FALSE SMS ON TEMPLE DEMOLITION

Yesterday, I was shocked and dismayed over a sms text, which was making its rounds in the Klang Valley alleging that Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur had demolished a temple at Jalan Masjid India. The sms was incorrect and I think was just to provoke the community into reacting. I held a press conference at the site of the said temple to clarify the issue. I did this in my capacity of the Federal Territories deputy minister. Below is a Bernama story on the matter.

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Federal Territories Deputy Minister Datuk M. Saravanan today urged Hindus not to fall for an SMS text in circulation, stating that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had demolished a Hindu temple located near Masjid India, here.
He said DBKL's enforcement unit had only demolished the old structure of the Arulmigu Sri Bathrakaliaman temple today, after allocating a piece of land to enable the temple authorities to carry out the relocation exercise.
"The new temple is just beside the old one and all the deities have been
moved to the new temple.
"DBKL today only demolished the empty structure of the old temple which was not utilised by the temple authorities. So, accusing DBKL of demolishing a temple is totally wrong. They only tore down the structure of the old temple, without any deities inside," he told reporters after visiting the site here, today.
Saravanan, who is also MIC information chief, said DBKL, which came under the ministry' purview, had on several occasions given notice to the temple management on the demolition exercise to make way for a road widening project in Jalan Masjid India.
The temple management chairman, Kanmani Undalam, through a letter to DBKL
had asked the authority not to demolish the old temple before Oct 31 and promised to vacate the premises on or before the said date.
Copies of the letter was furnished to the media during Saravanan's visit.
Following the request from the temple management, DBKL security and enforcement director Rolan Abd Rahman, in a letter replied that DBKL had agreed to the terms of the temple management and would not demolish the temple before Oct 31.
Saravanan said Rolan's letter also specifically stated that the old temple
structure would be demolished today, Nov 3.
"Spreading the SMS saying that DBKL had demolished a temple is a total distortion of truth. It is the work of irresponsible people. Notice had been given. A new temple is just beside the old one and furthermore only the structure of the old temple was demolished. That is the truth," he added.
Saravanan said the ministry would keep to its assurance that no place of worship in the federal capital would be demolished without proper relocation.
-- BERNAMA

Indians Need a Sense of Belonging

From my observation over the last eight months since taking office as deputy minister, I realise that Malaysian Indians do not have a sense of belonging towards the government of the day, in this case the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). We used to feel that we belonged to the BN, but this is not the case anymore. This is not because the community has changed it's mind overnight or that it has been influenced by the Opposition.
It has more to do in the way in which the BN has operated in the last decade or so. BN leaders at their meetings do not sense this because the comradeship is strong. The feeling of belonging is even stronger at this level. Meetings are conducted in an open manner. Leaders are more open minded when issues are discussed. There is no Indian, Malay or Chinese distinction. That is good and well.
But if one is to go down further, the spirit of togetherness deteriotes. The case in point is the civil sector. When an Indian walks into a government office, immediately he or she gets hostile based on the surroundings. Whatever the leaders are promoting gets lost down the line. The spirit of togetherness, that we are all Malaysian regardless of race and religion, is lost at government offices. All we see is that the offices of public service being dominated by a single race.
This results in Indians and other races to feel detached from the government. The sense of belonging is lost. Whatever, we do outside as politicians, whatever we promote, whatever slogans we come-up with becomes totally useless. When a person, may he be Indian, Chinese or any other race walks into a government office, he or she should feel welcome. The person must feel that he or she had walked into a place that could offer help. The feeling that their problems would be solved must be there.
As a first step to remedy the situation, I suggest that each govenment department has a director or deputy director who is an Indian. This way, even if the lower rung staff are unable to offer sincere help, Indians can always look up to the said director or deputy director to solve their woes. This would also enable the government to have a true picture of Indians on the ground. These directors or deputy directors would be able to bring-up problems and issues confronting Indians at the department level and higher-up.
It could also be part of the government to increase Indian participation in the civil sector, especially in the higher category. Creating the post of director or deputy director at important government departments would not be a huge task for the powers that be and the cost mininal. But the returns would be huge, in this case, the support of Indians, which deserted the ruling coalition at the March 8 General Election, as they would feel that they belong to the system.

Deepavali Is Over and It's Back To Work

First and foremost, let me say that the DPM's visit to Brickfields the other day was a success. He promised to look into the problem of Indians without birth certs and ICs. Najib also promised to look into the grouses of the Indian community, which he admitted had several unresolved problems. I look at this development in a positive manner, since it came from a man who is going to be Prime Minister in March. He has also taken interest to our suggestion that Brickfields be developed into a Little India. The cabinet has given approval for this to take-off.
On another front, Deepavali is over and it is back to work. There is lots to be done. Not only in my Ministry but also in the MIC. Will blog soon. Take care and be safe on the roads please.

Deepavali Celebration

Firstly, my apologies again for not blogging regularly. I hope those following the blog will forgive me for not updating it as frequently as I used to. Work is catching-up and the more I do the more it keeps piling up. My sincere apologies.
For the information of all the Federal Territories Ministry would be organising a Deepavali carnival celebration at Brickfields on Thursday, 23nd Oct at about 5pm. The event would be graced by the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. All are invited to participate in this event. This would be the first time that a Deputy Prime Minister is attending such an event organised in Brickfields by the Ministry.
I would deliver a welcome address followed by the Federal Territories Minister's speech and then Najib would say his piece. Hope he would give us some good news on issues besieging the community, especially that involving our participation in the civil sector, equity ownership etc.
Please feel free to drop by.
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all Hindus a Happy Deepavali. May the festival of lights, brighten our future ahead in the year to come.
Thank you.

Power Transition On The Go

First and foremost, my apologies for not updating the blog over the last nine days. All comments, which are deemed "publishable" are up.
Now back to the current on-goings. Last week the Prime Minister announced that he would not seek re-election for Umno presidency in March next year. This would mean that the Deputy Prime Minister would move up a rank and run for presidency. The talk among Umno circles is that vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin will be Najib's running mate and from the looks of it, this will become a reality. Umno divisions have started the nominations and so far nominations have come in only for Najib and Muhyiddin combination.
Well, some will ask me why I am wasting my time talking about Umno. This is not a waste of time as convention has it, that the Umno president and deputy will eventually become PM and DPM. And that is important to all Malaysians.
On another front the Opposition leader has said that he would still take over the government by end of the year. First it was Sept 16, then by end of Sept, and after that it was Oct 13, the day Parliament begins its final sitting for the year.
Now it has become by end of the year. Hope he just plays an effective opposition leader than setting dates. Maybe, he should get into prediction, like Nostradamus or something, but the problem would be unlike the great Nostradamus, Anwar's predictions fail all the time!