Ong: Our ancestors contributed vastly GENTING HIGHLANDS: It is the contributions and hard work of the older generation that have enabled the Chinese community to live in a stable and harmonious environment in Malaysia, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting. He said it would have not been possible for Malaysian Chinese to play important roles in different fields in the country without the efforts of their ancestors. Compared to Chinese in other countries, he said, Malaysian Chinese was an extraordinary lot as their forefathers stood together with leaders from other communities to fight for the country’s independence. “Our community can actively participate in the mainstream of the country’s development as their roles and rights in politics, economy, culture and education are protected by the Federal Constitution. “We also enjoy the freedom of religion and this is the main reason the people could live in harmony in a multiracial society,” Ong said when addressing the Fourth World Zhuang and Yan Clans Convention here yesterday. Therefore, he said, it was important to maintain the unity among members of an organisation to continue its role in fighting for mutual benefits.

The MCA leader is losing all credibility and lacks substance in his speeches. As highlighted above, the fact remains that minority groups have limited roles and rights in politics, economy and education. The recent UMNO general assembly has clearly underlined the state of minority groups in Malaysia.

According to UMNO deputy chairperson as quoted by Malaysiakini,

"He said the founding of Umno in 1946 coincided with an agreement by the main three races whereby citizenship would be granted to the minority groups in return for their acceptance of Malay special priveleges. "

“Fifty-eight years ago we had an agreement with the other races, in which we permitted them to ‘menumpang’ (temporarily reside) on this land. In the Federal Constitution, our rights as a race have been enshrined.

“Let no one from the other races ever question the rights of Malays on this land. Don’t question the religion because this is my right on this land"

It has been clearly drawn that non Malays are only granted citizenships because we have accepted that Malays should have special priviledges. These special priviledges should never be questioned as this has been agreed upon by individuals 58 years ago. It is not open for debate.

It is this mentality among Malays that have resulted in the fact that more blatant racist policies are being implemented without fear. Why can't an issue discussed 58 years ago be openly debated? Times change and certain policies may then be obsolete. This reminds me of the water issue with Singapore. Why is Malaysia now demanding for a higher price for water when they have agreed on a price many years ago? It should be non negotiable as an agreement had already been signed?

But one thing for sure, after the UMNO General Assembly, I personally feel less patriotic being a Malaysian. How can I when I am obviously a second class citizen in a country I was born in? How can the burden of our forefathers who immigrated here be passed on to future generations? We are still being treated as "immigrants with citizenship". This is the pain of reality.

In the letter section in The Star,

Hospital visit a trauma for elderly folks SENDING elderly folks for an appointment at the University Hospital has become an ordeal for many. As we approach the entrance, cars are only allowed to drop off patients. How about those who need a wheelchair? The place to collect them is some distance away. Patients are made to wait along the corridor that has no air conditioners and where only two ceiling fans are placed at each corner. Blood testing is done on separate days. Medication has to be collected from the pharmacy, which is situated away from the clinics. In this age where even one child has no time to accompany his parents, with the way things are at the Universitiy Hospital, you need more than one person to accompany them. What’s the use of spending thousands of ringgit building a Trauma Centre when old folks are put through such trauma on every visit? LEELA, Batu caves.

There is little doubt that there are many limitations to the exisiting structures within the University Hospital grounds. There is much to be done to make it more disabled friendly. However, with the exception of enlisting major renovations, it may prove difficult to relocate certain departments. The above letter was clearly written out of frustration. Perhaps the lack of air conditioning or the long waiting time, something certainly ticked her off. The situation at University Hospital, in my opinion, is much better that any other hospitals.

Firstly cars approaching the entrance should only be allowed to drop passengers off. If they were to be allowed to park, then the traffic congestion will surely worsen. That is probably the last thing that is needed. Wheelchairs can be obtained from the clinics nearby for those in need. Putting wheelchairs along corridors will result in unnecessary obstruction and worse still may be left unattended in unwanted places, similar to grocery trolleys at supermarkets. Blood testing is usually done on a separate day to allow time for the results to become available. If it was done on the same day, then the patient would have to wait much longer in order for the blood to be tested and the results processed. The pharmacy for outpatients is only situated next to the clinics.The Trauma Center is certainly more disabled friendly.

Perhaps the frustration stems from the fact that other family members were not available to assist despite knowing that moving an elderly person is no easy task for any single individual. I feel that Leela should not have blamed the hospital but rather to appeal to other family members for assistance during visits to hospitals. This will lighten her burden and perhaps make future visits more bearable and pleasant. I sometimes feel that family members ignore their elderly when it comes to clinic appointments. This "chore" is left to one that probably lacks the strength to even manouvre a wheelchair. Caring for the elderly is the sole responsibility of immediate family members. They should make themselves available on such days. Certain more complex explanations can also be given to them, as many elderly patients may not understand or lack the mental capacity to absorb all that is being said.

Having said that, hospital authorities should continue to strive for a more disabled friendly hospital environment. Much needs to be done.

In The Star

UiTM students send rocket 400m into the air BY ELAN PERUMAL SHAH ALAM: Mechanical engineering students of the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) here fired a one-metre-long rocket into the skies and declared they had taken a giant step in the nation’s aerospace programme, yesterday. The solid-fuel aided rocket took off from the university’s stadium at 10.20am and travelled up to about 400m in the air before returning to the ground within 10 seconds. Project leader Mohd Izmir Yamin said it was part of their contribution to the nation’s aerospace programme....

My first reaction to this piece of news is to question the worthiness of such "achievements" in gobbling up a space in our newspapers. Nevertheless, I get a clearer picture of the state of our aerospace programme to date. If we are going to send an astronaut into space, how on earth is this going to be a giant step in our aerospace programme? I do not think that shooting a one metre rocket 400m in the air is worthy of any praise. This has been done by others decades ago and is hardly a secret. It would be a more credible news if our students had thought of a new way of launching a rocket or perhaps using alternative fuel to achieve a launch. I think we need to be more original in our approach. We have to learn fast from others but at the same time , not repeat the mistakes that have been made.

So my conclusion, big deal UiTM! You can do better than that, can't you?

Woman, mistaken for thieving monkey, shot dead by husband Timothy Leonard KUANTAN, Sept 21: THEY had been married for four decades, shared some of the most difficult times together and raised 13 children. And this had to happen. A 68-year-old housewife died after being shot by her husband who mistook her for a monkey raiding their mangosteen trees in Bentong.

This episode was not surprising considering the fact that many elderly men especially in rural communities still possesses licences to carry firearms. When I was a medical officer in such rural communities, encountering such individuals was common. They would request that I sign a paper indicating their fitness to continue carrying a firearm. One common flaw among such individuals is their age and with that their eyesight as well. When I refused to sign on the grounds that there is evidence of deteriorating eyesight, I would be scorned at. Remarks that I was not understanding and that I was destroying their livelihood were thrown. I had to be adamant. Nevertheless, I can almost guarantee you that those papers will eventually be signed by another doctor. So the question remains what is the criteria that must be fulfilled before one can carry a firearm?

Guidelines are not provided to doctors when individuals wanting to carry a firearm presents. So on most occasions, firearms licences may have been issued to individuals that are not fit to carry one. The case above illustrates that fact. There is little doubt that the husband above had a poor eyesight and he was unable to differentiate a monkey and his wife. What would happen if it was a child? The firearms laws need to be rectified and fully enforced here. My fear that if action is delayed, more of such cases would continue to surface.

It was finally acknowledged that the Brain Gain programme has failed. The reasons I think are fairly apparent. The perks and the managerial style leaves much to be desired. However, our Government appears to be still looking without rather than within the country for talents. What is the point of attracting talents from abroad when those in the country are leaving in droves?

The recent Budget ignored doctors completely. There is nothing to look forward to. The strategy should be to channel the resources that have been used to woo foreign based doctors to more concrete plans for local ones. There is much talent locally that have been totally ignored by our politicians who still feel that foreign is better! This mentality should have been left behind with the end of colonialism in Malaysia.

Malaysia would like to be a well developed nation even in medicine with their aspirations to link with CDC in Atlanta. Unfortunately, little do they realise that research requires cash, something that is hardly available with many research projects poorly funded. The Government expects good research at the lowest of costs. It makes it a hardly condusive environment for top notch researchers. We need to put our priorities in order. At the moment, the impression is that military gadgetary supersedes medical development.

The Government should do some soul searching. When the Brain Gain scheme is reviewed to better salaries, research grants, loans and infrastructure in December, please include local talents. It is time it believes in Malaysians in Malaysia rather than those who may not have Malaysian spirit at heart, abroad!

In the Star,

UiTM restrictions meant to improve bumiputra status Compiled by SUSAN TAM, S. ARULLDAS and SYLVIA LOOI UTUSAN Malaysia and Berita Harian highlighted the strong objections to a suggestion that Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) be opened to non-bumiputra students. In Utusan’s front-page report, Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh was quoted as saying that the Government would not allow non-bumiputra students to enrol at UiTM. He said the aim of setting up UiTM was to increase the number of Malay professionals, an idea agreed upon by leaders of all races in the past. “We can’t change; they have to remember the social contract. No compromises,” he said in an interview on Thursday. He was responding to Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s suggestion that UiTM be opened to other races as a multi-racial university would benefit the nation. Dr Shafie said UiTM was unlike other institutions. “The reality is that UiTM is an institution relating to the rights and privileges of the Malays. This can’t be questioned.” He also said that if the response of Chinese students to the Mara Junior Science College could be used as a yardstick, they might not be interested in enrolling in institutions like UiTM. “The response to the 10% quota for non-bumiputra students in the Mara college has been poor,” he said. In the Berita Harian report, UiTM Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah said he disagreed with Dr Ling’s suggestion. “But the final decision lies with the Prime Minister and the Higher Education Minister,” he said. Dr Ibrahim said UiTM was set up to balance the racial profile of graduates in the country. “Although UiTM is capable of producing up to 200,000 graduates to date, the numbers have yet to reach this target,” he said. “Up to today, we are unable to match graduates from other races, and you can imagine the situation if the enrolment was open to other races.” Dr Ibrahim also said that about 90% of all private institutions of higher learning in the country were owned by non-Malays. In public institutions, Malays make up a minority in critical fields and degrees offered,” he said. He said if graduates produced in Malaysia were only made up of one race, it could lead to political instability.

Reading this article only reaffirms the status of certain races in Malaysia as second class citizens. Despite the "noble" intentions of top politicians to raise the status of one race, stiffling healthy competition only helps perpetuate a race that remains oblivious to the fact that globalisation is here and competition from without will appear as a bigger threat than those within.

I am quite surprised as to the extent that the Government is willing to spoonfeed one race. In medicine, for example, post graduate training is not sparred from this racist scourge. Masters training is usually offered to doctors who have completed 3 years of service after one's housemanship training. Or so it seems. Now a special programme called SLAB (Skim Latihan Akedemik Bumiputra) is offering Bumiputra doctors a chance of entering the Masters training even if one had just completed housemanship. Perhaps an excerpt from this article at this site titled "Unhappy Doctors" sums it all.

Who are these specialist trainess anyway? A small number of them are under the SLAB program - Skim Latihan Akademik Bumiputra - a 'backdoor' way to admit Malay doctors into the specialist training programme. While other junior doctors serve in remote areas of Malaysia, completing their compulsory 'three year service as MO' before being qualified to apply for specialist training, Bumiputra doctors gain entry into UMMC right after their housemanship. Once the Bumiputra doctors are admitted into this programme, they are directly employed by UMMC at a salary scale higher than a fifth-year Health Ministry Medical Officer.

Top politicians often do not entertain remarks by others when it touches on "sensitivities" of special priviledges. How far are you willing to take it? Should it not be fair that doctors compete fairly for post graduate places? Or does this signify the inferior quality of doctors from one race? Even if this system is insisted upon, can't they also complete the 3 years compulsory training as do the rest of us?

This is a blatant racist tactic. It is unfair to many hardworking doctors. Trust me the unhappiness with the existence of this SLAB scheme is common. It is only silently frowned upon.

In the BMJ,

Websites are too complex to understand: Online health advice for people with diabetes is often too complex to understand, according to a study from Bath University of 15 internet health sites. NHS Direct Online was the hardest to understand, needing a reading age of an educated 16 year old. But the BMJ Publishing Group's BestTreatments scored closer to the reading age of a 9 year old—which is the average reading ability of people in the United Kingdom.

What caught my attention was not the essence of this report but rather the average reading ability in the United Kingdom. I would expect the UK to have a higher reading ability than that of a 9 year old!!! What would be the average reading ability in Malaysia?

In The Star,

In need of JPA loan for postgrad studies abroad I just graduated from Universiti Malaya with a degree in Civil Engineering. Having graduated top of my class with three awards presented to me during the recent convocation, I am about to embark on my postgraduate studies in one of the best universities in the world – Imperial College London. Unfortunately, I have failed to secure a study loan for my fees from the Public Service Department, the reason being that loans are not given for postgraduate studies. I am not even asking for a scholarship, and even with the loan given, I still have to bear the cost of living in London. This clearly shows the Government does not appreciate talent. Is this how it plans to deal with the serious problem of brain drain? TBC Taiping, Perak

The above letter demonstrates a frustration that is not uncommon among talented Malaysians. Despite lamenting on the problems of brain drain, serious initiative from the Government is sorely lacking. Many experts in their respective fields are leaving Government service and even the country due to lack of incentive and basic appreciative gestures from the Government. For example, the Government is trying to woo specialist doctors from overseas but at the same time, expand little effort in keeping existing specialists from leaving.

The Government needs to look more seriously into this matter. Policies from top politicians are not filtering down to the managerial level in the civil service. It needs to adapt itself to the current trend of globalisation where protectionist policies are bound to backfire. The Government also has to stop spoonfeeding certain quarters. It is only creating a generation of pampered and lazy workforce.

I am sure bright individuals like Toh will be plying their trade elsewhere. There is little point in remaining at a place where blatant discrimination is practiced and its inability to recognise talent is its forte!

Dr M: I made a PM’s decision PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was not going to lose sleep over the acquittal of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because he is convinced he made the right decision to remove the former deputy prime minister. ...............“In this case, as prime minister, I don’t have to wait until there is no reasonable doubt. I have every right to dismiss anybody on mere suspicion.”

Mahathir remains defiant. The judiciary did what they should have done many years ago. The fact remains that there was and still is little evidence to incriminate Anwar of those sodomy charges. How then can Mahathir dismiss someone based on mere suspicion? Should he then be remembered as a good PM if his actions were based solely on suspicion and hearsay? It has become incontrovertible that the Anwar saga was all a political ploy to remove a threat to the reign of Mahathir. It will be a blemish to Mahathir's glorious and unchallenged career as a PM.

It is fortunate that he is no longer a prime minister as his statement as highlighted above depicts the mentality of a dictator. How many loyal followers can you garner if you could potentially destroy them based on suspicion? The Malaysian public is no longer fooled by propagandas in the local media. It is rejuvenating to finally experience a new style of management in the Badawi administration. Let us only hope that he retains the humility and rational thinking that his predecessor obviously lost.