Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
| An open letter to the Minister of Education - SM Convent Bukit Nanas Posted: 17 Dec 2011 10:59 PM PST The mission schools in Malaysia are owned by the mission authorities, however the operations are now managed entirely by the federal government. This however does not preclude for a break in the terms of the pre-agreed contract and it is not merely unlawful, but extremely insensitive, offensive, and disrespectful to all parties involved that the appointment was made at the autocractic discretion of the FT Education Department, with no consultation of the members in this decision-making process. By Dr. W. Vinita Perera DVM, MRCVS - an old girl Convent Bukit Nanas Dear Sir, I wish to bring to your attention the deep concern being conveyed, regarding the approach taken in the recent appointment of the new principal at SM Convent Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur. Before this is turned into yet another debacle of ethnicity and creed by any quarter, I look forwards to your timely and wise intervention to resolve the matter objectively. The points of contestation is as follows: The FT Education Department is in gross breach of the terms stated in the revised Royal Commission on Teaching Services Report which states:"The assignment and deployment of teachers for these schools, especially the head teacher, should be done only after consultation between the personnel management authority and the boards of these schools". Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad reaffirmed and pledged that the government would honour this again, to consult mission school authorities over the choice of school heads and teachers, at a meeting with the Heads of Churches in Kota Kinabalu in 1998. In this case - all parties involved - The Board of Governors, Parents Teachers Association and the Old Girls Association were all in the dark about this appointment. The recommendation submitted were completely disregarded. I am sure you are aware, SM Convent Bukit Nanas is a mission school. The mission schools in Malaysia are owned by the mission authorities, however the operations are now managed entirely by the federal government. This however does not preclude for a break in the terms of the pre-agreed contract and it is not merely unlawful, but extremely insensitive, offensive, and disrespectful to all parties involved that the appointment was made at the autocractic discretion of the FT Education Department, with no consultation of the members in this decision-making process. This move is perceived as a threat and a means of undermining the community which promulgate the ethos of excellence in education behind these schools. I look forward to your objective intervention toward a diplomatic recourse. A healthy dose of accountability by the FT Education Department with a formal apology, should reinstate our confidence in your ministry. Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty, Dr. W. Vinita Perera DVM, MRCVS an old girl Convent Bukit Nanas, Colorado USA |
| Posted: 17 Dec 2011 10:56 PM PST
Chia Thye Poh, 70, the longest-serving political prisoner in Asian history, was awarded the Lim Lian Geok (LLG) Spirit Award on 18 December 2011 by the LLG Cultural Development Centre. The former Singapore Member of Parliament was detained for 32 years from 1966 to 1998 by Lee Kuan Yew's government, a much longer term compared to Nelson Mandela's 28 years of detention. Kua Kia Soong (Adapted by Kua Kia Soong from The H-Block Song, 18 December 2011) "I am a proud yet simple man Chorus: Don't shed no tears for my plight "I learned of many years of strife (chorus) "They locked me up in sixty six (chorus) Chia Thye Poh, 70, the longest-serving political prisoner in Asian history, was awarded the Lim Lian Geok (LLG) Spirit Award on 18 December 2011 by the LLG Cultural Development Centre. The former Singapore Member of Parliament was detained for 32 years from 1966 to 1998 by Lee Kuan Yew's government, a much longer term compared to Nelson Mandela's 28 years of detention. The citation for the award read: "… for upholding his belief in democracy, without compromising and never losing faith throughout the 32 years of unjust detention without trial." In 1963, many activists in Singapore were arrested and detained. Chia selflessly stood in for a detained candidate in the general elections and was elected Member of Parliament on a Socialist Front ticket. He was thus also a Malaysian member of parliament from 1963 to 1965 when Singapore was part of Malaysia. A defender of the freedom of expression and justice, he was banned from entering Malaysia after he had delivered a speech at the Perak division of the Labour Party of Malaysia on 24th April 1966. He was arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) by the Singapore Government on Oct 29, 1966 which allows for indefinite detention without trial. In May 1989, he was placed under house arrest in the island of Sentosa for nine more years. After 32 years of incarceration, he was finally granted unconditional freedom on 27 November 1998. Immediately after his restriction order was lifted, Chia issued a statement condemning the ISA. Soon after, he went to Netherlands and completed his Master's and PhD degrees at the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague. Established in 1988, the Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award is the highest honour in the Malaysian Chinese community bestowed on those who live up to the spirit of Lim Lian Geok, the civil rights leader of Dong Jiao Zong in the fifties and sixties. His citizenship was revoked by the Alliance government in 1961 because of his opposition to the 1960 Rahman Talib Report that aimed to convert the Chinese secondary schools to national schools. Since his passing in 1985, Lim Lian Geok has been beatified as the "Soul of the Malaysian Chinese". |
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