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UMNO Should Act Against Those Trying To Wreck The Life Of My Young Son
PPSMI : No clear answers from the Ministry
What happens to Malaysians when US goes to war in the Middle East?
Retain PPSMI As An Option
BREAKING NEWS: Penan block logging road in Baram, Sarawak

UMNO Should Act Against Those Trying To Wreck The Life Of My Young Son

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 04:39 PM PDT

Press Statement by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Kuala Lumpur on 18.10.2011.

UMNO Should Act Against Those Trying To Wreck The Life Of My Young Son With Cruel And Barbaric Lies Just To Finish Me Off Politically To Prove That UMNO Is Not A 3D Party That Employs Desperate Dangerous And Dirty Tactics.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had declared during the Gerakan National Delegates Conference two days ago that BN had not given up on Penang and will go all out to recapture the state from Pakatan Rakyat. Following those Najib's declaration of intent, we see pro-UMNO blogs and some UMNO leaders carrying out a serial campaign in the internet to systematically not only character assasinate me but also cruelly dragging in my young 16 year old son with their lies.

My wife and I are furious that pro-UMNO blogs and some UMNO leaders have made or perpetuated false allegations against my young son of criminal wrongdoing. My family and I deplore these lies and fabrications against my young son as morally despicable and barbaric. UMNO should act against those trying to wreck the life of my young son with cruel and barbaric lies just to finish me off politically to prove that UMNO is not a 3D party that employs desperate, dangerous and dirty tactics just to cling on and retain power at any cost.

My son had transferred to St Xavier Institution in Penang from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Cina Heng Yee because I had promised him that he could transfer to the school of his choice if he scored at least 6As in his PMR. When he achieved that, he was transferred at the beginning of the school term this year in January 2011. My son wanted to go to St Xavier because he did not want to have his hair crew-cut as is required for Heng Yee students but wanted to keep his hair longer.

In this modern world, it is difficult for a young kid growing up, especially so when his father is a Chief Minister targeted daily by the pro-BN media. For a young kid growing up, to be maligned in such a beastly and cruel fashion publicly is unacceptable and inhumane.

My son is very shaken up by these lies. He has also not gone back to school for two days. I feel sad and that I am not able to protect my young son from these pro-UMNO ferocious beasts.

I urge these ferocious pro-UMNO beasts not to prey on the innocence of my young children. If you want to finish me off, do your worst to me but leave my innocent children alone. UMNO politicians have children too and DAP have never gone for their children and do not intend to so.

Amongst some UMNO leaders who highligted this shameful episode in the blogs is Bukit Gelugor(Penang) UMNO Division vice-chairman Dr Novandri Hasan Basri. He was then followed by many UMNO leaders rehashing the lies. Sadly even UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaludin joined in these shameful lies by poking fun at my son with this tweet:-

@Khairykj Khairy Jamaluddin
@PapaGomo Mungkin dia roboh Kampung Buah Pala sebab nak ganti dengan Kampung Buah Dada.
http://twitter.com/#!/Khairykj/status/125841671102529536

I hope those poking fun and spreading lies at my young son can look at themselves in the mirror as a father and ask whether they want their own child to suffer the trauma of such lies. My family and I reserve the right to take any further action to protect my family. In the meantime, my wife and I will try to heal my young son and pray that he will recover from having his innocence so cruelly destroyed by these pro-UMNO beasts.

LIM GUAN ENG

PPSMI : No clear answers from the Ministry

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 04:36 PM PDT

By Sandra Rajoo

Many felt disappointed and let down by the decision taken by the Ministry of Education (MOE) to abolish PPSMI. No matter how lengthy the arguments presented by the MOE, they still fall short.

Saying that teachers have to use Bahasa Malaysia to cater to students who do not understand English does not present a true picture of what is happening in schools. The problem does not lie entirely with the students; difficulty arose because of teachers' proficiency too. When PPSMI was introduced almost 7 years ago, no proper groundwork was laid to prepare for the transition. Teachers who had been teaching in BM all the while were forced to switch to English. Imagine the difficulty. The MOE implemented some programmes to help these teachers but unfortunately the momentum lasted only a couple of years. After that, as usual, everything died a natural death. By right, Heads of schools should have been tasked with ensuring that teachers conscientiously and continuously upgrade their proficiency, at the same time providing the necessary support. Lack of seriousness and commitment has led to the demise of good policies.

The MOE says the policy is 'flawed' but provides no lucid analysis to support this assertion. Surely such a pronouncement requires more substantial and clear arguments. Merely quoting two researches done by two university educationists in my view, is quite inadequate. Who the respondents were, which schools were involved, what the actual findings are etc., are not clearly outlined or explained. We would certainly like to read the actual findings in order to draw our own conclusions. Merely making general statements to justify a reversal of policy seems like a tactic to lull the unsuspecting public to go along with its ideas without question. The Ministry has a research arm, EPRD, but correct me if I am wrong, they did not conduct any study on this very important matter. Why so?

Notwithstanding all the arguments about English being the language of Science and Technology, doing away with PPSMI at this point when there is nothing to take its place where English is concerned, is short-sighted and unwise. The MOE keeps talking about its Strengthening English Language Usage (MBI) policy but so far nothing of value has come of it. The first Year 1 English textbook for 2011 produced for such a purpose was found to be riddled with so many language errors it had to be recalled in the middle of this year. Apart from the millions of Ringgit gone to waste, in those six months one can only assume our children had picked up some really bad English! So, how does this fit into the MBI aspiration? Considering that the Ministry has direct control over the publication of school textbooks, it begs the question as to why a Year 1 book can turn out to be such a mess. Can the MOE ever get the textbook problem sorted out? It remains to be seen.

The public is also appalled by the recent PMR English paper which was riddled with language mistakes as well. The Examinations Syndicate should be taken to task for this fiasco. Why is the Ministry not serious about its own MBI policy? How does it expect schools and teachers to respond if it cannot climb out of its own abyss of apathy and inertia?

Also, the hiring of a few hundred British and American teachers to 'help' us sounds grand but it is really an ad hoc measure. Is there a framework against which the outcome of this exercise can be gauged? Who is assessing the situation on the ground? Can we justify the amount of money spent? All these questions beg answers. One cannot turn decades of negligence into success overnight with the hiring of a few native speakers.

The MOE keeps insisting that parents should be more supportive. Contrary to what it believes, parents are all for making our education system a success. Many parents have argued for PPSMI to continue. At least give schools the option to choose. Good sense tells us that all parents will support good and sound education policies that come with proper implementation procedures. If such policies go against good practices, parents will be doing a disservice and injustice to their children and the nation if they do not voice their displeasure.

What happens to Malaysians when US goes to war in the Middle East?

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 03:27 PM PDT

By Hakim Joe

Let us be specific here. If the Americans get themselves involved in an armed confrontation with Iran, everybody in this world will be affected either directly or indirectly.

Foremost of all is the global oil supply. Iran possesses the third largest oil reserves in the world (151.2 billion barrels proven reserves as of 2011) after Saudi Arabia (264 billion barrels) and Canada (175 billion barrels). Iran is also the fourth largest oil exporter in the world today producing approximately 4.1 billion barrels a year.

When an oil exporting country goes to war, the oil stays in the country as it will be extremely difficult for an oil tanker to load up and leave its loading port without being noted by the opposing military forces. When Iran is in a conflict with either NATO or the U.S., the world loses 7% of the global oil exports and the simple economics of supply and demand will ensure that oil prices takes an upturn. Even if Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait agrees to increase production to deflate this artificial increase in oil prices (putting more supply onto the market), the spot market will still go up owing to the uncertainties of war and subsequently the futures market will follow suit. This could mean a less pronounced increase in global oil prices but an increase nonetheless.

For Malaysia (the country) and also as an oil exporter, the revenues will increase. This means more money for the government. For Malaysians (the people), an increase in oil prices equates an increase in oil prices as petroleum is only partially subsidized here at a fixed rate. Any other by-products of petroleum will increase in prices as well including plastic, hydrocarbon solvents, asphalt, lubricants, kerosene, wax, paraffin, etc. and these items are not subsidized. Transportation costs will go up, and together with it almost everything else as virtually all products have to be transported from the production sites to the distribution sites and subsequently to the retail sites. Rice, sugar, salt, corn, clothes, milk, flour, ice cream, Maggi mee, meat, vegetables, detergent, toothbrushes, batteries, shoes….I think you get the picture.

About the only one thing that possibly won't go up is your paycheck.

This phenomenon will not be distinct only to Malaysians but everybody everywhere on this planet with differing effects. Oil producing countries will be less affected but oil importers will feel the entire ferocity of the escalation in oil prices. This is not something new as global oil prices were driven from USD17/barrel to USD36/barrel when Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 1990 and continued to reach a peak of USD45/barrel in October before the price started to decline (after U.S. chased the Iraqi out from Kuwait). Same events happened during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom but the increase was less pronounced as both military operations ended rather quickly and were not prolonged affairs.

Oil prices reached USD145/barrel on July 3rd and peaked at USD147.27/barrel on July 11th, 2008 following concerns over the Iranian missile tests. It is about USD85/barrel these days. If global oil prices are able to reach over USD147/barrel because of the Iranian military testing their long-range cruise missiles, what will happen when Iran goes to war?

An armed conflict with Iran will not be a quick stint for the U.S. armed forces and this is a surefire recipe for a sharp increase in global oil prices. Good for Malaysia's economy, bad for Malaysians.

Retain PPSMI As An Option

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 02:13 PM PDT

By PAGE (Parent Action Group for Education)

Please email, share and/or share this with all your friends so that we can quickly collect the numbers that we need to transform us all into a voice loud enough to be heard. Hopefully with everybody's effort, we can make this go viral on the internet and strengthen our voice in the shortest time possible.

Dear Students, Parents and Malaysians,

MALAYSIANS APPEAL TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE OPTION TO LEARN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS IN ENGLISH (RETAIN PPSMI AS AN OPTION)

You would have heard by now that the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English (better known as PPSMI) will be abolished in January 2012. The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) has been in the forefront to champion the cause to maintain the policy for those who wish their children to learn these two (2) subjects in its lingua franca that is English.

Here is how the abolishment of this policy is going to affect you.

For Primary School Students

You have been learning Science and Mathematics in English since Standard 1, however when you enter into Form 1, you will have to learn these subjects in Bahasa Melayu until Form 5 and do your PMR and SPM in Bahasa Melayu. After SPM, you will revert the study of these two (2) subjects back to English.

For Secondary School Students

If you are entering Form 1 in 2012, then you have been learning Science and Mathematics in English since Standard 1, however in 2012, you will have to learn these subjects in Bahasa Melayu from Form 1 until Form 5 and do your PMR and SPM in Bahasa Melayu.

If you are entering Form 4 in 2012, be prepared ... you may have to switch to Bahasa Melayu for Science and Maths after learning these subjects in English for the past 9 years, do your SPM in Bahasa Melayu and then switch back to English when you enter college or university. Yes we know this is crazy and unless you are "super-adaptable", you will most likely be stressed out and confused. We have heard that the choice of language for Form 4 in 2012 may be determined by the Gurubesar of the different schools (???).

If you are not in Form 1 or Form 4 in 2012, there is no escape either. You WILL eventually be affected by the change when you reach Form 4.

If you have just completed your SPM in 2011, then you are in the luckiest group !!! You will be able to go straight into college and continue to do these subjects in English.

For Parents and Malaysians in General

After only a few years of implementing PPSMI and despite strong evidence that PPSMI is good for our students and Malaysia's future generations, the Government has decided to change its mind and will abolish this policy in 2012. They think that it is best for ALL Malaysian school children NOT to learn Science and Mathematics in English. They actually believe that learning these two subjects in Bahasa Melayu is adequate and equivalent (or better) than to learn it in Englsh !!! ???

The sad truth is that despite the constant voices that they hear and read wishing for the option of PPSMI, the authorities seemed determined to proceed with the abolishment with the excuse that PPSMI will be replaced with another policy known as MBMMBI, to improve the standard of English amongst Malaysian students.

They keep missing the point (maybe on purpose) that we want PPSMI, not to improve the standard of English but rather, we want PPSMI simply because of the need to learn the subjects of Science and Mathematics in its lingua franca, that is English, for our children to be globally competitive, and for our nation to progress in the desired direction and speed.

In realising that perhaps the voices speaking out for the retention of the PPSMI policy (for those who want it) are too soft or too sporadic, PAGE Malaysia has decided to go all out on a nationwide wide and international campaign to reach out to as many Malaysian students and Malaysians wherever they are in the world, to come together as one and to build up the voice of the "silent majority" to inform the authorities that there exists a large and substantial number of Malaysian citizens (children and adults) would like to have the option for our students to learn Science and Mathematics in English.

We are not against the MBMMBI policy nor are we against the wishes of other groups who prefer to learn Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin or Tamil.

We are simply asking to be heard and for the right to have the freedom of choice for an option to learn these two subjects in English, alongside Bahasa Melayu, Mandarin and Tamil.

WHERE AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR PREFERENCE KNOWN

PAGE Malaysia has specially set up two (2) separate platforms for Students and for Parents and Malaysiansto register their wishes.

Students are requested to visit : http://goo.gl/QHd42
Parents and Malaysians are requested to visit : http://goo.gl/cFSlD

    2012 is just a mere two (2) months away … do visit the website, complete the form today and make a difference !!!
    Please email, like and share this with all your friends so that we can quickly collect the numbers that we need to transform us all into a voice loud enough to be heard.
    Hopefully with everybody's effort, we can make this go viral on the internet and strengthen our voice in the shortest time possible.

Thank you.

PAGE
Parent Action Group for Education (1266-10-WKL)
pagemalaysia@gmail.com
www.pagemalaysia.org
For Our Children. Demi Anak Kita

BREAKING NEWS: Penan block logging road in Baram, Sarawak

Posted: 17 Oct 2011 12:03 AM PDT

By Bruno-Manser-Fonds

We have just received the news that the Penan communities of Ba Abang and Long Kawi in Sarawak's Middle Baram region have started blockading a logging road to prevent the further felling of their rainforests.

According to community information received by the Bruno Manser Fund, the blockade has been erected last Thursday, 13th October 2011, and has been attended by more than 70 Penan tribespeople. The blockade is located near the Ba Bunau river within the claimed Native Customary Rights land of the Ba Abang community. It is mainly directed against Interhill, a Malaysian logging company based in Miri, Sarawak. Interhill is also known to be the owner of the Pullman 5-star hotel in Sarawak's capital, Kuching. The Pullman Kuching hotel is being operated by the French Accor group.

The Penan accuse Interhill of particularly aggressive and environmentally destructive logging during the past months. Several attempts by the communities to nego! tiate with Interhill responsibles have failed. Interhill had already been accused of similar conduct in 2009. An independent study commisioned by the French Accor group showed at the time that Interhill had been involved in illegal and unsustainable logging practices. Following pressure from Accor's sustainability department, Interhill promised to better its conduct but has obviously failed to live up to its promises.

The Bruno Manser Fund has learned that Interhill called the police and forestry department officials to dissolve the blockade but the Penan are currently upholding their protest. In December 2009, six Penan communities of the Middle Baram region jointly filed court cases to claim land titles over their customary land and asked for the logging licences to be declared null and void. The cases are currently pending at the Miri High Court.

The Bruno Manser Fund is calling on the Interhill management to instruct their staff to! immediately stop the destructive logging of the Penan forests and to send a high-ranking delegation to the blockade site to apologize for the company's conduct. We are particiulary disappointed to learn that Interhill failed to live up to the promises made to the French Accor group and to the international community two years ago.

Your BMF campaign team

For more information, please consult:

www.stop-interhill.com

Kredit: www.malaysia-today.net

Selasa, 18 Oktober 2011

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News

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