the briefing, top education officers form Putrajaya and Ipoh were present. The meeting was very tense and the temporary teachers felt their years of service had not been appreciated. 

In fact during question time, many questions were posed by the temporary teachers who were shocked with the new terms and conditions. The meeting lasted for over 4 hours. 

At the meeting, a top officer from Putrajaya retorted that the teachers should be “grateful” to the offer as the government had the discretion in not even providing or offering any employment.

How could an officer make such an unfair and unacceptable comment?

He should be hauled up and given a tongue lashing by the Education Minister as not only the officer was rude but he had substantialily damaged the name of the Ministry of Education.  

Instead of asking the teachers to be grateful, the government should be thankful for their contribution to the nation.

To add insult to injury, the change was made without any prior consultation with the teachers.

It was recently reported that Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong had revealed that about 7,000 temporary teachers were affected and that the move to restructure the contract of temporary teachers was because the Ministry had “insufficient funds”.

If truly the government is cash strapped, then the first thing it must do is for Ministers and Deputy Ministers to take pay cuts.

Wee‘s explanation is therefore unconvincing and in any case, insufficient funds cannot be a justification for introducing such unfair contract for the temporary teachers.

I urge the Ministry to review the unfair terms and to give appropriate opportunities for all the temporary teachers to be trained and be employed on a full term basis. 

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Speech by M Kula at Tapah : Najib should walk the talk and tell Malaysians what electoral reforms will the government bring about before the next general election.

Speech by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at Bukit Paggar, Tapah on Saturday, August 6, 2011 Najib should walk the talk and tell Malaysians what electoral reforms will the government bring about before the next general election. Six months before the 2008 general election, it was evident that there was the general mood for political change that  was favorable to the Opposition. But despite our optimism of a better performance, we were not really sure how well could the Opposition perform. The political tsunami which took place and caused the BN to suffer its worse electoral debacle was therefore an unexpected shock for the Opposition as well as the BN leaders. The result simply showed what people power could do.   People power made BN lose its traditional two thirds parliamentary majority and power in 5 states. With present  speculation going on that the next general election may be held anytime after Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebration, the political question that is being asked by many Malaysians is whether there could be a greater political tsunami that will bring about a new federal government. I dare say that the chances of the Opposition taking over Putrajaya are there. It is certainly not a pipe dream. In fact, I believe that the recent internet portal reports that there have been loss of confidence in the prime minister's leadership within Umno is due to dry run results indicating the existence of favorable political mood towards the Opposition. Recently, a  report in the internet  portal " The Malaysian Insider" revealed that BN  could lose Perak and Negri Sembilan in the next general elections, according to results of a recent dry run, unless component parties put popular faces and ensure the grassroots machinery garner support from voters. The report too says that Opposition will make gains in BN traditional fortress state of Johor. Undoubtedly, UMNO  leaders have begun to have daily political nightmare and some have even begun to think of changing the ship.captain They saw how the then prevalent mood of change among voters during the 2008 general election campaigning period translated into a political tsunami against BN.   They also saw how once campaigning period started in the recent Sarawak state election, massive crowds turned up every night at DAP ceramahs. Though they will not publicly admit, the greatest fear that is gripping the BN leaders is that they now cannot say with certainty that Putrajaya will not fall at the next general election. Previously, BN leaders would never ask who would be the Prime Minister if Opposition becomes the federal government, but MCA leaders have over the last few months been asking Pakatan Rakyat this question. This shows that BN does actually think that they can lose federal power. However, we must bear in mind that the next election  is not  going to be an easy battle for PR. In fact, the next general election is going to be the dirtiest in the nation's electoral history. There will be politics of money, threat, blackmails lies and falsehoods. Spectre of May 13 may be raised. There could even be electoral fraud. Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has  revealed that Penang state saw a sudden surge of 32000 voters in just 3 months and a staggering 1,400 postal votes were inserted into Batu Maung state constituency, currently held by state Exco member Abdul Malik Kassim from PKR. The Election Commission must explain such strange surge of voter numbers. Last month, the prime minister Dato Sri Najib said that government was all for fair elections. Talk is cheap. Najib should walk the talk and tell Malaysians what electoral reforms will the government bring about before the next general election. http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com http://twitter.com/mkula

M Kula Segaran, Where in the world has a fiction been used as a history book?

Media statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat, in Ipoh on Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Where in the world has a fiction been used as a history book?

Professor Anthony Milner, currently with the International Studies Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), has been reported to say that despite complaints against the Interlok novel, he felt that the author of the book national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain attempted to provide an idea of the lives of the Chinese and Indian community and their relationship with the Malay community.

He therefore suggested that the controversial "Interlok" novel should be used as a model for history text books as it's is quite "inclusive" in its narrative and depiction of non-Malays.

I find his suggestion most shocking and unacceptable. I wonder if he is aware of the strong and continued public objections against the novel's usage as a school text.

I wish to ask Professor Anthony Milner if he is also aware of the following:-

1) that the novel contains factual inaccuracies? That many matters written are unsubstantiated?

2) that the Government itself has set up an independent committee to review. the book's contents but 3 of the panel members have later resigned in protest?

3) that the novel can destroy the fabric of national unity in a multiracial country?

On March 30, Chinese groups have also joined the Indian community and voiced their strong objections against the continued usage of the novel.

I reproduce below an extract of media report of the stand and views taken by the groups:-

In a statement today, Chinese associations from across Malaysia said the book was not only offensive to Indians but Chinese as well, as it depicted the character Kim Lock as a "miserly opium addict and callous adulterer" and his son, Cing Huat, as "cunning, greedy, unscrupulous and someone who would happily sell his daughters".

"'Interlok' in its totality propagates the ideology of ketuanan Melayu. In our considered opinion, this novel is not only unhealthy but an insidious poison," the statement said.

 "In fact, 'Interlok' is barely a step away from the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity. 'Interlok' conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners ('bangsa asing' Cina dan India )."

The groups also condemned the "major thread" in the book, which depicts the Chinese "cheating and oppressing" Malays or as "nasty and immoral" communist guerrillas.

The statement was signed by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysian-China Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Chinese Associations Johor, the Penang Chinese Town Hall and 40 others, including the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) and several Indian organizations. Why is Professor Anthony unable to see all these despite his claim that he has read the novel?

Has he chosen to play politics by ignoring the truth?

Finally, I wish to also ask him where in the world a fiction has been used as a history book.

Thanks.



M.Kulasegaran
MP, Ipoh Barat
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran "Religious tolerance the way forward to Malaysia’s stability and growth "

Speech by M.Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat held on 02/06/2011 at Dewan Leong Wan Chin, Jalan Kampar in Malaysian Kadhampa Buddhist Association event.

Religious tolerance the way forward to Malaysia’s stability and growth

I thank His Holiness the 18thDromtug Rinpoche Losang Chockye Pelden for inviting me today to witness the ongoing relic’s exhibition in Ipoh.

I visited and was briefed of the workings of the relics this morning. I must say I and my entourage were greatly informed and educated on the relics of Buddha and his disciples.

From the brief presence this morning here, I felt, the deep connection and direct benefits from the relics.

We thank the Malaysian Kadhampa Buddhist Association for arranging His Holiness‘s blessing through this event.

We are fortunate that right at our door step, we can have the privilege to see and observe the beauty of the relics.

The number of relics is too numerous to be counted. The most interesting part of the relics is that it is a living item and is said to be growing in size over time.

We were also shown a turtle of over 100 years old which likes to linger around the relics area.

Malaysia has a population of over 28million. Although Malaysia is a Muslim majority country, it has a very thriving non Muslim population.

According to the latest statistics, the break down as according to races is as follows:

1) Race: Malay (53.3%), Chinese (26.0%), Indigenous (11.8), Indian (7.7%), Others (1.2%).

2) Religion: Islam (60.4%), Buddhism (19.2%), Christianity (9.1%), Hinduism (6.3%), other/none (5.0%).

From the above, we can see that Malaysia has a very big Buddhist population. Thus this explains the existence of many Buddhist temples all over the country.

We are fortunate that notwithstanding that we are a Muslim majority country, we get to practice our faiths as we choose as this is enshrined in the Federal constitution which states under Article 3 Islam is the religion of the Federation but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.

We should be grateful to the framers of our Constitution who had the foresight and had incorporated this important protection for the people of this country.

In many of the countries around the world, thousands of people have been killed due to religious strive/misunderstanding

Many a time the religious freedom in our country has been strained but somehow due to sheer tolerance and understanding, no major incidence has happened to the extent of civil strife taking place.


Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat, MP
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

Screening of Interlok Video in Bercham

Speech by M.Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at the talk held in Bercham, Ipoh on June 1, 2011

We thank the management of the Sri Kaliamman Temple for inviting us to meet up with its members and the local Indian community to discuss Indian related issues. Over 200 people from all walks of life attended the talk.

Among the speakers were Lawyer N.Selvam, Sdri. Kamachee, and Sdr. Kalimuthu and myself.

We also screened the parliamentary debate on the issue of interlock at the talk. It was well received and many attendees took copies of DVD for distribution to others who could not make it to the talk. In my speech I spoke on the following issues.

“Interlok”

Inetrlok literature text being used in Zone 2 of the country is the most controversial book ever to be used, despite the wide spread criticisms against its usage by the civil society.

The contents of the book are not only misleading as the facts stated are false but the novel will destroy the fabric of the multiracial strength of our country.

Malaysia is a multiracial, multi lingual and multi religious society. Any written work or book to be used as a text book should not be offensive to any community. It must be acceptable to all the communities of the country.

All communities must be well treated and due respect must be accorded to them. But the book is just doing the opposite as the contents are poisonous and are offensive especially to the Indian community.

It is puzzling why this particular book is retained as a school text though it is so clear that it is simply unsuitable as a school text.

The Education Ministry should do what is right and substitute the novel with a suitable one.

Tamil Schools

Upon the request of the local community in Sg.Petani, I and concerned citizens recently visited the Harvard Division 2 Tamil school at Gurun, Kedah.

This school started operation in 1935. At that time there were nearly over 200 Tamil families who were employed as rubber tappers. Thus to cater for the children of the labourers the estate management built this school.

At one time it had a student population of over 200. But over the years the number of labourers started to leave and migrate to the towns.

Presently there are only less than 30 families left and the student population has dropped to 26.

We were given to understand that the head master and the teachers of this school have all been transferred to other schools. This means the school will cease to operate.

All these years the BN has always stated that no school will be closed even if there is only one student left.

Why then this particular school is being closed down? Why has the BN Government not kept its promises?

In 1957, there were 1082 Tamil schools in the country. But over the years, the migration of Indians from the estates to the urban areas has resulted in the drop of student population in estate Tamil schools.

If the closure of Harvard Division 2 school becomes a precedent, then 30% of Tamil schools all over the country will face the fate of being closed down.

We therefore need a clear statement and guarantee from the Government that it will keep this school operational.

Presently the interest to send children to Tamil schools has grown stronger. Today, over 60% of the Indians parents are sending their children to Tamil schools.

In the 80’s, there were less than 80,000 students in the Tamil schools. Now,

the enrollment has ballooned to over 120,000 and is still growing every year.But there is an acute shortage of class rooms in most of the urban SJKT.

The government must therefore allow estate schools to be relocated to urban areas and /or build new SJKT in the urban areas.

Surely MIC, the so called sole Indian representative in the BN, cannot be unaware of the serious problem of the Tamil schools. Can the MIC spell out in detail how this problem will be attended and resolved?

What is required is a clearly set out blue print on Tamil schools for the whole country.



M.Kula Segaran
Ipoh Barat

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

JPA scholarships—Merit category should be based purely on academic result

Media statement by M.Kula segaran MP Ipoh Barat and DAP Vice Chairman in Ipoh on 25/5/11

JPA scholarships—Merit category should be based purely on academic result Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri said SPM students who scored 9As and above must meet the Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam's strict guidelines which include passing the interview and special test, and having a good set of curriculum activities, as there were just 1,500 overseas scholarships available.

He also said that of the 1,500 scholarships, 300 (20%) were allocated under the merit category, 900 (60%) under the racial composition category, 150 spots (10%) under the Sabah and Sarawak bumiputera category and 150 (10%) under the socially disadvantaged category.

It is revealed in today's media that for merit category, an applicant is evaluated according to the following criteria:-

1.       Academic result (85%)

2.       Co curriculum activities (10 %)

3.       Interview performance (5%)

For the racial composition category, the following criteria are used:-

1.       Academic result (75%)

2.       Co curriculum Activities (10%)

3.       Family background (10%)

4.       Interview performance (5 %)

The major differences between the two categories are therefore the different percentages given to the academic result and the family background being the additional factor for the racial composition category.

Public perception has always been that for the merit category, the award of overseas degree scholarships is based purely on academic result.

The announcement has come as a surprise to many. In previous years, there have been complaints by top scorers that despite their impressive co curriculum record and interview performance, they have also not been selected.

Cabinet intervention by way of increasing the number of scholarship places has always been the necessary solution.

This year, the same complaints have surfaced.

Many top scorers have complained that they have not been selected for the overseas degree scholarships.

The basic question is –why can't academic result be the sole criterion of selecting the applicants for the merit category?

Using academic result as the sole criterion will mean comparing the marks obtained by the students for the subjects used as assessment for scholarship selection.

Surely JPA can easily obtain the students' detailed results from the Ministry of Education.

I also wish to reiterate my call that the JPA must be transparent in the award of scholarships.

JPA should, firstly, publish how scores are awarded for all thefactors, viz academic result, co curriculum activates, interview performance and economic background.

Secondly, it should publish the names of all successful scholarship recipients, with details like results and scores obtained by them, type and place of academic programmes approved by JPA to them.

Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran
MP, Ipoh Barat

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran, JPA must be transparent in the awarding of scholarships.

Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP
for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Tuesday, May 24, 2011

JPA must be transparent in the awarding of scholarships.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk  Nazri said that the government had allocated 1,500 overseas scholarships to top students but stressed that of the total; only 300 were given based entirely on merit to students scoring straight 9A+.

The remaining 1,200 overseas grants, he said, were distributed according to those qualified within four categories — Sabah Bumiputeras (five per cent), Sarawak Bumiputeras (five per cent),
social composition or the population's racial composition (60 per cent) and socially handicapped (10 per cent).

He explained that currently over 360 students fell within the merit category which offers only 300 awards, resulting in over 60 failing to obtain the overseas scholarships.

"This means they may or may not qualify for remaining 1,200 grants. It depends on how they fare in the interviews.

The first question that DAP wants JPA (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam) to answer is how were the 300 recipients selected from 360 who qualified when the only criterion used was academic result?

All 360 students have scored straight A+, so how did JPA decide? How much weightage is given to interview, even to the extent that who have scored all A+ could lose out when competing for the remaining 1200 places?

Second question is why can't the Cabinet increase an additional 60 scholarships so that those straight A+ students will not have to compete for the remaining 1200 places?

Public complaints of unfairness against JPA have become an annual phenomenon. It is unsatisfactory for the government to merely cite keen competition for limited places or performance in interviews as reasons why qualified students are unsuccessful in obtaining JPA scholarships.

A few days ago , Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong revealed that government officers who failed to follow Cabinet directives is one of the main reasons why top students failed to get the JPA scholarship awards.

He said that many students who deserved the scholarships did not get the grants, but those who did not deserve them had successfully obtained the financial assistance.

He even described the situation – where qualified students were unsuccessful in their scholarship applications – was the worst this year in all the years when he handled appeals.

It was also reported in the media that a student, Chai Sheng Min from SMK St Joseph in Kuching, had obtained 10A+ in the SPM examination but only got a scholarship to study engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas. He said his friends who got 4A+ and 5A+ were awarded
scholarships to do Pure Science in the United States .

It is time that the JPA must be transparent in the award of scholarships. It should, firstly, publish how scores are awarded for all the factors, viz academic result, co curriculum activates, interview
performance and economic background.

Secondly, it should publish the names of all successful scholarship recipients, with details like results and scores obtained by them, type and place of academic programmes approved by JPA to them.

Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran
MP, Ipoh Barat
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran, DAP will continue the demand on the withdrwal of INTERLOK

Speech by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at the Indian ceramah held in Malacca on Friday, May 20, 2011

DAP will continue to demand that the Interlok novel which has hurt the Malaysian community's feelings to be withdrawn as a school text.

Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib launched the 1 Malaysia concept and slogan more than a year ago.

This concept is basically about ensuring fairness for all and forging the people's unity.

While BN has been successful in publicising this slogan, 1 Malaysia slogan still rings hollow because the BN government cannot walk the talk.

Unfair policies which have been in place for decades still remain unchanged despite BN having suffered its worst electoral defeat in the 2008 general election.
A good example is the continued lack of fair treatment to Tamil schools.

1 Malaysia concept stresses on unity but can Najib proudly say that the nation's ethnic relation is at its best of times since we achieved Independence from the British?

The truth is that the nation's ethnic relation is at one of its lowest ebbs today.

The BN government must take the rap for such a situation.

The BN government talked about zero tolerance against racism yet when school principals uttered derogatory racial slurs against Chinese and (Indian students, they got away with lenient penalty.

Utusan Malaysia has been indulging in irresponsible reporting which can cause racial misunderstanding, tension and hatred in the nation and yet no action has been taken against it.

Recently, Perkasa chief made the seditious speech about launching a crusade, yet the Home Minister has chosen inaction as the answer.

BN government cannot get its priorities right. It lacks the will to do what is right.

Worse, it is not prepared to listen to legitimate voices of the people.

This is why till today the BN government has still not decided to withdraw the offensive Interlock novel from the schools in spite of the fact that the novel's contents have especially hurt the Indian community and will sow the seeds of racial misunderstanding among the young.

If the government is serious about 1 Malaysia concept and the civil servants have understood this concept, the novel would not have been introduced as a school text in the first place.

It is ridiculous and irresponsible even for the Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin to say that the Interlock issue is over when the truth is otherwise.

May be the Indian voter support for BN in the recent Tenang and Merlimau by elections have made Muhyiddin to think that Interlok is no longer an important issue to the Indian community.

Perhaps the MIC has convinced the BN leaders that the Interlok issue will not hurt BN in the next general election.

DAP will continue to demand that the Interlok novel which has hurt the Indian community's feelings and that of the Malay and Chinese to be withdrawn as a school text.

If the BN government is not willing to do what is right but continue to ignore the calls and feelings of the Indian community, then the Indian voters must once again teach the BN a lesson in the coming general election, just like what they did to BN in the 2008 general election.

Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran
MP, Ipoh Barat
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran, "Government must carry out a full probe into the JPA scholarship scandal."

Press statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Wednesday, May 19, 2011

"Government must carry out a full probe into the JPA scholarship scandal."

The month of May is described as the JPA scholarship complaints and appeal season.

This is the time when JPA releases the results of scholarship applications and where there will be public complaints of unfair decisions made by JPA.

Despite government assurances that the scholarships would be awarded fairly, there have been allegations of unfair practices by JPA in the past every year, so much so that this annual phenomenon has been described as the complaint and appeal season.

The major past complaint was that some better qualified students were not awarded overseas scholarships.

The usual explanations given by JPA were that there was keen competition and some students had been unsuccessful due to their interview performance.

But such explanations were never well accepted by the public and the prime minister or Cabinet always had to intervene and solve the complaints by approving more scholarship places.

This year, the situation is more serious and scandalous.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong has revealed that government officers who failed to follow Cabinet directives is one of the main reasons why top students failed to get the JPA scholarship awards.

He said that many students who deserved the scholarships did not get the grants, but those who did not deserve them had successfully obtained the financial assistance.

He even described the situation – where qualified students were unsuccessful in their scholarship applications – was the worst this year in all the years when he handled appeals.

Media report also quoted him saying as follows:-

Dr Wee said students who scored full A+ in the SPM examination were not given priority during the selection process, and were only offered open scholarships for government matriculation programmes or vacancies at local universities.

"However, students who obtained poorer results were awarded scholarships to study at universities overseas," he said.

A student, Chai Sheng Min from SMK St Joseph in Kuching, was present at the press conference held by Wee.

Chia obtained 10A+ in the SPM examination and he said he only got a scholarship to study engineering at Universiti Teknologi Petronas while his friends who got 4A+ and 5A+ were awarded scholarships to do Pure Science in the United States .

When the deputy prime  minister announced recently that unlike last year where only 9 A+ students were qualified for JPA scholarships, students with 8+ are also qualified for this year's JPA scholarships, everyone has  understood that the minimum qualifying result is 8A+.

Why then could students with 4 A + and 5 A+ be awarded overseas scholarships? Worse, when better qualified ones were not awarded.

Is this not ridiculous, unfair, unjust and scandalous?

Why are there such unfair and unjust decisions in the award of JPA scholarships?

Why have the officers failed to follow the criteria set by the government? Is it sabotage? Practice of favoritism or corruption?

DAP demands that the government carry out a full probe into the JPA scholarship scandal.

Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran

Ipoh Barat, MP


http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran, Don't leave out Tamil Schools in nations progress. A Blueprint needed for Tamil schools

Media statement by M.Kula Segaran DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on May 17, 2011

Don't leave out Tamil Schools in nations progress. Blue print is needed for Tamil schools and the DAP is willing to have heart to heart talk with MIC.
________________________________
There are 523 Tamil schools in the country. In Perak alone there are 134. From our studies, it has come to our knowledge that 80 of the schools have less than 100 student enrollments. The remaining 54 can be considered safe as they each have over hundred students.

We are most concerned with the 80 schools as many are on danger list as their enrollment is small.

We need a blue print to chart very clear policies on the Tamil schools. Presently the Federal and state Government are implementing and announcing policies on an ad hoc basis. As an example, the Perak State MIC Chairman Dato Veersangim has now announced that 4 areas have been identified where Tamil schools will be relocated to. These are i) Jelapang ii) Langkap iii) Taman Gaya iv) Tun Sambathan Sg. Siput.

From our investigations, we cannot ascertain where these 4 Tamil schools would be relocated to.

Can Veerasingam be more specific and reveal where actually are the lands already been identified and whether are the land measuring at least 5 acres as required by the Federal Education guidelines on
building schools.

We are concerned that this announcement could just be an election gimmick and for mere publicity.

Many times previously statements have been made by MIC leaders on Tamil schools but at the end of the day, new schools have not been built.

Here are some examples.

In 2008, then MIC President said a new school would be built although there is no land available to build a school.

In Merllimau, Malacca, for over 20 years at every election, promise of relocating the Tamil school has been made.

Tamil schools are squatting on shop houses at Lukut since 2003.

At Ladang Brausnton, Jeram Kuala Selangor, a Tamil school is in a cinema.

In Kajang there is only 1 school for about 1800 students in about ½ acre land, whereas in Bandar Mahkota Cheras, there 3 parcels of land measuring about 5 acres of land kept vacant and this land belongs to the Education Ministry. Why can't this land be given to Tamil schools?

Though the nation has achieved Merdeka for so many decades, many Tamil schools still don't have direct electricity and water supply.

In Perak there are over 17,000 students studying in Tamil schools, 9000 in National schools and over 1500 in Chinese schools.

So over 60 % of Indians send their children to Tamil schools. This trend is also nationwide.

Over 70% of the Perak Tamil schools are located in the former estates where the enrolment is low. In most of these areas the Indians have moved to urban schools but there aren't enough Tamil schools in the urban areas. Clearly there is a miss match in the need of Tamil schools.

We urge the authorities to have a new mind set on Tamil school problem and address them in a holistic approach.

As a start, we ask MIC leadership to open their mind and meet the top leaders of DAP to discuss the Tamil schools issue and to work out a "win win "proposal for the community, which shall then presented as blueprint for Tamil schools to the federal government.

Thanks


M.Kulasegaran
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/dapsugu

M Kula Segaran, Possible parliamentary censure motions against two Ministers

Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat, in Ipoh on May 12, 2011

Possible parliamentary censure motions against Datuk Hishammuddin Hussien and Datuk Seri Rais Yatim.
________________________________

It is quite a surprise that two Penang Umno assemblymen have said that they do not believe last Saturday's front page report in Utusan Malaysia that DAP and a group of Christian pastors were plotting to establish the country as a Christian state.

Hilmi Yahya (BN-Teluk Bahang) and Muhammad Farid Saad (BN-Pulau Betong) have said so at the Penang State Assembly meeting.

I have expressed surprise because it not easy for any Umno politician to say they disbelieve the Utusan Malaysia report for two reasons.

Firstly, the top Umno leadership has not categorically and immediately distanced itself from the report.

Secondly, a couple of government leaders have chosen to believe the report without having it investigated and verified first.

Home Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Hussien and the Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim had chosen to accept without question the Utusan Malaysia report  and had  even warned Malaysians  to not question Islam's position as the official religion of Malaysia.

These are two government leaders in charge of ministries which should immediately investigate the malicious and baseless report, yet instead of giving immediate orders to investigate the report and calling for calm among the people, they have chosen to play politics.

Being seasoned politicians, they know too well how dangerous the Utusan Malaysia report is as it can incite resentment and threaten religious harmony and racial peace in the country.

There is therefore no justification for them to accept without question the Utusan report which has been labeled as a dangerous lie by DAP Secretary General, Sir Lim Guan Eng.

In fact, I believe that any rational politician who is prepared to give an honest answer will say they do not believe the Utusan Malaysia report.

Datuk Hishammuddin and Datuk Rais should apologise for their accepting without question the Utusan Malaysia report, failing which censure motions will be moved against them in the Budget parliamentary session.

Thanks


M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat, MP
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

Press Stmt by M.Kulasegaran on "Fully support Penang government’s move to bar displaying the Interlok"

Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Monday, May 9, 2011
_____________________________________________________________________________
Fully support Penang government's move to bar displaying the Interlok novel in Penang public libraries

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy revealed in the Penang State Assembly meeting last week that the Penang state government had made a decision to bar displaying the Interlok novel in Pennag public libraries.

He added that the state government was of the opinion that certain contents of the book were racially offensive despite the Education Ministry having made several amendments to remove the alleged offensive contents.

I welcome and fully support such a decision by the state government. It is plain obvious that the book is unsuitable as school text, yet the Ministry has refused to withdraw it from the schools.

Whether the state government's move is a protest against the Ministry's stubbornness or is aimed at preventing more students from being poisoned by the offensive contents of the novel, it is a necessary and correct decision.

The move is also within the right of the state government.

There is no necessity for any quarter to try making this into a racial issue.

Perkasa's comment that the move to bar public display of the novel  is an insult to the Malays shows not only the failure of Perkasa to understand why the book is still offensive to the Indian and Chinese community, it also shows Perkasa's habit of  exploiting and racialsing issues.

The public calls for the withdrawal of the novel from schools is due to the fact that the novel still contains racially offensive contents and is therefore totally unsuitable and unacceptable to be used as  a school text.

It is not because the novel is a Malay book.

Hence, it is totally irresponsible for Perkasa to make this into a racial issue.

DAP will not allow our young to be poisoned by the inaccuracies and distortion of the novel.

We insist that the only solution to the controversy is the novel's withdrawal from the schools.

Thanks.



M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat MP
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kula Segaran "Ipoh structural plan suggestion and inputs from the public is just a publicity exercise?"

Media Statement by M.Kula Segaran DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on May 6, 2011
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ipoh structural plan suggestion and inputs from the public is just a publicity exercise?"

Today, DAP comrades, Sdr. Wasoo, Muthu, Tan and Susan together with my press secretary P.Sugumaran appeared with me and presented views on the Ipoh Structural Plan hearing.

Ipoh City Council (MBI) has set out the proposed Structural Plan for comments and inputs.

MBI first exhibited its findings in early August last year and then had it extended for another month. MBI should have extended it for at least 6 months.

We felt there was lack of participation from the public. The lack of interest from the public is nothing surprising.

It took over 5 years for the MBI to prepare the draft Structural Plan. Experts and people involved in the day to day work at MBI were roped in to work out the Draft plan. Why then a short period of only 30 days was given to the public for inputs although it was extended for another 30days?

Inner City Housing.

Waller Court and Sg.Pari flats were built some 50 years ago. Both these flats are not well maintained and they are in dilapidated situation.

The occupancy rate at the flats is less than 50%. Although hundreds of homeless people and many of them from the lower income group have applied to rent the flats, yet many are waiting in the queue for years.

Ipoh City is very quiet in the night. This quietness is because many of those staying in the flats are no more there. Many commute to the City center in the morning for work and to schools. There is substantial congestion in the city.

There is a need to the inner city vibrant in the night, what is needed is to upgrade all the flats. Unless this is done, the shortage of housing in the inner city housing will continue.

In fact new flats need to be built to accommodate the ever increasing demand for affordable housing.

Light Rail Transport System

Ipoh has always been known as a City with little or no traffic jam. Traffic flow used to smooth even at the busiest of times. But in the last few years this has changed. Ipoh City has over 700, 000 people residing an area covering 637kmsq.

The need to set up an underground rail system is long overdue. Many cities of Ipoh size have trains of this nature.

Car Parks at Old Town

Old town business has been affected very badly as there is an acute lack of parking bays. Over the years, little attention and effort has been put by the local authorities to set up new additional parking bays.

Worst still in 2004, over 60 existing parking bays were removed (near the water front project) and a mamak shop was allowed to operate there. Underground parking and/ or multi storey car park should therefore be constructed.

At the hearing of the above views, I asked the State Financial Officer as to when we would be told of the outcome of our suggestions. We were shocked when told whatever views we gave were only for internal consumption and they are not obliged to revert back to us.

Irrespective whether views submitted are accepted or rejected, the relevant authorities must inform and justify their decisions to those who have made submissions, otherwise this whole exercise of soliciting public suggestions and inputs could well be just a publicity exercise with no consideration for public accountability.

Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran, DAP is prepared to launch a protest campaign against rare earth plant

 

Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at Bukit Merah on 29th April 2011

Unless the BN State Government makes it clear and firm that there will not be any rare earth plant in the state, DAP is prepared to launch a protest campaign to compel the government to declare such a policy.

Following public disclosure that CVM Minerals Limited had entered into an MoU with the PKNP to explore and mine rare earths in Bukit Merah, we have seen different reactions from the government leaders.

Mentri Besar Datuk Zambry said that he was left in the dark over the agreement. Perak Health, Local Government and Environment Committee Chairman Datuk Mah Han Soon said that as far as he was concerned, it was just a MoU (memorandum of understanding) between the state investment arm and a private firm, and no permit had been issued to start any ground work.

But he added:

"Even if the project was given approval, there would not be any construction of a rare earth processing plant".

Perak g executive councilor Hamidah Osman said that the Perak government would not allow a second rare earth plant to be built in Bukit Merah.

She said the MOU was merely a "low-level" agreement and CVM Minerals would not get authorisation for any rare earth project under any circumstances.

DAP is shocked that PKNP  could sign such an agreement given allegation that the people are still suffering health problems due to the first rare earth plant built in Bukit Merah some 20 years ago.

How could the Mentri Besar who also chairs PKNP be totally in the dark about such an agreement?

How many more low level agreement are there that he is not aware of?

I can't help but wonder why Datuk Zambry did not give a categorical and immediate assurance that there will be no rare earth plant in Perak when informed of the MoU.

Why should it be Hamidah who declared that the government would not issue any permit?

Why Mah Hang Soon should qualify his statement by saying that "even if the project was given approval……….?
Is there some confusion among the government leaders or is there more than that meets the eyes?

The first rare earth plant should serve as a good lesson for Perak and the government must never repeat the mistake and allow the set up of another rare earth plant

It was recently confirmed that 80,000  two hundred litre drums containing radio active waste are currently being kept at the dump located in the Kledang Range behind Papan town. The site is 3km from Bukit Merah and Papan and about 15km from Ipoh . And the waste is thorium hydroxide. Cancer-causing radon is released during decay.

Hence, not only the Perak state government must declare a no more rare earth plant policy for the state, Perakians must also make their stand and voices loud and clear that they reject the set up of any rare earth plant.

Unless the state government makes it clear and firm that there will not be any rare earth plant in the state, DAP is prepared to launch a protest campaign to compel the government to declare such a policy.

DAP and Pakatan Rakyat assure Perakians that under the Pakatan Rakyat policy and government, no rare earth plant will ever be allowed.


Thanks.

M.Kulasegaran
MP Ipoh Barat

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

Speech by M.Kulasegaran at Pantai Remis Kg. Tun sambathan on DAP Ceramah.

Speech by M Kula Segaran, Dap National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at DAP Ceramah on "interlock" on 24th April 2011 in Kg.Tun Sambatan, Pantai Remis 

 
Come the next general election, the Indian voters must play the King Maker role again to bring about  a second political tsunami and deal  the arrogant BN and spineless MIC  with their worst ever electoral defeat. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Muhyiddin said that the Interlok issue has been resolved. 

But the government knows s too well that the issue is not over.

The government knows the Indian community still demands that the novel be withdrawn as a school text.

The government knows too that the book is not suitable for use as a school text.

It knows that the factual inaccuracies and distortions in the contents of the novel have hurt the feelings of the Indian community.

Why then is the government still so adamant in its stand not to withdraw the novel from being used as a school text?

The reason is because the BN government is still the same insensitive and arrogant government that it was before the 2008 general election.

Despite having suffered its worst electoral debacle in the previous general election, it has not learnt its lesson.

It is obvious that the BN government now believes that the Interlok issue will not affect the BN's electoral performance in the coming general election.

It is also obvious that, with the swing back of some Indian support towards BN in the recent by elections, MIC is also confident that Interlok has become a non issue.

This explains why though the Interlok issue is still unresolved; MIC Youth chief Mohan could openly declare that Indians have backed BN again.

Let me ask MIC what is its stand on the Interlok issue?  Does MIC regard the issue as resolved?

Interlok issue is only over for the BN government which is insensitive and arrogant.

Interlok issue is only a non issue to the MIC which has no backbone to fight for the novel's withdrawal as a school text.

Interlok issue is certainly not over for those who can see that the novel is not suitable as a school text.

It is not over for those who know that its usage will spew poison among the young and will not help in forging racial harmony.

Interlok is definitely and cannot be over for those who have been hurt by the novel's contents as well as the BN's government's insensitivity and arrogance.

If BN government continues to ignore the people's voice, then the Indian community must make their demand through their powerful weapon – their votes in the coming general election.

The Indian community's King Maker role in the 2008 general election has dealt BN its worst electoral debacle.

Come the next general election, the Indian voters must play the King Maker role again to bring about  a second political tsunami and deal  the arrogant BN and spineless MIC with their worst ever electoral defeat.

Thanks.

M.Kulasegaran

Ipoh Barat MP

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran's speech in Miri, Sarawak.

 Speech by M.Kula Segaran MP Ipoh Barat and DAP National Vice Chairman in Miri,Sarawak on 12/4/11

Let April1 6 be a day of political tsunami which will cause Taib to go and bring about a better Sarawak for all.

Enough is enough. 30 years is long enough. Taib must not be allowed to stay even one day longer.

Prime Minister Najib said Taib will quit after the state election. Taib said he would quit in few years. PM Najib can bargain with Taib. Taib can negotiate with Najib. But the Sarawakians must say "no bargaining, no negotiations from us, Taib must go".

Bargaining only takes place in the pasar, even then a fishmonger and his customer will bargain over the price of a fresh fish, not a rotten fish.

Taib is just like a rotten fish that stinks and must be thrown away.

It is obvious that Najib is powerless and unable to ask Taib to go. So the Sarawakians must do the job by sending the strongest signal through the ballot box that Taib must go.

Come April 16, Sarawakians must vote for change.

When speaking at the 1 Malaysia night concert in Kuching last night, PM asked what is change.

He said, "What is the change? There must be a reason. If we want change, we shouldn't change for the sake of change. We must change for the better."

If Najib truly does not know or see the reason why Sarawakians are now clamoring for change, then he has only been listening to the shouting of the 1 Malaysia slogan and has not been listening to the voices of the Sarawakians.

Has he not heard about the people's anger against corruption and nepotism that has been happening for so long in Sarawak?

As such, Sarawakians must now shout louder "enough is enough" and let " UBAH" fly higher.

Let Najib and his ministers bring in all the goodies, be they tupperware or allocations or what not, let Najib repeat his "you help me, I help me" words or shout his 1 Malaysia slogan, but the brave Sarawakians must continue to shout "enough is enough" everywhere, whether at coffee shops, pasar or long houses.

Most important of all, let the enough is enough sentiment be translated into votes for change on April 16.

In the 2008 general election, the then prime minister Abdullah Badawi warned the Chinese voters of lesser Chinese representation in the Cabinet if MCA and Gerakan did badly, the voters refused to be cowed and helped create an unprecedented political tsunami that caused BN its worst electoral debacle.

When people don't fear, when people say "enough is enough", it is the BN which will fear about the occurrence of a political tsunami.

Let April16 be a day of political tsunami which will cause Taib to go and bring about a better Sarawak for all.


Thanks.


M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat MP
http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kulasegaran "BN government is still the same arrogant, insensitive and non responsive"

Speech by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and Mp for Ipoh Barat at Ceramah held at Kg Tawas , Ipoh on Friday, 1st April, 2011

The Interlok issue has clearly proven that the BN government is still the same arrogant, insensitive and non responsive government that it was prior to the 2008 general election.

On 30th March, 2011, Chinese associations from across Malaysia in a statement issued said the Interlok was not only offensive to Indians but Chinese as well, as it depicted the character Kim Lock as a "miserly opium addict and callous adulterer" and his son, Cing Huat, as "cunning, greedy, unscrupulous and someone who would happily sell his daughters".

"'Interlok' in its totality propagates the ideology of ketuanan Melayu. In our considered opinion, this novel is not only unhealthy but an insidious poison," the statement said.

The statement added, "In fact, 'Interlok' is barely a step away from the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) brainwashing that promotes racism and disunity.

'Interlok' conveys the central message that Chinese, Indian and other minorities are second-class citizens in addition to perpetuating the divisive notion of a host community (the Malays) versus foreigners ('bangsa asing' Cina dan India)."

The statement was signed by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH), LLG Cultural Development Centre, Malaysian-China Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Chinese Associations Johor, the Penang Chinese Town Hall and 40 others, including the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (SABM) and several Indian organisations.

I am glad that the group has come out to lend support to the voice calling for the withdrawal of the novel as a school text book.

The issue has been allowed to drag on long enough by a government which has declared the era the government knows best is over.

It is so plain for all to see that the novel is totally unsuitable as a school text. It is so clear that the book will not be able to promote unity.

In the statement released d by the group, some excerpts appended as evidence of the book's alleged racism include:

* "We eat anything. Roots if we can get them. We beg. We steal. We don't have a daughter. If we have a daughter, we can sell her." (Kim Hock, pp 119-120)

* Kim Lock takes Mei Hwa to smoke opium and has sex with her every time they meet like that. (p 200)

* In a big and strange city like this, people cannot be kind, if they are kind they can't be rich. Here money becomes the measure. In this world, money is the number two God. (pp 155-156)

* "Cina Panjang says all that land rightfully belongs to him. The cows we kept are also his. My father pawned it to him." (p 88)

* Seman said he gave all the land to Cina Panjang, and the Chinese man then asked Seman to leave the kampung. (p 92)

The Indian community has been hurt by the factual distortions and inaccuracies in the novel as well the demeaning words contained therein.

Yet the government is not prepared to do what is right and necessary.

The Interlok issue has clearly proven that the BN government is still the same arrogant, insensitive and non responsive government that it was prior to the 2008 general election.

It is obvious that the BN government has not learned the lessons of the 2008 general election when it suffered its worst ever electoral debacle.

If the BN government is unwilling to change its stand on the Interlok issue, then the people must be prepared to teach BN a bigger lesson come the next general election—Change the federal government.


Thanks

M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat MP

M.Kula Segaran "Pakatan’s situation viv-a-vis Indians "

Speech by M.Kula Segaran MP Ipoh Barat and DAP National Vice Chairman at the PR INDIAN LEADERSHIP DIALOGUE SESSION in Penang on 2/4/11

Pakatan's situation viv-a-vis Indians

First things, first. Indian or, more precisely, Hindu sentiment played a galvanizing role in the prelude and culmination of the last general election.

Indians were aggrieved by the videotape of the destruction of a nearly century-old temple in Shah Alam that took place in July 2007.

Hindraf disseminated the tape widely and used it to draw a huge throng of supporters to their famous gathering of 25th November, 2007. Some say, Chinese voters took heart from the display of Hindu solidarity and were moved to join Indians and disenchanted Malays in rejecting BN in the general election of March 2008.

The spectacle of Hindu activism which helped deny BN their customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and the loss of four states - Penang, Perak, Kedah and Selangor - to the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, in addition to Pas' retention of Kelantan, inevitably stoked unrealistic expectations on the part of Indian Malaysians.

This was understandable given the magnitude of results of the general election. Pakatan, despite granting due recognition to Indian electoral support by giving a deputy chief ministership and a speaker's post to Indians, were at a disadvantage when trying to meeting the broader expectations of the community.

Increased allocations for Tamil schools, land for squatters for residential and agro-based enterprises, scholarships for poor Indian students, higher intake of Indians into the civil service, allocations for welfare programmes targeting Indians, and allocations for the upkeep of crematoriums, were measures that required Pakatan' control of the federal government rather than merely the control of a few, albeit, significant states.

The Kampong Buah Pala issue on Penang island underscored the helplessness of Pakatan in trying to satisfy the needs of Indians in the face of the control of bureaucracies and ancillary matters by authorities if not hostile, then unsympathetic to Pakatan.

What more could the Pakatan Government have done in the Kg. Buah Pala case?
The MIC manipulated and gave a negative picture of the Kg.Buah Pala issue successfully to the voters in the by-elections for the state seat of Bagan Pinang in Negri Sembilan in October 2009 and in the parliamentary seat of Hulu Selangor in April 2010.

The euphoria over Indian success at helping to change the political scenario in the country had waned by the middle of 2010, causing analysts to think that the Indian voter was drifting back to BN.


BN by-election victories in Tenang in Johor, Kerdau and Merlimau in Pahang and Malacca respectively earlier this year only underscored the talk of Indian disenchantment with Pakatan and a return to BN.

How do we check and reverse this trend?

There is no magic formula for Indian betterment that does not require Pakatan's occupation of Putrajaya. A Pakatan central government would improve the fortunes of Indians across the board -- from employment in the civil service, to mother tongue education, to land for the deserving landless.

But short of occupation of Putrajaya, what can Pakatan do tell Indian Malaysians that their future is better sticking with Pakatan than returning to BN.

Fortunately, for Pakatan the Interlok issue, which Indians brought up for national attention, has now stirred the Chinese to anger and denunciation of the novel.

Pakatan has to fight this novel's retention as a literary text in schools not only because it is derogatory to Indians, Chineses and also Malays, but also because the book mirrors the intention of the Umno-directed bureaucracy to infuse the non-Malays with a subservient mind-set.


Therefore, Pakatan has to sustain a concerted effort to reject the novel's use in schools and tell all races that cultural imperialism is a big 'No-No' in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, in the run-up to the general election, which is expected in the middle or late this year or early in 2012, the Pakatan governments of Penang and Selangor must be conspicuous in dealing out aid in the fields of welfare and education to Indians.

When such aid is rendered, we have to publicize these deeds so that Indians can see that Pakatan is certainly not indifferent to their plight.


Thanks

M.Kula Segaran
Ipoh Barat MP


http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/mkula

M.Kula Segaran " Indian last policy a form of clear discrimination against the employment of Indians"

 

Media statement by M.Kula Segaran MP Ipoh Barat and DAP National Vice Chairman in Kuala Lumpur on 31st March 2011

Indian last policy a form of clear discrimination against the employment of Indians must be done away with.

During question time in Parliament today I posed the following question to the Human Resources Ministry :

a) why Government says we have full employment when many have difficulty getting jobs and any plans for unemployeds?

b) why there is no unemployments benefits for those in need?

The Human Resources Minister in reply said that only 3% of Malaysians are unemployed namely about 420 thousand of them. He gave 4 reasons why graduates are unemployed;

1) the field of study possessed by the graduate is not much in demand

2) Many employers wants experience before employing

3) Lack of communication skill

4) Not proficient in the English language

Also he said in the cases of non graduates 4 factors are responsible:

1) too choosy to choose a place of work

2) hopping for a high salary

3) lack of information on job opportunities

4) offer of jobs is insufficient to meet costs of living

He further said that it is the priority of the Governments policy to employ locals rather then foreigners.

Its hardly believable that Malaysia has only 420 thousand people unemployed. Infact I said the reality is nearly a million or more could be unemployed and these can be seen if one is on the ground. Although the Ministry disputes the figures I gave there is no doubt at least among the orang asli and the Indians the unemployment is very high.

"Indian last policy"

Of late it is said "employ Indian last" policy is being practiced in the private sector. It is well known that in the private sector the reluctance to employ Indians and Orang Asli is well known. Although the minister refuted my view but the truth on the ground is that most lowly paid job in the private sector are held by Indians. Office boys, cleaners, drivers and the like are all most all Indians. Why?

Why there is a Indian last policy being practiced actively without any concern by the government?

Even in the Government sector its no different! Invariably the lowest paid jobs are occupied by the Indians. The Minister cannot just pretend this is not a factor to be looked into and a solution to be worked out the soonest possible.

The employing of Indians as the last choice should stop. Indian last policy a form of clear discrimination against the employment of Indians must be done away with.

Unemployment benefits

In almost all countries which professes to have full employment there is adequate protection to workers who can be gainfully employed but cannot find a job.

The rational for unemployment benefits, is to ensure that those workers who cannot be gainfully employed the state will provide a minimum sum until such time the worker finds a employable job. A people concern Government will have such a policy.

The absence of such a policy in Malaysia is most unfortunate.


Thanks

M.Kulasegaran
Ipoh Barat MP

012-5034346

Indira Gandhi on going court saga, M.Kulasegaran

Media Statement by M.Kula Segaran MP Ipoh Barat at the  Ipoh High Court on 30th March 2011 

Attorney General and the Government should explain why the delay in presenting the necessary amendments to Parliament in conversion cases.

Indira  Ghandhi married her husband  Patmanathan in 1993 according to Hindu rites. They have 3 children.

The eldest child is now 14 years old the second, a boy, is 13 years old and the youngest is 2+ years old Indria and her husband started to have marital problems for sometime.

As a result on 11th March 2009, he converted to Islam and adopted his new name as Muhammad Riduan Bin Abdullah

On 2nd April 2009; three children of the family were also converted into Islam by their father Patmanathan at the Bahagian Dakwah, Jabatan Agama Islam, Ipoh, Perak.

The conversion was without the knowledge and or consent of the children's mother.

There after the family got separated and the husband took the youngest t child of the family and went missing. He is still hiding at an undisclosed location.

In the mean time Muhammad Riduan Bin Abdullah filed an application at the Syariah High Court in Ipoh and obtained an interim order of custody of the 3 children. Indira had no knowledge of this case.

Subsequently she filed an application and after numerous hearings, the Ipoh Civil High Court gave order of custody on May 2010. The case is pending appeal to the Court of Appeal by the husband.

 He has not adhered to the Court's order in that the youngest child has not been handed over to Indira.

The husband has no permanent employment and has been willfully avoiding in handing over of the youngest child to the mother. The two elder children are schooling and living with the mother who works as a kindergarten teacher.

On 9th June 2009, Indira filed a motion at the High Court to quash the decision of the Syariah Court dated 8th April 2009 which Court had given custody and control of the 3 children to Muhammad Riduan Bin Abdullah. The case has been filed against 6 Defendants namely

1.PENGARAH JABATAN AGAMA ISLAM PERAK 2.PENDAFTAR MUALLAF 3) KERAJAAN NEGRI PERAK 4) KEMENTERIAN PELAJARAN MALAYSIA 5) KERAJAAN MALAYSIA 6) PATMANATHAN A/L KRISHNAN

(known as Muhammad Riduan bin Abdullah) On 28th July2010, the Ipoh Civil High Court gave leave to quash the decision of the Syariah Court to Indira notwithstanding to the strenuous objections from the Attorney General's office.

To day the High Court is to hear the application to quash the Syariah Court's decision.

The panel of Lawyers ( Mr. K.Shanmuga, En.FahriAzzat, N.Selvam, and M.Kula ) of Indira feels that Indira's case is very much similar to the famous case of Shamala Vs Dr Jayaganesh.

As serious, fundamental and public importance issues are involved the case ought to be transferred and heard in the Federal Court.

In April 2009, it was reported that the Cabinet has decided that children of parents where one of them opts to convert must be raised in the common religion at the time of marriage.

The news report dated 24 thApril, 2009 says: -

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri said it was decided in the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that a spouse who has converted into Islam would also have to fulfil his or her marriage responsibilities according to civil marriage laws. "Religion should not be used as a tool to escape marriage responsibilities. Conversion is not a ground for the automatic dissolution of a marriage," he said at a press conference at Parliament building Thursday.

"The children should be brought up in the common religion. For the spouse who intends to convert into Islam, he or she would also have to come clean," he said.

Nazri said religious conversion must come with the innocent party being protected from being victimised, as well as protection being affored to the new religion of the converted person.

"Civil marriages have to be resolved according to civil laws. The conversion takes effect on the day of conversion and is not retrospective. "The convert would have to fulfil his or her marriage responsibilities according to civil laws prior to the conversion," he added.

Nazri also said the Cabinet has instructed the Attorney-General to look at all relevant laws which needed to be amended in line with what has been decided on civil marriage laws and others.

The Attorney General and the Government should explain why there has been such long delay in doing what is necessary?

Thanks.

M.Kulasegaran

Ipoh Barat MP

012-5034346

http://twitter.com/mkula

http://ipohbaratvoice.blogspot.com