At the MCA AGM held on 10th October 2010, the PPP President Datuk M. Kayveas said that the Prime Minister’s statement that Malaysian Chinese who had made Malaysia their home for more than five generations should not be called immigrants anymore should be applied to other races also.
The PPP leader which is part of the Barisan Nasional Party said that more leaders should get up and say that fourth and fifth generation migrants whose ancestors were immigrants could not be called immigrants anymore.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that Chinese who were already third to fifth generation descendants of immigrants could not be called immigrants anymore as they were born in Malaysia.
On a separate note Kayveas expressed full solidarity and support to Dr. Chua who he said was the most popular person and therefore ideally suited to lead the MCA, as its democratically elected leader.
Kayveas further said that if there were a few people unhappy with Dr Chua and his performance, they should follow the example of Chew Mei Fun and resign. Chew Mei Fun was the former Wanita chief. The comment was directed towards Kuantan MCA Wanita delegate, Khiew Yuh Jiuan, who expressed his displeasure at Dr Chua’s leadership at the Wanita AGM on Saturday.
At the MCA Annual General-Body Meeting held on 10th October 2010, Dong Zong of the United Chinese School Committees Association appreciated the decision of the Education Ministry to pay part of the utility bills of Chinese Primary Schools.
Agreeing with him, deputy president Chow Siew Hong expressed his hope that the Education Ministry would pay the full amount because utilities such as water and electricity were basic amenities and essential to the proper functioning of the schools.
The AGM was earlier told by its president Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek that the Education Ministry would pay a portion of the utility bills for all Chinese primary schools.
The Ministry had agreed to pay up to RM 2,000 every month to Chinese schools. More discussions needed to be held regarding full payment of the utility bills.
Deputy President Chow further stated that while in schools with 100 students the sum of RM 2,000 might seem adequate, this was definitely not the case with schools which had 2,000 or more students.
One of the headmasters at the meeting from SRJK (C) Kong Hoe, Klang, Liew Swee Pheng said that his school spent on an average over RM 4,000 on utilities with their electricity bill amounting to RM 3,000 and RM 1,000 being spent on water every month.
In another political discussion MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was being quoted that there is no other agenda in raising the 30% bumiputra quota issue other than ensuring that the Government’s economic transformation plan succeeded. Dr Chua Soi Lek highlighted that under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, domestic and private investments only grew by 2% I comparison to the target of 12 % of the 10th Malaysia plan in front of the media persons when he attended 88th anniversary of Johor Baru Tiong Hua federation dinner. According to Dr Chua Soi Lek, the implementation of the social contract could be discussed, but that it should be done behind closed doors. His suggestions included the measures which must be taken to improve the Government delivery system, reduce red tape and create more transparent policies.
Dr Chua Soi Lek clearly explained that there is no grueling competition between the Chinese and the Malays but the entire country needs to be competing against the world to attract foreign investments.
Malaysia is no stranger to ethnic wars and the Bhumiputera issue brings it into the limelight. There have been three major communities in Malaysia the Bhumiputeras (the Malays) or the sons of the soil, The Malaysian Indians and the Malaysian Chinese. Malaysian Indians were brought from South Indian especially from Tamil Nadu to work on agricultural plantation, by the British. India and Malaysia share a common ruler. The Malaysians of Chinese origin came to Malaysia, 4-5 generations earlier and settled down and formed their political group.
Many people believe that internal bickering is bad for Malaysia as Malaysia is chasing foreign investment along with Singapore and Thailand and such internal disputes should not create a roadblock in the development of the country. Dr Chua Soi Lek also maintained that such a quota is unjust and immoral against people from other races.
According to recent and trusted sources it has been brought into notice that about three Chinese local governments have offered the Tourism Ministry of the glorious country of Malaysia, to take over the Malaysia Pavi¬lion after the end of the Shanghai World Expo this month. The tourism minister of Malaysia was in Shangai for the Shanghai Expo. Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen confirmed the news to Malaysian Media. The Chinese did show interest in exhibiting and taking control of the pavilion. The trade relations between China and Malaysia have improved recently. China has become the trading superpower and all South East Asian countries including Malaysia want to deepen its co-operation with China. China improves trade relationships through workshops and trade exhibitions like the Shanghai Expo. The trade between the two countries has shot and hence has the need for bilateral exchanges. Hebei, Wuxi and Guangdong are those governments who have made these requests to the Tourism Ministry, according to Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen. According to her all the pavilions need demolitions and the governments have no objection rather complete assurance and support. The Malaysian government will actually save money on demolition of the pavilions. For both Malaysian Tourism and Shanghai authorities, it is proving to be a win-win situation. These pavilions are good source of income because they attract many visitors in terms of millions. According to her many countries like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore have spent millions of rupees on these pavilions for their maintenance with Australia spending 256 million, New Zealand spending RM 70.7 million. Indonesia and Thailand spend 31 million and 81 million respectively. A record breaking six million people attended the pavilion on Wednesday. The maintenance and operating costs of the pavilion was RM 15 millions which RM 20 million was the cost of building the pavilion.
The MCA or Malaysian Chinese Association has geared up its campaigning strategies to seek attention of Chinese voters in the Galas state constituency for the upcoming by-elections. The MCA is trying its luck in the area where it has traditionally dominated.
According to MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, each and every serious step will be considered in order to attract their respective voters and the primary goal is to achieve at least more than the half of the total percentage of Chinese votes. It is also been noticed that he is completely satisfied with the kind of proceedings which are currently in progress and both the central MCA and the Kelantan are doing excellent work. He also highlighted the importance of this by-election to the media persons and said this by-election is specifically important.
The by-election which is to be on November 4 will seemingly be the victorious day of MCA along with Barisan National parties who are having a coalition among themselves as said by the secretary-general.
Along with these important talks, the secretary-general also had many other promises to keep which included installation of Global Positioning System units in the buses and also other important strategic matters were discussed with other higher dignities of the MCA.
The civil service in Malaysia would take in more non-Malays this year. Out of the 50,700 applicants for government jobs last year only 5% were non-Malays.
To draw more people of non-Malay origin into Government jobs the Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman Tan Sri Jamaluddin Ahmad Damanhuri said, “More interview centers would be opened and there will be talks to prepare them for work in the public sector”
The PSC chairman Jamaluddin stated that the staff of the Public Service Commission would match the available jobs with the qualifications of the candidates.
Jamaluddin further added that the lesser number of non-Malay staff in the civil service was due to the fact that many non-Malays were not aware of the jobs that were available and the qualifications required.
Last year, out of more than 1.5 million candidates only 50,756 applicants were successful out of which 2,595 were of Chinese origin and 2,341 were Indians.
The Public Service Department Director-General Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Abdullah encouraged applicants for jobs in government service to use its eSMSM short messaging service to check their applications status, interview dates and results.
Remarking on the importance of encouraging non-Malays he said that it was important to have public servants from different races.
Abu Bakar also wanted government agencies to make more use of the Internet to reduce costs and increase efficiency while issuing documents.
All ready: Dr Wee (fifth from left) visiting the SJKC Bukit Tangga in Bukit Beruntung yesterday.
According to trusted sources a new school is all set to be opened in the month of January with strength of about 250 pupils with an estimated budget of RM6mil and the name is SJKC Bukit Tangga which was addressed to media by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong.
This school will provide the necessary education for the growing population here and nearby areas and thereby will be a relief for a lot of parents and their young ones. Education is one of the upcoming sectors of Malaysia. People from far and wide send their kids to study here!
Dr Wee was being quoted that the community’s long awaited desire to have a school here would turn into reality when Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin made an announcement in January that a plot of land which will cost about RM3mil is all set to be allocated for the school. The ministry had taken all necessary steps and made significant donations to the management of the school to initiate all necessary steps to build and develop the school.
The only school in the vicinity was the one at Serendah. The transportation charges however proved to be very costly for the people of the area. They had to shell out as much as RM 100 a month just for the basic transport. Education is the basic need of any boy or girl. In Malaysia, to feed its growing economy, parents are encouraging the children to learn. Education is fast becoming a very big industry in Malaysia. There are a number of schools that are springing up all over the country. Education has taken off in Malaysia in a big way. A lot of money, both domestic and foreign is involved in the construction of colleges and universities in Malaysia. The country is ideally located and it projected as the gateway of education in South East Asia.
Educational tourism- Malaysia is keen to attract students from other countries to study in the country. The ministry of education said that they encouraged educational institutes in every way possible. The land and labor in Malaysia is cheap and education and globalization is encouraged. What else does one want? Malaysia is also a peaceful stable country and has nothing for entrepreneurs from setting up education bases there.
Schools and colleges are the primary requirement of education. It has been proved over time that the country which has the best human resources gets ahead in the race to global domination. This has been amply displayed by the Japanese. Schools are the basic module of education and a country with quality schools is likely to produce good people to govern it and lead it towards fulfilling its rightful destiny in the world. Schools are the very unit where children learn and grow up to become honorable and loyal citizens. The South East Asian Country of Malaysia, I believe has realized this fact and hence has allotted RM 3 million for the school.
Show of support: Ong (third from left) showing her support by buying some of the fresh vegetables brought in from Cameron Highlands.
It was a very special and exhilarating moment for the SJK (C) Lick Hung as he expected a crowd of more than 5000 visitors who turned themselves to show their utmost and unselfish support for the school. The SJK (C) Lick Hung is one of those few Chinese schools who selected for Cluster School of the Education Ministry.
Schools are the very foundation of a strong and successful nation as per the philosophy of many wise thinkers and philosophers. The development of schools in Malaysia should be looked to buttress the fact that Malaysia wants to be an education hub in South East Asia. Education hubs have always been beneficial. There are many educational hubs all over the world including the United States which dominates the world of education. Schools are the foundation of a country in many ways.
The opening ceremony was inaugurated by Ong Chong Swen the parliamentary liaison officer of Kelana Jaya and also gave some financial donations of about 5000 RM on behalf of the Prime Minister.
Ong, who happens to be the Kelana Jaya MCA division chief, also had Kelana Jaya MCA division secretary Gan Meng Foo, and Kelana Jaya Wanita MCA vice-chairmen Lim Lean Huwa and Stacey Teh Poi See in this opening ceremony. The representatives from the school who were honored to receive and welcome them were headmaster Tan Swee Huat, Board of Governor members Winnie Lim and Ng Chien, as well as Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chairman Khoo Yew Nean and vice-chairman Ricky Tan.
On this Family Day there were about 140 stalls offering delicious food items, stationery goods like pens and pencils, games, body painting, and 2,500kg of fresh vegetables from Cameron Highlands and also along with an exhibition on health and education products.
Lastly in a speech from Ong it was quoted that this Family day is too important as it develops the children in order to learn the various skills of selling and marketing and also to be familiar with the daily living of an average human being. Ong also suggested that the school efforts to help in emerging of better intelligent students in their respective exams and also to their fellow teachers who simultaneously work hard.
On Sunday, October 17, 2010 the MCA party’s Kelantan state liaision chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Ng Yen Yen said that the MCA would continue to protect and fight for the rights of the Chinese population in the fields of education and business.
Dr. Ng also remarked that this was the message the party would be giving to the voters in Galas who were Chinese in a bid to attract their votes.
There were 2331 Chinese voters in the Galas constituency and Dr Ng, who was also the party vice-president, was sure of securing around 1,000 of these votes.
After concluding a meeting at the Gua Musang MCA office, with the three wings of Kelantan MCA and the division chiefs, Dr. Ng said, “There are at least one or two Barisan Nasional voters in each and every Chinese household in this place.”
Dr. Ng also remarked that the Chinese and Tamil communities had received some good news in the 2011 Budget presented by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. The budget had apportioned RM 250 Mil. to build vernacular schools to benefit the minority communities, some of which would come up in the Gua Musang constituency.
Dr. Ng also stated that the issues concerning Galas were not major ones but small and local issues.
Broken promises of the PAS Kelantan state government to Chinese communities
The issue of ethnicity and races has come back to haunt people once again. Time and again it raises its ugly head in Malaysia which consists of the Malays, Indian and Chinese as its major inhabitants.
In a very interesting story it was found that most of the Chinese communities are annoyed due to the broken promises being made by the Kelantan state government. Many people are accusing the state government for supporting non-locals for land distribution. The Chinese community in particular is angry with the decision of the state government to give away the part of land, which was kept reserved for Malaysians of Chinese origin has been given to greedy developers. Some of the areas where non- Malays are allowed to grow land are kora Baru and Kuala Krai. The complaint is simple: the Chinese origin people are not getting their due share of land. This land which originally belonged to them is being given away to large foreign companies and greedy developers.
There are some traditionally important artifacts like a 500 year old Guanyin and some cave temples temple which is the primary focus region for the villagers living in that area which is called Kampung Pulai. According to the local folk living there they have piles of complaints against local authorities who are busy in driving them out of their homes. This village has been home to many Chinese and Siamese people and actually many of these are linked with this village through their ancestral roots and it is completely painful for them to leave this place and wander about in total insecurity. The villagers have already discussed that the younger generation are seeking for better opportunities in cities and this village is becoming an “old house” bearing only old and wretched people. The people of this place are also waiting for the revival of the Kampung Pulai Chinese School which surely needs some attention and some pretty renovations.
In another incident similar restless responses were raining on state government who are constantly being accused of allowing authorizations to outsiders in the private lands of the local villagers. Their primary concern is that these large corporations are eyeing these lands and are easily acquiring them and that too large acres are allotted to them but the locals who inhabitate these lands are not even allowed for smaller plots. But according to the Commerce and Unity chairman of State Entrepreneurial Development, Datuk Anuar Tan Abdullah the story seems to be rubbish and further explains the situation as a procedural delay in terms of the list the organization receives. He explained the situation by saying that smaller lands are allocated to smaller organizations and bigger organizations get larger areas of land because of their capacity to turn the ground into financial stakes and also offering heavy employment in return.
This thing when concluded seems to be the long lasting problem where industrialization and globalization face a very cruel task of wiping out generations in turn of financial betterments.
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