Isnin, 9 Ogos 2010

Suara Sri Andalas

Suara Sri Andalas


Minimum Confidence in Minimum Wage

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 10:00 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA: The government's plan to implement a minimum wage policy has failed to convince opposition leaders, with DAP's Charles Santiago calling it "wishful thinking".

"Malaysia sells itself as a low-wage, labour intensive economy. If Malaysia wants to become a high-income economy, then it has to have a clear policy (of getting there)," said Santiago.

However, the Klang MP was glad that the government was willing to have some discussion on the issue. "But whether the Cabinet will approve it is another matter," he told FMT.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) secretary-general S Arutchelvan was also pessimistic. He felt that the government lacked the political will to push the policy through.

"It's more of a public relations exercise than anything else. The human resources minister (Dr S Subramaniam) has spoken about this before. They're not in a hurry to implement it.

"They've raised this so many years ago, and they've already done all the studies. Why do they need to speak to more stakeholders?" he asked.

Arutchelvan pointed out that the ministry had wanted to implement minimum wage for security guards, but back-pedalled following pressure from employers.

He also accused the government of being pro-employers.

'For political gain?'

PAS MP Khalid Samad commended the government for taking the initiative, but suggested that the minister's recent announcement could be an attempt to shore up support ahead of the general election.

"There has to be proper discussion between the parties involved, the policy should not be rushed for the sake of political gain," he told FMT.

Khalid and Santiago also agreed that Malaysia's heavy dependence on foreign labour was one of the causes for wage stagnation.

"Foreign labour was a solution that was used when our economy was expanding. But this is not the situation anymore. Now we have foreign workers being brought in even though we don't have enough jobs for them," said the PAS leader.

Santiago noted that Malaysia had depended on cheap labour for too long. "It may have been an economic boon in the past, but now it's more of a bane," he said.

Meanwhile, Research for Social Advancement (REFSA) director Richard Yeoh said the ministry's plan to cut the country's foreign labour force by 2.1 million was "unrealistic".

"Malaysia has one of the highest proportions of foreign workers in the world. How can you cut out so many workers in five years?"

"Our system is such that companies can maximise profits, so every time there is a demand for labour, thousands of workers are brought in," he said.


By: Patrick Lee

Let Jayakumar Handle Tamil School Funds

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 08:00 PM PDT

PETALING JAYA: A Tamil Parent-Teacher Association is up in arms against state executive councillor Halimah Ali taking charge of funding for Tamil schools.

Watson Tamil School Parent-Teacher Association feels that the matter should be handled by Dr A Xavier Jayakumar instead.

Its chairman, S Sugumaran, said Jayakumar (the exco in charge of Indian affairs) should be allowed to continue managing the funding for Tamil schools as he had been doing a good job.

On Aug 2, Halimah, the state exco for education, told a meeting of parents of Tamil school students that allocations for Tamil schools will not be managed by Jayakumar but herself.

Said Sugumaran: "As far as I know, Jayakumar had distributed allocations to Tamil schools dutifully. All the schools need to do is to submit a working paper on whatever projects they plan to do and he will approve the allocation if it is beneficial to the schools."

On allegations that Jayakumar had not distributed funds to all 97 Tamil schools in the state, Sugumaran dismissed the claims, saying that perhaps the schools had been ill-advised on the proper procedures for applying for such funds.

"As long as the schools provide proper documents, they will receive the money. Perhaps these schools did not receive the funds due to some glitches in their application."

He also queried Halimah's credentials, saying she does not know much about issues plaguing Tamil schools.

"She has been the exco for education for the last two years, but I never seen her visiting any Tamil schools," Sugumaran claimed.

He also alleged that Halimah never did anything not only for Tamil schools, but also all schools in Selangor.

"She received about RM15 million in allocation to handle all schools in the state, but I don't see anything forthcoming. What has she been doing with the funds?" Sugumaran asked.

His views are also supported by a Hindu Youth Organisation official, who wanted to remain anonymous.

"Jayakumar has a wider reach with the Indian community as he is in charge of plantation workers in the state and most Tamil schools are located in these estates," the official said.

"His previous experience with non-governmental organisations had made him knowledgeable on issues dogging Tamil schools, something that Halimah lacks."

On claims that some schools did not receive any funds, the official said all schools were given funds but some of them refused to take the money for fear of a backlash from the federal government.

"They are worried that the federal government might come after them if they receive money from the Pakatan-led state government." he said.

'I look after all communities'

When contacted, Halimah dismissed claims that she had done nothing for Tamil schools.

"My education unit has conducted a lot of programmes for Indians... we provide motivational courses for the Indian community targeting the youths and parents. We didn't touch the RM4 million allocated for Tamil schools to conduct these courses."

She added that as the state exco for education, she strives to look after the educational needs of not only the Indian community but also all the communities in Selangor.

"The state government allocated RM16 million for all schools in Selangor, not RM15 million. Of this amount, RM6 million is for religious schools, RM4 million for public Chinese schools, RM2 million for private Chinese schools and RM4 million for Tamil schools," Halimah said.

"Though I am in charge of education in Selangor, Jayakumar himself volunteered to handle fundings for Tamil schools and I had no problem with it. Upon getting the consent of Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, I left it to him (Jayakumar) to handle it as I did not want to interfere with his job. It is not that I left out the Indians altogether."

Halimah said now that she is back in charge of Tamil school fundings, she plans to hold a meeting with all 97 PTA representatives of Tamil schools to discuss the funding issue.

"I want to hear their grouses. I am trying to get the menteri besar to sit in this meeting," Halimah said.


By G Vinod
Source: Free Malaysia Today

NGOs: Not a Single Tamil School Left Out

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 07:00 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR:  Not a single Tamil school in Selangor was left out in the programmes carried out by the three NGOs, which were given RM1.6 million by the state government.

Coordinator of the programmes K  Arumugam told FMT that at least two programmes were held at each of the 97 schools in the state and were carried out between June 2009 and March this year.

He said out of the RM1.6 million allocation, RM464,785 was utilised for programmes initiated by the Tamil Foundation, RM558,293 by the Educational Welfare and Research Foundation (EWRF) and RM613,622 by the Child Information Learning Development Centre (Child).

Arumugam said besides focusing on standard four to six pupils, several programmes were drafted for pre-school children as well.

Between (June 2009 and March 2010), four progress reports were submitted to Menteri Besar  Khalid Ibrahim, including audited reports of how the funds were utilised and for what programmes.



"We had been informed by the MB's office that all out reports were tabled at the state exco meeting and copies were given to all exco members.

"We were also told that the MB was pleased with  how the money was spent and even last Saturday's meeting with the Parents-Teachers Associations chairmen was arranged by his office to provide them with more details on this matter," said Arumugam.

He said PTA chairmen who want further clarification could approach the MB's office.

Money came in stages

Arumugam revealed that the total cost for the programmes was RM2.3 million, and the NGOS had raised the balance amount on their own.

Explaining the programmes, he said the first step was to run a survey of all 97 schools in terms of land status, logistic needs and academic achievement.

He said the money was never paid directly to any schools or PTAs but was utilised by the NGOs for the programmes.

"It's wrong to have the impression that the NGOs were given RM1.6 million in cash, the money was paid in stages based on the progress reports submitted to the state government," he added.

Arumugam said the state government had allocated RM4 million, where RM2.4 million was directly chanelled to the schools.

He also disclosed that the state government had allocated another RM1.7 million to continue the programmes and the three NGOs were working towards how to utilise the funds more effectively without compromising on the quality of the programmes.

Arumugam also denied that the NGOs were biased in selecting schools for the programmes, adding that schools with lesser programmes during the first phase would be given priority during the second phase.

On the allegation by PKR Kapar MP S Manikavasagam that only one school in his constituency benefited from the programmes, Arumugam said the MP should check his facts first.

"Manikavasagam can get the details from the state government, we have been answerable to every single sen we had spent," he said.

Meanwhile, EWRF adviser S Pasupathi told FMT that last Saturday's rowdy meeting would not deter the NGOs from serving the community.

"We are committed and nobody can stop us. We are genuine with no personal agenda," he said.

By: S Rutra
Source: Free Malaysia Today

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