Monday, June 23, 2008

Me And Tamil Schools

Firstly, I would clarify here that this posting is to reply to a few comments I got for the last posting about Dr Mahathir. Last week, I registered my younger daughter in a Tamil school in Brickfields. It was covered by Tamil papers, which printed it on Sunday. Enrolling my daughter into a Tamil school was one of my dreams. I wanted it! I did not do it just as a publicity stunt or to make my beloved daughter a pawn in the political game. I sincerely and truthfully did not know that by enrolling her in a Tamil school, I had become the only MIC leader, who had enrolled his or her child into a Tamil school. I don't care if I am the only leader who had done so. All I wanted was for my daughter to get a good education. I am a Tamil school "graduate" myself and I know the advantages of sending a child to the vernacular school. It was never my intention to make my daughter a showcase and to further my political ambition. This is my daughter we are talking about. As a parent, I care for her. I would not do anything to harm her or use her for my political means. This applies not only to my daughter but also all children in the country. Kids are not to be used. I was not brought-up this way and sincerely hope that all those out there who think that I registered her in a Tamil school for my own gains, to think otherwise. This is my explanation to the sensitive issue that some comments have raised.

p/s: Euro scores - Spain 0 Italy 0 (Spain won on penalties -- 4-2). Now the quarters are over, the semi final cast are: Germany vs Turkey and Russia vs Spain. My bet is a Germany vs Spain final. But then again, judging from the upsets at this Euro, I would not discount the possiblity of a Russia vs Turkey final or even a Russia vs Germany final, although it would be an anti climax.

18 comments:

ram said...

Dato
Dato thanks for you because send your children to tamil school.
When we learn the mother tongue, we learn the cultural aspects of our race.Tamil is now the third most widely-used language on the Internet, after English and Chinese.

All indians please send our children to tamil school.

Valge tamil school

Please visit our blog www.micyouthgopeng.blogspot.com

Premnath Agamutu said...

Datuk,

First, I admire the trust you have placed upon vernacular education. I am indeed shocked that no other MIC leaders (themselves being from Tamil schools mostly) enrolled their children in Tamil schools. We can be championing Tamil schools if we don't believe in them ourselves!

I think the comments accusing you of seeking cheap publicity are unwarranted and without basis. There will always be people who criticize absolutely everything for the sake of doing it.

Anonymous said...

Pls read www.mictoday.blogspot.com

L_J said...

Dear YB

Congratulations on sending your child to a Tamil school. One can learn English and BM later. The are, indeed, many ways and means to do this in Malaysia, but only few to learn Tamil.

LJ

p.s. I am not Tamil educated myself.

Anonymous said...

Whats the big issue here Saravanan? Thousands of other parents do the same and yet dont seek publicity.

Whats the use of sending to Tamil school when MIC has failed our schools, look at the malay school and look at tamil schools. MIC should disband and its MPs should have the guts to join DAP or PKR and stop being bullied by UMNO

karepu said...

Registering to Tamil school or not it's your personnel matter but then publishing in local dailies is another nonsense attitude. When the report said, "only mic leader" then for me its another nonsense attitude. There are so many mic leaders kids studying in Tamil school so why want to put a self proclaimed sentence? If mistakes has been done, just say it and move forward. Don't justify your mistakes. If you are genuine then you shall call the newspaper editor to voice your disatisfaction.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Ponnusamy,

So, by disbanding and joining the opposition, how would the MIC be able to help Tamil schools?

While you point fingers at the MIC, where are the Pakatan MPs who have been voted in? How many new Tamil schools have been approved, let alone built in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah? How many temples given land? No need to go so far. Has the infamous Kg. Jawa temple been rebuilt?

Unknown said...

Come onlah brader. I'm getting bored with your blog. I want to hear more important matter not a tiny issues. Up to you, where you want to enroll your kids and some of the tukang bodek [hopefully you didnt pay them to bodek you] are fanning you just for enrolling in school.

What is your comment about the notice to vacate given to the village folk "Indian Settlement" in Kampung Pandan?

Blogging not means you must write everyday but then if you want to write also, do it professionally. Take a serious matter to discuss.

Tell us what is your stand on Indian related issues? You run your self as a mafia to control the maica holdings meeting in last year so what is you stand on the issues now?

This are more important things to discuss. I think this will be the last visiting for me to your blog... really getting bored.

L_J said...

Dear Premnath

Don't talk - in terms of comparison - the pathetic performance of the MIC of 5 decades versus 100+ days of opposition rule in a number of states. Please don't, it is not very clever!

LJ

ஆதவன் said...

YB Dato,
Please visit my blog. There is a good news about you.
http://tamiluyir.blogspot.com/2008/06/blog-post_22.html

Thank you YB Dato.

Anonymous said...

Tamil School is a waste ...js look like a rubbish bin, its not important weather enrol ur children in or not , but how to attract them to enrol in , make Tamil school actractive.
Do u know that Tamil School in Kuala Pilah is like Reban Ayam? No way Im sending anhyone there...

Unknown said...

Mr.President,

Tamil school is not a waste, it's people like you whom made it a waste. Your mentality of not sending the kids to tamil school would abandon the initial concept of starting one.

We need more parents to willingly send their kids to tamil school thus it would improve the conditon of the school.

Whats the point of having one school per district if the parents send their kids to Malay or chinese school..support tamil schools ..if you want to see changes.

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,
May God be with you in your uphill pursuit.It was your personal choice to send your beloved child to tamil school.Our local dailies sensationalize it since you are a deputy minister and one of the three MIC candidates who won the recent election.Like a number of matured indians in this country i understand your point of view in this issue.
My dear sisters and brothers; we don't have to be arrogant and rude to our fellow indian.Our disatisfaction was towards British Rulers for not Protecting our right in the independence Malaya constitution where after 50 years many of our fellow indians are left behind economically,socially and politically.Recently many of our indians war wasn't against Samy Vellu but against many unsettled issues.Why should an adult indian voter getting angry with Samy Vellu after casting vote for him all these years.He didn't control our thinking or rational skills.
We are own own limits not Samy Vellu or MIC but our ownselves.when occasion arise we could not come to an agreement collectively.Only once in history we gathered in the name of HINDRAF.God Bless them.
Daily i came across indian youth whom failed to apply whateveraid,assistance,skills ,
courses and other aids offered by our goverment.I bow down to all our unsung indian heroes and ladies who extend their heart,shoulder and arm to assist these youth.
We should do whatever little we could for our community instead wasting our energy blaming Samy Vellu.remember 'to err is human(we do make mistakes) but to forgive us is God'Lets see Godliness in our mankind as preached by Swami Vivekananda.Good Luck.
amr

Novinthen said...

Im happy that Dato has chosen tamil school for his child.

Im sure dato's daugther will be in good hands for the next 6 years, as i was in SRJK (T) Jalan Sungai Pari.

Hats off to dato :)

Anonymous said...

Premnath,

You are nothing but a MIC apologist. In Penang so many tamil schools previously on state land has now been given title deeds, thanks Prof Rama, YB Rayer, YB Thanasekaran. Temples have also land provided to them, I myself belong to Hare Krishna Foundation in Batu Kawan benefited along with my foundation thanks to DAP govt changing the status of the land from state to our name on a nominal charge.

Funds for Kg Jawa temple has been released, land has been allocated, however temple building has not been started since your beloved UMNO racist govt has yet to allow temple builders from India to enter.
Correct me if I am wrong, but PR including the so called devil PAS has yet to break even one temple. How many temples have been desecrated by MIC and UMNO? Khir Toyo said MIC leaders agreed for temple to be broken. WHat a shameful party.

Anyway I commend M Saravanan for being upcoming with all our comments, and I strongly urge him to join DAP/PKR.

Premnath, you can meanwhile stay in MIC and play good boy to Samy.

Dr. PUNITHAN SHAN said...

Vanakkam,

Till todays date, there are 523 tamil schools with 105,618 students in Malaysia. Compare it to our population in Malaysia that is 1.8 million.If 20%+ are children aged 7-12. That is about 360,000. So not even 1/3 of our children is studying in Tamil schools.( i am sorry if my data is wrong)

We loudly crying that the government is not taking care of Tamil schools and MIC is not bothered about them. Are we taking care of it??? We not even willing to send our kids to Tamil school but complaining that the government not taking care of it. Y cant it be like, we show that we are concern before we demand from others.

TAMIL SCHOOLS AND TAMIL EDUCATION is NOT A WASTE!!!

P/s: i am tamil educated and i am a doctor to be.

Nandri,
Punithan shan

http://punithanshan.blogspot.com
http://schoolstamil.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

you may have not intended to have the story of your daughter enrolling in Tamil schools to be published in tamil papers, but it did. How can this happen? Who leaked the story? family, friend or the school?

anyways, this should be taken in a positive manner to motivate more parents to enrol their children in tamil schools.

Anonymous said...

I know that my input comes late. Anyway, I would like to say, “Good on you Saravanan for sending you’re daughter to a Tamil school.”

However I wish to make a few comments, I don’t know where Ram got his information form but Tamil is not the third most widely used language on the internet. After English and Chinese, it’s Spanish, Japanese, French and German, respectively. I really hope Ram didn’t go to Tamil school!

Premnath Agumutu has also got his facts wrong. Murugesan; your CWC member and now your Youth Deputy Coordinator has a daughter in Tamil school. She is now in STD 3. He enrolled his daughter three years ago without any fanfare. Now, that is a person who really supports Tamil school for its intrinsic value and not for some political gimmick. There many parents like him all over Malaysia.

Another comment I would like to rationalize is that of LJ’s; “One can learn English and BM later”. What! Might I remind you, we live in Malaysia and we are Malaysians?
When parents commits to send their children to Tamil schools, they not only commit to educate their children in their own language but also in the other two other necessary and pertinent languages, Bahasa Malaysia being the National language and English being the international language. How else are we to be at par or much less compete in the arena of higher education and later in vocation?

One of the many reasons why Tamil schools have become unpopular with the urban Tamilians is because of the substandard quality of Bahasa Malaysia an English speakers produced by these schools. We need a holistic approach of we want to preserve our vernacular schools. Such exclusive approach will only serve to further erode the popularity of Tamil schools. By the way linguistic expert like Noam Chomsky, David Crystal, Kachru and countless others agree that children are more adapt at multilingualism compared to adults. So when would LJ prefer our children to learn Bahasa Malaysia and English?

Poobalan has made a wise observation here, while it is good that MIC advocates the preservation and increase of Tamil Schools, shouldn’t they also be lobbying for suitable locations, taking into consideration logistics and population census?

Saravanan, I am not against you. I would really like to support MIC but please listen, what’s lacking with MIC is that it might have a vision but its aim and reach always misses the point. What MIC needs is good marksmen like yourself and Murugesan, as I believe the both of you together have a better aim for the greater good and progress of our community.

Regards
Adithya Nair.