community February 11 — 13, 2011/ issue 11

Short memory, elephant’s memory

Bangi girl in Big apple

p 11 p 16

Tales from The sTreeTs

p 12–13

New home for Hindu templeBy Selangor Times team

shah alam: It will be a new dawn marking the closure of one of the most con-troversial issues to have struck the nation in recent years as construction of the new Hin-du temple in Section 23 starts on Sunday.

The Maha Mariamman temple, serving the religious needs of at least 2,000 people in the vicinity, will be moved from Section 19 to the new location.

Few can forget the cow-head protest in 2009 at the gates of State Secretariat building here as the racially-charged event gave the nation unwanted publicity.

News organisations across the globe im-mediately picked up the story, describing it as religious intolerance at its peak.

Despite the problems then, the State gov-ernment managed to find another spot in Section 23 nearer to the main road, and ac-cording to some, an even better location than the previous site in Taman Ixora.

Located on a 22,500 sq ft area, the bricklay-ing ceremony on Sunday morning will put an end to one of the most testing times for the

Selangor government un-der Pakatan Rakyat.

Undoubtedly one of the most relieved persons was temple chairman R . Selvakumaran, who had been waging a three-decade battle to find a new spot for the temple.

“I am just glad it’s over, after all the issues that arose over the last few years. We had sleepless nights then on how and where we were going to relocate but it’s finally over now.”

He expressed hope the local community would put everything that happened behind them and help to transform the temple into a place that meets the Hindu community needs.

“What has happened now is something we could not have accomplished a few years ago. Previously we were bogged down with red tape and it was very difficult to meet the people in charge. But it’s the opposite now with the relevant  people coming down to meet us to find out what we need.”

He said the PR government was very sup-

portive of the temple and this had prompted many people from across the political divide to get to-gether for a common cause.

Selvakumaran singled out Selangor executive councillors Dr Xavier Jayakumar and Rodziah

Ismail, and Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Samad as the most supportive by con-stantly keeping in touch with the temple committee.

He added that even the Selangor Develop-ment Corporation (PKNS) and Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) officers constantly checked on their needs.

“This is something you could not get before and I am happy that attitudes have changed.”

The former estate temple in Section 19 was forced to relocate after housing estates were built around it, leaving it awkward in a Muslim surrounding.

The previous State Government then pro-posed relocating it to an industrial site in

Section 22, despite objections by many people as it was deemed unsuitable.

However, the new administration noted the objections and scrapped the idea. A new site was then chosen in Taman Ixora, Section 23.

The issue then became politicised, culmi-nating in the cow-head protest.

A subsequent town hall meeting chaired by Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibra-him was also disrupted by a rowdy crowd and the State was forced to shelve the relocation.

Malaysia Hindu Sangam president R.S. Mohan Shan said although the incidents two years ago had caused serious damage to the country’s image, it was time to move forward and make the new temple a useful place for the Hindu community.

“It should not just be a place of worship but we must turn it into a community centre.”

He said nothing untoward should happen now as the current site had taken into account all aspects involving all races and religions.

“We are glad rational minds have prevailed and that the Pakatan government has given a good piece of land for the temple.”

PUT TO GOOD USE: Klang Municipal Council officers

Zulkifly Abu (left) and Shahruel Fahmi show off umbrellas and shopping

bags made from recycled Ah Long banners.

• Story on page 7

2 February 11 — 13, 2011

news

phone (603) 5523 2288fax (603) 5523 1188

email editor@selangortimes.com

EDITORIALCHIEF EDITOR KL Chan

COMMUNITY EDITOR Neville SpykermanWRITERS Tang Hui Koon, Chong Loo Wah, Rahmah Ghazali,

Gan Pei Ling, Basil Foo, Yasleh Hani Mat YassinCOPY EDITORS James Ang, Deborah Loh

DESIGNER Jimmy C. S. LimPHOTOGRAPHER Victor Chong

ADVERTISING Timothy Loh, Ivan LooiADVISORS Faekah Husin, Arfa’eza Abdul Aziz

Morning

Friday Saturday Sunday

afternoon

night

Selangor WeaTHer

Source: Malaysian meteorological department

By Chong Loo Wah

SHAH ALAM: Parents in Cheras have another cause for celebration this Chinese New Year as the state has approved land for a third Chinese vernacular school in Bandar Damai Perdana.

The approval for SJK (C) Connaught 3 was given as the other schools – SJK (C) Connaught and Connaught 2 – are already overcrowded.

The decision was made at Wednesday’s state executive council meeting and the Menteri Besar is expected to announce the decision at the state’s Chinese New Year carnival in Kajang tomorrow night.

The 2.27ha plot which was earmarked as a school reserve comes ready with four buildings including a canteen.

The developer surrendered the land back to the state in 2009 and the buildings are currently in good condition.

The SJK (C) Connaught school board had applied to the state for the land through Teratai assemblyperson Jenice Lee a year ago.

The school’s director, Ng Choon Hua, said the two existing schools had a student population of 2,500 and was bursting at the seams.

However, parents continued to ask for Ng’s help to enroll their children in the schools every year.

Now that they have secured the land from the state government, the school will be applying for a permit from the Education Ministry.

Ng added that they would appeal for donations from the Chinese community if the Education Ministry could not supply sufficient funds to operate the new school. 

New primary school for Cheras

One-stop centre for Indonesian labourBy Gan Pei Ling

SHAH ALAM: Selangor hopes to resolve its labour shortage in the industrial sector through an agreement s i g n e d to day wi th In d on e s i an authorities.

The agreement is between the Selangor State Investment Centre (SSIC) and Indonesia’s Konsortium Bahtera Malindo to source for Indonesian labour through a one-stop centre.

“Factory owners who need Indone-sian workers can go straight to SSIC’s one stop centre,” said Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in a press statement released in conjunction with the signing. Khalid is on a three-day visit to Jakarta to witness the signing.

Khalid said that Konsortium Bahtera

Malindo, which consists of three com-panies, is approved by the Indonesian government and is experienced in sourcing Indonesian workers for Malaysia.

Apart from resolving labour issues, Khalid also hopes to attract more investors to Selangor by stabilising the supply of labour.

The state has been losing foreign investments due to the shortage, said Teresa Kok, who is the executive councillor in charge of trade affairs.

“There are 60,000 factory worker positions waiting to be filled,” said Kok to Selangor Times.

The proposal to set up a one-stop centre for investors to secure Indonesian labour was put forth by SSIC last year.

Besides being a facilitator between investors and the workers, SSIC is also

going to set up a database of the workers in order to take better care of their welfare.

This collaboration with the Indone-sian consortium aims to raise the wages and quality of life of Indonesian factory workers in Selangor, apart from reduc-ing the inflow of illegal workers.

It would also help to train more In-donesians to become skilled workers, a “win-win” solution for both Selangor and Indonesia.

SSIC chief executive officer Datuk Jabar Ahmad Kembali will sign the memorandum with Konsortium Bahtera Malindo today.

Khalid and several state executive councillors are also in Jakarta to meet with investors and explore business op-portunities between the state and Indo-nesia.

Amenities missing from public hallsSHAH ALAM: Amenities worth RM384,776 have been reported missing from public halls in Selangor due to lack of accountability by village committees appointed by the previous administration.

“These Village Development And Safety committees ( JKKK) failed to protect public property in the halls,” said state executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar in a press statement.

The thefts happened after the March 2008 general election, and Jayakumar claimed that JKKK paid no heed when items went missing because they became indifferent due to the

change in government.The items stolen included computers, public address

systems and furniture.Xavier added that event wall mounted speakers, fans and

air conditioners had gone missing.He said the losses were reported to the state executive

council by the State Economic Planning Unit (Upen) which obtained input from seven district and land offices throughout Selangor (excluding Petaling, Sepang and Sabak Bernam). 

He said the state would lodge police reports.

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By Alvin Yap

SHAH ALAM: Parliamentarians want the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) to ensure its open tender system for waste management is free from possible abuse.

This comes as allegations have surfaced that “certain council members” with links to the bidders may attempt to abuse the system when MPSJ starts awarding tenders directly.

Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood yesterday said she was among Members of Parliament who have received text messages containing allegations.  

“I stress that it’s an allegation, but we must have the assurance by the MPSJ president that the open tender system is vetted and approved by both a full-board meeting and the state exco.

“The mechanism and procedure to shortlist the bidders must also be approved by the State Executive Council,” said the Kota Raja MP at a press conference.

Dr Siti also suggested a “lottery system” be employed to ensure contracts were awarded fairly.

“Conduct a draw by lottery to randomly choose the shortl ist-ed bidders,” she said.

She, however, declined to disclose the identities of the people who had

sent the messages or those who are alleged to have colluded with the contract bidders.

MPSJ will replace Alam Flora in choosing and awarding contracts for sol id waste mana g ement in its municipality next month, when the current contract ends.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said that observers are asking how MPSJ will award a contract if five or ten companies have the same pricing

“They are saying that in such a case, council officials will be approached by

companies to approve their bids, or the former could ask for bribes to do so,” said Khalid.

There were about 7,000 bids from 1,120 companies, with 170 companies shortlisted, in this unprecedented move by MPSJ to open the lucrative solid waste management service.

The industry is worth some RM50-RM60 million, in both the Petaling Jaya City Council and MPSJ respectively.

The MPs said they will meet Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to discuss ways to strengthen the vetting process.

Ensure transparency for open tender system, say MPs

From left: Dr Siti, Khalid and Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne at the press conference yesterday.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ February 11 – 13, 2011 ⁄ 3

4 February 11 — 13, 2011

news

EvEntsSelangor Chinese New Year Carnival

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim will officiate at the Selangor Chinese New Year Carnival tomorrow. The carnival will be held at Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang, from 3pm-11pm. There will be cultural and dance shows, cultural booths, a Chinese cultural exhibition and traditional children games.

Free Eye Check

National Institute of Ophthalmic Sciences is offering free comprehensive vision screening at their NIOS Optometry Clinic. It is part of their service to serve the community in “Working Towards Eradicating Visual Impairment”. For an appointment, the public can call NIOS Optometry Clinic at 03-7718 1550. They will be operating from Mondays to Fridays from 9am-5pm and 9am-1pm on Saturdays. Venue: National Institute of Ophthalmic Sciences, 1st floor NIOS Office, NIO Building, Lorong Utara B, Petaling Jaya.

Blood Donation Campaign

YMCA Kuala Lumpur Youth will hold a blood donation campaign at National Blood Bank on Feb 25. Venue: YMCA KL, Lee Kong Chian Hall, 95, Jalan Padang Belia, Off Jln Sambanthan, Brickfields.

Scottish Dance

Join YMCA KL now and take up Scottish dancing! Classes every Tuesday. For more information, please contact the Sports Coordinator, Sharon at 603-22741439, or visit the website at www.ymcakl.com.

Raleigh KL’s February Monthly Meet!

Raleigh KL is having its monthly meet at Sg Pisang tomorrow. The meet is aimed at helping the environment by collecting trash. After the hard work, participants will get to relax at the waterfall and do some trekking. Participants are to pay RM5 for members and RM 8 for non-members. For more details, contact Shu Woan at monthlymeet@raleighinternational.org.my.

Shadow Kill screening

A screening of Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Shadow Kill will be held tomorrow at 3pm. Shadow Kill presents the story in 1940’s southern India, where a hangman named Kaliyapan struggles with the guilt and implications of the executions he obediently carries out. Starring Nizhalkuttu, the film is in Malayalam. An Indo-French Co-Production. Admission is by donation. Venue: Indicine, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre.

Al-Andalus Ensemble

Much of the musical roots forgotten by Europe is being brought back in the sensitive and evocative music of Al-Andalus Ensemble who bring to the stage a festival setting of flamenco guitar and oud, and a line-up of modern Andalusian dance as well as trumpet, vocals, piano, bass and drums. This concert is being held on Feb 14 at 8.30 pm. Admission is priced at RM138, RM98, RM68, RM38. Dress code is smart casual. Venue: Dewan Filharmonik Petronas.

Deftones Live In KL

Get ready to rock your Valentine’s Day with the quintet from Sacremento, US. Deftones will be performing live songs from their earlier albums such as Adrenaline to Around The Fur, White Pony and the latest Diamond Eyes. The concert will begin at 8.30pm. Tickets are priced at RM98, RM188, RM 258 and are available online from AirAsiaRedTix at www.airasiaredtix.com and TicketPro at www.ticketpro.com.my Venue: KL Live Centre, Jalan Sultan Ismail.

Torch Song Massacre ~ Battle of the Sexes

Are all women moody? Are all men jerks? In the battle for gender supremacy, many weapons of crass destruction have been employed by both men and women - and everyone in between - to get a leg up on the other. Get over your post-Valentine blues with The Annexe Gallery’s mad and heartbreakingly hilarious Torch Song Massacre, where everyone will die listening to those oh so tragic love songs from Feb 17-22 from 8pm to 10pm. Entry is by donation. Venue: The Annexe Gallery, Central Market Annexe.

Selangor pushes for auxiliary policeBy Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: Selangor is still waiting for the Home Ministry to respond to its proposal on setting up auxiliary police units in the state to curb rising crime.

“Our offer is to contribute resources in a joint venture to protect the security of the people as that is a priority of the state government,” said Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

The Menteri Besar said he had written t o h o m e m i n i s t e r D a t u k S e r i Hishammuddin Hussein on Monday to express concern over rising crime, and to reiterate the state’s intention to

address the problem.Khalid said this was the second time

Selangor had written to the federal government with the state’s proposal. The first letter was sent to both the deputy prime minister and the home minister in July 2010, but there has been no response.

Under the proposal, the enforcement officers from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ ) would form the pilot batch of auxiliary police approved by the Home Ministry to act with limited police powers to prevent crimes.

MBPJ had already budgeted RM4.2 million for the programme but had to

shelve it when the home ministry refused to give the green light.

Khalid said recent cases such as where two security guards were slashed in Damansara Perdana and a pregnant woman who was allegedly slap and robbed by policemen, were alarming.

He added the situation demonstrated a clear need for additional security.

“The Selangor government’s intention is to provide security forces to assist the daily routine of police, not take over the enforcement duties of the police force,” he said.

He said an increase in manpower for patrol and crime prevention will help safe guard security for communities.

Decision on water agreement put off

By Gan Pei Ling

PUTRAJAYA: In what water activists described as an “anti-climax” yesterday, the Court of Appeal postponed its decision on the declassification of a water concession agreement to Feb 25.

The Court of Appeal was supposed to decide yesterday whether to uphold a landmark High Court judgment to make public the concession agreement of Syarikat Bekalan Air Sel-angor (Syabas) and its audit.

“We didn’t really had time to deliberate on the case due to our workload this week … we would like more time to deliver a more mature decision,” said judge Datin Paduka Zaleha Zahari.

The two other judges on the panel are Datuk Seri Abu Samah Nordin and Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus.

“This is anti-climatic, but it’s a good sign that they want to spend more time to deliberate on the matter,” said Charles Santiago, coordinator of the Coalition Against Water Priva-tisation (CAWP).

Concerned with rising water tariffs, the coalition had filed a suit in 2007 to request the declassification of the concession agreement signed between Syabas, the Federal and Selangor government as well as Syabas’s audit report.

CAWP, which includes the Malaysian Trades Union Con-gress, won the case when the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled in their favour in a landmark judgment on June 28 last year.

The Energy, Water and Communication Ministry had consistently refused to declassify the agreement and Syabas’ audit report because they were confidential and considered official secret.

However, in a 19-page judgment, judicial commissioner Hadhariah Syed Ismail said the documents “contain no infor-mation detrimental to the national security or public interest”.

In addition, as the concession agreement and Syabas’ audit are of public interest, Hadhariah had ruled that the documents should be made public in the spirit of transparency and ac-

countability. The Federal government had appealed against the High

Court’s judgment and requested a stay of execution to declas-sify the documents.

Santiago, who is among the 14 plaintiffs, remains confident that the Appeals Court will uphold the High Court’s judgment.

He said Hadhariah’s judgment was well-reasoned and up-held the public’s right to information.

Among the 14 plaintiffs were two children – Darryl Chong, now 13, and Dhiwan Sathiveloo. Chong’s father, Peter Chong, was also at the Appeals Court yesterday.

He said the children were included as plaintiffs as the case affected their right to clean and affordable water in future.

Syabas supplies water to Selangor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. The company is allowed to raise water tariffs peri-odically based on the concession agreement.

The company had requested a raise in tariffs by 15% in 2006 as it claimed in its audit report it had managed to reduce non-revenue water by five percent. Non-revenue water is water lost through leakages, faulty meters and theft.

CAWP was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and the Federal government by Datin Azizah Nawawi.

Santiago (centre) speaking to reporters.

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ FEBRuaRy 11 – 13, 2011 ⁄ 5

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6 February 11 — 13, 2011

news

Sri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (right) and Purushothaman.

Residents appeal for new Tamil schoolBy Alvin Yap

PETALING JAYA: Parents and teachers of SJK Tamil Seaport which is marked for relocation to K a m p un g L i n d un g a n w a n t authorities to expedite the move without further delay.

The school, which is to be relo-cated to PJS6 from its current site in Kelana Jaya, was to have been built in 2008.

The 0.44 hectare site has been allocated by the Selangor Develop-ment Corporation (PKNS) and is supposed to be built by the federal Public Works Department (PWD).

“We need the school to be built fast to cater to students who are waiting to enroll,” said R Purush-othaman.

The school’s Parent Teacher As-sociation chairperson is also appeal-ing to the PWD and Education Ministry to increase the number of classrooms for the new school from 18 to 24 to cater to greater demand in enrollment.

He pointed out that there was a large Indian community in the sur-rounding areas of Kampung Lind-ungan, Desa Mentari and Taman Dato Hormat.

About 600 students are expected to enroll in the new school com-pared to the 112 at its present loca-tion.

Purushothaman added that the current school was also no longer conducive because it buildings were run down and it did not have a field.

Bordering a monsoon drain, monitor lizards and snakes are often seen in the compound.

Parents feel the school’s new loca-tion in PJS6 was would better serve the Indian community in Petaling Jaya.

“There aren’t many Tamil lan-guage secondary schools nearby,” said housewife and mother of two, Rajeswari Maruthamuthu, 46.

Some students now travel to the Sekolah Wawasan Tamil primary school in USJ 15, or to the Vive-kananda secondary school in Jalan Templer.

Sri Setia assemblyperson Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the new school will also help reduce trans-portation costs that some parents have to pay.

“A family of three school-going children would have to spend RM300 a month for transport,” he said.

SJK Tamil Seaport, as a Tamil vernacular school, is not fully-funded by the federal government, and relies on donations and funding from community members.

The state government recently donated RM39,000 for the pur-chase of desktop computers.

Penang Economic Monthly is a monthly magazine dedicated to socio-economic issues in Penang, offering reliable socio-economic data as well as informative articles on the arts,the industry, culture and social issues that are relevant to today’s generation of Malaysians.

Available nationwide at bookshops and newsstands. www.penangeconomicmonthly.com

Tracking the pulse of Penang

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A family of three school-going children would have to spend RM300 a month for transport.”

Higher allowance for religious teachersSHAH ALAM: The state government has approved a increase allowance of RM300 monthly for Quran and Fardhu Ain teachers (KAFA) serving in Religious Primary schools (SRA) and Religious Primary Inte-grated Schools (SRAI).

With the increment, KAFA teachers in SRA and SRAI will receive a total of RM1,300 in allowances. The increment came into effect on Jan 1.

“The monthly allowances will cost the state govern-ment more than RM14 million a year,” said Menteri

Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim after the state executive council made approved the increase at its weekly meeting on Wednesday.

“The state government hopes that the increment will be an incentive to the teachers,” said Khalid.

The increment affects some 3,935 KAFA teachers in 208 SRA and 11 SRAI institutes of learning in Selangor.

 Currently, KAFA teacher in SRA and SRAI re-ceive a monthly allowance of RM1,000.

7February 11 — 13, 2011

news

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Ah Long banners put to good useBy Basil Foo

KLANG: Banners advertising loan shark services are made into umbrellas, just one of the many novel things the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) is doing to promote recycling using confiscated items.

“Plastic is not biodegradable, and when dumped into landfills they tend to cause underground fires,” said MPK secretary Mohd Ikhsan Mukri.

Recycling the plastic ban-ners has proven an efficient and environmentally-friendly way to dispose of the confis-cated items.

Mohd Ikhsan said the council’s enforcement de-partment, which seizes the banners, has also created items like letter holders and shopping bags from the ma-terial.  The recycled items can be found in the council building’s lobby where they were put on display and pitched for use internally among staff.  “After a trial run and taking into account their durability and effectiveness, we are considering mass production and to market the products to the public,” he said.  The council has also come up with other innovations using confiscated material. One is a device to trap crows, produced by the council’s Wild Animal Control Division and Department of Health.  These have been created using scraps of wood and metal from illegal roadside stalls that have been demolished.  “Using rec ycled materia ls in the production of these traps helped us reduce costs,” said MPK health director Zulkifli Abbas.  The traps have proven more effective at controlling the crow population in Klang, compared to the previous method of hiring private companies to do the culling.  “Previously the council spent RM45,000 yearly on crow shooting programs which resulted in 7,000 crows killed last year,” said Zulkifli.  “The trap costs only RM600 to produce

and when used at Port Klang and Tanjung Harapan last December, it managed to catch 100 crows per trap daily,” he added.  The council plans to use the traps at seaside locations where there are a lot of trees and seafood restaurants.  Scraps of metal have also been used to create rubbish bins to replace the large garbage containers and plastic bins currently in use.  “These metal bins were welded by our staff and cost RM15 each; cheaper than plastic bins which cost RM250 each and are vulnerable to vandalism,” said MPK Environmental Department head Wan Mohd. Sofian.  So far 250 units of the metal bins have been produced and stationed at various spots like Plaza MPK and Tanjung Harapan since October last year.  “These creations using recyclable items have been innovations by our own staff requiring no cost of engaging outside consultation,” said Mohd Ikhsan.  “Hopefully our implementation of these items could be used to improve the cleanliness and livability for the residents of Klang,” he added.

A crow trap made from recyled items.

A public dustbin made

from scrap metal.

Express your municipality or utilities complaints... let our reporters get a response.

email to editor@selangortimes.com

The trap costs only RM600 to produce and when used at Port Klang and Tanjung Harapan last December, it managed to catch 100 crows per trap daily.”

8 february 11 — 13, 2011

NEWS

‘Hostel’ raising a stinkBy Alvin Yap

SUNGAI BULOH: A massive stink from raw sewage is making life unbearable for residents in Kam-pung Matang Pagar.

The owner of an illegal hostel has resorted to digging up excrement from the clogged and overflowing septic tank on his premises and dumping it into the drains in the surrounding area in a village near Sungai Buloh.

“I was washing my clothes around 11am when I saw men pour-ing buckets of ‘brown sludge’ down the drain that flows outside my restaurant,” said  restaurant owner  Cheah Yoon Mei, 45.

“When I got a whiff of the  strong smell, I knew they were dumping excrement into the drains. I told them to stop,” said a visibly upset Cheah.

 A strong unpleasant smell wafts into the open-air restaurant when the wind blows across from the sur-rounding drains.

Cheah, who is from Kepong, said she was  lucky  to have stopped the workers from dumping the buckets they had used to dump the excre-ment.

“They were about to dump the buckets in an abandoned lot next to my kitchen,” said  Cheah.

The  smell also affects another restaurant owned by Wong Thiam Yow.

“I called the owner of the illegal hostel and he said his workers were dumping the excrement in the jun-gle,” said Wong, who  saw them dumping the excrement about 50 metres away from the illegal hostel.

Wong, whose restaurant is next door to the illegal hostel, led Selan-gor Times reporters to an abandoned lot further up the road.

Heaps of excrement were piled up, causing passers-by to pinch their noses when they walked past the “dumping” ground.

A van converted into a schoolbus passed by, and schoolchildren inside the vehicle were seen pinching their noses in disgust.

Residents said they have put up with the stink for a year now, as the illegal hostel’s septic tanks often overflowed.

The  hostel, originally a two-storey building, has an illegal exten-sion, making it a three-storey struc-ture.

Wong said the septic tanks for the two-storey illegal hostel couldn’t handle raw sewerage from 60 peo-ple.

K K Tham, assistant to state ex-

Top: The dumping ground for excrement which has angered residents. Right: Restaurant owner Cheah Yoon Mei.Far right: The septic tank at the illegal hostel.

ecutive councillor Teresa Kok, said he complained to Selayang Munici-pal Council (MPS) on the same day.

Tham said he called the council’s Health Department but was told that they did not have an enforce-ment unit to address the complaints.

“This is bad service from MPS. They should stop making excuses and serve the people,” said Tham.

Selangor Times contacted MPS officials who said the council was not responsible in this instance as the illegal hostel was discharging waste matter into the drains.

The officials said Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) should act against the illegal hostel.

At press time, IWK could not return Selangor Times’ calls for com-ments.

Egypt unrest: Selangor offers courses to studentsSHAH ALAm: Selangor students who were withdrawn from Eg ypt can sign up for courses provided by the state while waiting to return to the country which is in turmoil.

Six to 12-month courses on English, Ara-bic, computer and business will be offered to the students, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid

Ibrahim announced on Wednesday.“The courses are free, the students will only

need to pay the registration fee,” said Khalid after chairing the state executive council meet-ing this week.

This is to ensure that the students can spend their waiting time here more beneficially, he

added.The state estimated that 1,200 students

from Selangor were studying in universities and tertiary institutions in Egypt.

“Priority will be given to the 600 state scholars sponsored by Lembaga Zakat Selan-gor,” Khalid said.

Dr Halimah Ali, who is the executive councillor in charge of education, will ensure the courses are ready for enrollment soonest possible.

The courses are expected to be held at Universiti Industri Selangor campuses in Shah Alam and Bestari Jaya.

9february 11 — 13, 2011

NEWS

By Basil Foo

klang: Ten families whose homes off Jalan Shapadu were de-stroyed by fire received financial aid and temporary housing on Monday.

“Each household was given as-sistance of RM500 from my own allocations,” said State Legislative Assembly Speaker and Sungai Pinang assemblyman Datuk Teng Chang Khim.

“Additional funds will be pro-vided by the district office after certifications,” said Teng, who pre-sented the financial aid to residents at Dewan Sungai Pinang public hall.

The hall was turned into a relief centre for residents to stay in after the blaze destroyed their homes on Sunday night.

Teng and Kapar Member of Par-liament S. Manikavasagam had gone to the scene after the fire to survey the damage and provide assistance to the victims.

For the residents who are unable to find housing, temporary resi-dence will be arranged in Pandama-ran at homes provided by the Klang Municipal Council (MPK).

“I was told MPK charges RM500 in rental … We will check if there are any vacancies,” he added.

Police were also present at the public hall to help residents lodge

reports and to re-apply for their personal documents lost in the fire.

The source of the fire has not been officially determined but is suspected to have started from a house which experienced a short circuit in the electrical wiring.

At the public hall, victims of the fire told Selangor Times of their expe-rience.

“We didn’t manage to save much except our lives and the clothes on our,” said Kamalarani Letchumanan, 35.

The fire started two houses away from her home and spread quickly, leaving her little time to grab only a few valuables like her handphone and identity card.

“I didn’t manage to save my 6-year old daughter’s birth certifi-cate. We also lost all our our other possessions like the TV set and jewellery,” she said, estimating her losses to be around RM18,000.

Having moved from Seremban a month ago due to her husband’s work as a lorry driver, she has no family or friends nearby and is de-pendent on the state government for help.

Jumali Kasman, 60, who also re-ceived the RM500 assistance, esti-mates his losses to be around RM30,000.

“I suffered a loss of RM10,000

By Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin subang jaya: Getting a crematorium approved and built here is a top priority of three-term Subang Jaya councillor K. Aru-mugam (pix).

“Currently there is no cremato-rium here and some people have resorted to using makeshift open wooden pyres to cremate bodies. I feel it is high time the municipality provided a proper place for crema-tions,” said Arumugam.

An engineer turned lawyer, Aru-mugam, 52, was appointed as coun-cillor in 2008.

He is in charge of the Zone 9 area of Puchong, which is under the Subang Jaya municipality. He said ratepayers in this municipality are urbanised and educated people with high awareness of their rights, and also high expectations of their coun-cillor.

He said residents here are not hesitant to come forward and ex-

press their grievances. “I have to be pro-active in dealing with them,” he said.

Arrumugam said the main prob-lem in Subang Jaya is balancing development in the area with traffic flow. Rapid high-rise development in certain parts of the municipality have caused traffic congestion. The difficulty is in ensuring that the roads available can accommodate increased traffic from these develop-ments so as not to cause bottlenecks on the roads.

He also notes that many roads in Subang Jaya are in bad condition and need to be resurfaced. Aru-mugam said the municipality needs to apportion its RM200 million allocation more effectively to be able to include road resurfacing in the budget.

Arumugam sits in a committee with other Subang Jaya councillors whose task is to increase revenue for the municipality by getting adver-tisements for billboards around

shah alam: Citizen Watches of Japan recently re-leased its latest range of eco-friendly watches targeted at the female market.

The beautifully crafted time-pieces, which are very stylish and fashionable, fit nicely into the watchmaker’s DNA of produc-ing watches that are a fusion of technology and beauty.

The Citizen Eco-Drive La-dies watches reinforce the brand’s reputation as a pioneer in innovation and functionality.

Tadahiro Suzuki, director of Citizen Watches (Malaysia), said: “Citizen developed ECO DRIVE as a technology that utilizes any source of light as the power source for a watch. It has made precise timekeeping clean and environment-friendly; be-cause it is constantly storing electrical energy from any source

of light (artificial or natural). “There is hence no need to

dispose of or replace used watch batteries as the energy stored is enough to power the watch even in total darkness for approxi-mately six months or longer. This means battery disposals are never needed and no harmful substances would be produced unlike conventional battery operated watches.

“As an added benefit to the environment, the power storage system contains no mercury that can cause harm to the environ-ment,” said Suzuki in a state-ment.

The two new models are tar-geted at women aged 20 years and above and have some unique features, including stainless steel metal casing and scratch-re-sistant sapphire glass and high grade Ox-hide leather.

Fire victims receive aid

Know Your Councillor: K. Arumugam

Citizen unveils eco model for ladies

due to the destruction of my belong-ings but if I take into account my home which is made of wood and metal, that would be an additional RM20,000,” he said.

University student Tee Chin Yee,

21, was on his way back from visiting his relatives during the Lunar New Year festivities when he received a call that his house was on fire.

“After my friend called, I rushed back home to see firemen surround-

ing the area and many onlookers around,” he said.

The damage to Tee’s house in-cluded his water tank and roof which was estimated to cost RM2,500.

Subang Jaya.While being a councillor is a

satisfying challenge, there’s only one aspect about the job that Arumugan wishes could change.

“I feel  disappointed  that as a councillor I don’t get to play a big role where the municipal budget is concerned. I would like to have more say in how the budget is used, but I guess that will come with time,” said Arumugam.

Apart from that, he views council work as a service to the state and nation.

When not busy with his legal or council work, Arumugam likes to spend time with his wife and two children, and by reading and writ-ing.

Young victims making themselves at home at the relief centre. Inset: Teng presenting aid to a victim

10 february 11 — 13, 2011

news

klang: Indian youths at Taman Sentosa and its sur-rounding neighbourhood will have a new haunt after a new club was launched here on Sunday.

The new branch of Tamil Bell Club, which will also have a youth wing, will focus on organising charity and community events, said new-ly-elected secretary Punitha Thevi.

“We will be visiting old folks’ homes and orphanages

and carrying out medical campaigns like blood dona-tion and health checks for the community,” said the 30-year-old former news-caster.

At its launch at Sri Raja Rajeswary temple, the club gave out five hampers to Klang juvenile home Destiny Starting Point.

A n o th e r c o mm i t t e e member, Syamala Devi Sad-ayappan, said the club would also organise tuition, Indian

dance and Tamil language classes for the community.

“ We need to keep the Tamil culture alive. Every-one, including non-Hindus, is welcome to learn about the culture at the club,” said the 25-year-old.

Syamala is also a member of the temple committee. The St John Ambulance so-cial worker has been giving free tuition at the temple.

You need to pay RM10 to register as a member.

Stinking problem in Connaught

House buyers mull legal action

New club for Indian youths

By Alvin Yap

ampang jaya: Frustrated house buyers who are unable to move into their new homes at Pandan Bistari have asked developer Intel Best Sdn Bhd for the keys, only to have their pleas fallen on deaf ears.

Liew Chee Kong, chairman of a group of buyers, said the committee had sent a regis-tered letter to the developer, asking for the handover of the houses immediately and without delay.

“We told the developer that we wanted to move into our houses without delay as the houses are ready,” said Liew on Tuesday, adding that the letter was sent three weeks ago.

Liew said they told Intel Best to hand over the keys during the Chinese New Year holi-days. However, there has been no response yet.

The group is considering legal action against the developer.

Liew said they will also ask Housing and Local Government Minister  Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung to set up a meeting between the buyers and Intel Best.

The group was formed by a few buyers who have been left in the lurch for some five to six years due to the late delivery. “Some of us signed the sales and purchase agreement in 2003 or 2004, which means that the delivery was to have been in 2005 or 2006.”

While Intel Best said the current round of delay was due to rock blasting operations in the vicinity of the housing scheme, Liew said the excuse was unacceptable as the rock blast-ing work is not near the houses.

The Pandan Bistari housing scheme is situ-ated on top of Bukit Permai which locals in the area call “Little Genting”. It was initially developed by Talam Corporation Bhd before

it was “transferred” to Intel Best. According to Liew, Phase 2B of Pandan

Bistari is ready for delivery, as it “it is 90 per cent ready, if not fully completed”.

Liew added that he had met the House Buyers Association in January to forward the group’s complaints.

Liew and other buyers are sore that the developers have not compensated them for the delay in handing over the houses.

“We are feeling the pinch of having to service our loans and yet not being able to move into our new homes,” said Liew, adding that he had taken a bank loan of RM240,000 to pay for his unit which cost RM270,000. Similarly, Loh Yun Chuan, who signed the sales and purchase agreement in 2004, also took a RM240,000 loan to buy a unit in Phase 2B.

Another buyer, Mohd Hafizol Omar, said the developers gave him the option of transfer-ring his purchase from the abandoned Phase 2A project to a unit in Phase 2B.

Teratai assemblywoman Jenice Lee, who met the buyers at the housing project on Jan 16, brought up the matter at the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council last month.

MPAJ, she said, had informed her that the developer could not get a Certificate of Fitness for the housing project due to a dispute with Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Sya-bas).

Lee explained that Syabas was waiting for an “undisclosed sum of payment” from the developer in the form of a “bank guarantee” to provide water services to Pandan Bistari.

Lee also said that the developer was late in submitting its documents to MPAJ for the Certificate of Fitness.

Attempts to reach the developer have been unsuccessful.

By Lee Choon Fai and Basil Foo

kuala lumpur: Residents of Taman Connaught have been putting up with the unbearable stench and sight of trash that has been piling up in their streets since mid January.

“It has been there for weeks, the smell is getting bad. I have heard from other people about it and I don’t dare to go to the back alley,” said hawker Chong Yook Ha. Chong sells mixed rice at a nearby restaurant.

The trash dump, located in the back alley between the Shell petrol station and the row of shop houses on Jalan Menara Gading 1, is now about a metre high and 15 metres wide.

The pile of trash is also beginning to block the two-lane wide back alley from vehicle access, with regu-lar sedans barely passing through. Crows now linger at the place in search for food, flies infest the place, and rats are now commonly found, dead or alive, near the dump.

The stench got worse during the continuous drizzle from Jan 30-31.

“We dutifully pay our taxes and

the Government does not even clean up well!” Chong protested.

Chong revealed that garbage collectors rarely come to clean up the trash. Residents sometimes have to hire private truck drivers to get rid of the trash that is piling up.

She said Taman Connaught has always had a garbage problem with the streets frequently littered with trash.

Volunteers from nearby churches collect garbage in the area and dis-pose of them once in a while.

“It stinks of decomposition; I would hold my breath every time I pass through the back alley.

That sourish stench makes me want to vomit,” said Michael Akira Sapoetra.

Sapoetra, an Indonesian student

at the UCSI University, lives in a nearby condominium but has to pass by the alley way on the way to class.

When contacted, Alam Flora and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) declined to comment.

Sri Andalas assemblyman Dr Xavier Jayakumar presenting a hamper to a Destiny Starting Point representative.

The trash that is causing a stink in Taman Connaught.

11February 11 — 13, 2011

Views

Teohlogy patrick teoh

MAN IN BlACKwong chin huat

I t is never too late to wish all of you Gong Xi Fa Cai. Which means “wishing you prosperity”

in case you’ve been wondering what those four words actually mean.

I daresay that millions of Malay-sians mouth those words annually without actually knowing what they mean. Right or not? Admit it lah.

Hahahaha…Okay if you’re like me then you must have had a won-derful holiday and enjoyed your time off from work.

Spent quality time with the fam-ily and friends. Invited other Malay-sians to your open house. Eaten until you were ready to burst. And sworn that next year you would ap-ply for leave earlier and not join the grid-locked traffic on the North-South Highway.

And now that the festivities are over and you’re back to the grind do you feel a little tired? Tired from all the feasting, drinking and red-col-oured attire that make you look like a walking ang pow which is actually the Hokkien name for those little red packets with money inside that you hand out to your children and with gritted teeth to your visitors who bring large broods.

I never understood why or how the Hokkien version became the standard in Malaysia do you? In Cantonese it is Lai See (which means Good Luck). In Mandarin it

The rise of Islamism in the Arab world was to a large extent a response to the failure of the secular nationalist regimes in the Arab-Israel conflicts. Like socialism for many colonised people in the 1940s to 1980s, Islamism is an attractive alternative vehicle for national/civilisational revival for many Arabs and Muslims since, more so after Sept 11.

Short memory, elephant’s memory

is Hoong Bao (which means Red Packet).

Anyway, back to the subject of tiredness and fatigue. I don’t know about you lah but I am very tired lah. I am so tired of the elections over-load, frog festivals and political-speak statements from both sides of the divide. You know what I mean? So tiring lah. This fler died, that fler went over to the other side (sorry, I thought it was funny).

By-elections!!! I don’t like this party already so now I go join the other one and se e how. By-elections!!! You help me, I help you! By-elections!!! Aiyoh!!! If like this how to carry on man? Want to exercise citizens’ right to vote also nowadays beginning to seem quite futile and pointless lah.

Well, actually not quite true also. If we really want to be totally positive about things in Bolehland we can look at it this way.

Through by-elections we can get back some of what rightfully belongs to us as tax-paying loyal Malaysians.

Like proper schools, g ood drainage systems in the kampongs, politicians who don’t l ive in

mansions or lead lavish lifestyles way beyond what they say we pay them. (Remember those great excuses like, “My wife is a ver y successful entrepreneur in her own right so we’re rich.”; “My son earned all his billions because he is so smart ma. You dinch know meh?” )

Ya man. During by-elections you can ask for almost anything for your kampong and be quite sure of getting a promise of getting it. Get it? 5 million there so your house won’t be flooded next time it drizzles. 3 million over here so your little girl doesn’t have to sit on the floor while memorising “Ini Ali. Dia duduk di kampong. Ini Ah Chong. Dia duduk di Bandar. Ini Nathan. Dia duduk di ladang” stereo-typical stuff masquerading as educational lessons.

But do we really get back what is rightfully ours? Or do we just get what we deserve? Politicians make a lot of big promises. The bigger the constituenc y, the big g er the promises. But once the voting is done do they keep their promises? A few do. Most don’t. And I think they do this because they know our

weaknesses. Our weakness for big promises accompanied by blaring trumpets and kompang drums.

Our weakness for handouts of what is rightfully ours anyway. And our biggest weakness of all, our short collective memory. We tend to forget rather easily about things that pissed us off, affected our families and our lives once the bunting goes up and the big shots hit town.

With their big toothy grins and their entourage of wives, photo-graphers and goodie-bags. We all forget even faster when and if they choose to sit down and have a cup of kopi-o with us (which we pro-bably pay for!). We forget even faster when we are chosen by the YB for a photo opportunity and the picture appears in the newspapers the next day. We forget about the leaky roof in the community hall which has been pissing on us for years.

We forget about the broken fur-niture our kids sit on in their run-down school classroom. We forget about the dirty water from our pipes. We forget about the electric-ity promised us during the last visit 3/4/5/6 years ago. We just forget

lah. “See or not? I got take photo with the YB leh! Good lah, the fler. He even shook my hand you know. And he even told me himself, ‘You help me, I will help you.’ ”

Help you? Help you with what? To do what? Is he doing you a fa-vour? Doesn’t ‘he’ work for YOU? “Errrr…don’t know lah. Forget al-ready.”

Hey! This theory about the Ma-laysian citizen having short memory might just be soooo true. I mean the politicians have memories like ele-phants. They forget nothing. 28 digit Swiss bank account numbers, an opponent’s past indiscretion, that the other YB drives a bigger car. But once they are back to being ordinary (well as ordinary as possible after one has been in the game lah that is) Malaysians they forget too.

While writing this I was in-formed that Dr M in the book, “Doctor M: Operation Malaysia –Conversations with Mahathir Mo-hamad’ claimed that Ops Lalang was not his doing at all! It was all the fault of the Malaysian Police.

Well, there you go. Gong Xi Fa Cai.

History taking a turn in North AfricaS omeone once said history is

a bad driver that does not signal when it takes a turn.

Nothing can be truer than what happened in Tunisia, the best per-forming northern African economy.

Tunisia’s 23-year reigning dicta-tor was forced into exile by a popu-lar uprising days after a young graduate burned himself to protest against unemployment. People’s power is now sweeping across Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Algeria.

The late political scientist, Sam-uel Huntington, characterised the rise of democracies in waves. The First Wave democratised Western Europe and Northern America in the 19th century. The second wave decolonised many countries in Asia and Africa after the World War II but many of the new states turned to authoritarianism soon.

The third wave started in 1973 when Portugal ended its military junta and had its peak in 1989-1992 when the communist states in East-ern Europe and Eurasia collapsed.

It’s an open verdict as to whether the third wave has ended before a fourth wave can be considered to have started.

In the past decade, a few other countries have arguably been de-mocratised or redemocratised, from Serbia (2000), Georgia (2003), Ukraine (2004), Lebanon (2005) and Kirgizstan (2005), to a few failed attempts of democratization in Moldova (2005), Burma (2007)

and Iran (2009).What’s so special about the Ara-

bian wave of democratisation? Its most significant meaning is that the targets of regime change are not anti-America/anti-Western regimes as in Eastern Europe or Eurasia, but quite the opposite, the so-called moderate Muslim despots backed by Washington and the West, giving a sense of deja vu from Iran in 1979.

If democracy has been labelled conveniently as Western by both the West and their rivals – be it the Chinese, the Russians, the Islamists or the South American leftists, de-mocracy and Western interests may now be in obvious contradiction in the Arab world. A genuinely demo-cratic regime may now be vigor-ously disagreeing with the West on various issues.

Many in the West are worried about Egypt falling into the hand of the Islamists, much like Iran to the Mullahs and Gaza to Hamas. I tend to think that there may possibly be a blow to the Islamists as another unexpected turn by history.

Contrary to what meets the eyes, ideologies are often attractive to their followers not because of their intrinsic values, but because of their instrumental use in particular his-torical context, especially national or partisan interests.

Why were there so many leftist regimes in the decolonised Third World after the World War II? Wasn’t it because communism and

socialism were avowedly most anti-imperialistic?

Compared to the leftist thoughts, had the capitalist and liberal ideolo-gies been much use to the Third World nations – especially their masses – in advancing their na-tional interests?

Take specific examples, how did KMT lose mainland China and the Saigon elites lose South Vietnam to their less-well-equipped communist enemies? Wasn’t it because the KMT and South Vietnamese elites were perceived as corrupt and su b s er vi ent to th e We stern imperialists?

At the end of the day, the legiti-macy of a regime lies on its ability to advance its national and popular interests. Many authoritarian re-gimes – including Malaysia’s - are genuinely popular because they are seen as nationalistic.

In contrast, democracy has a bad name amongst many in China, Rus-sia, the Muslim world and many other countries which have suffered national or imperial decline funda-mentally because they believe lib-eral democracy is either a Western Trojan horse to continue its control or too undisciplined for interna-tional rivalry.

The success of democratisation thus requires indigenous effort and control, which pit Tunisia and Egypt as strong contrasts to Iraq and Afghanistan with Western-backed governments. No one can accuse the demonstrators in Tunis and Cairo of being western puppets, a label stamped on the democratic dissi-dents in China, Russia, Vietnam, Burma, Pakistan and of course Ma-laysia.

If democracy can be proven as more effective in advancing the na-tional interests of Arab countries, then Islam fundamentalism may lose some of its momentum.

After all, the rise of Islamism in the Arab world was to a large extent a response to the failure of the secu-lar nationalist regimes in the Arab-Israel conflicts. Like socialism for many colonised people in the 1940s to 1980s, Islamism is an attractive alternative vehicle for national/civi-lisational revival for many Arabs and Muslims since, more so after Sept 11.

A democratised Egypt will, how-ever, force both the Arabs and the West to re-examine their values and interests.

Forty four years after the Six-Day War, the Egyptian national interest is now heavily tied to peaceful co- existence with Israel and an alliance with the West. Such an alignment is unlikely to be reversed without a civil war as the pro-Western military establishment is widely respected as a national institution, separated from the hated Mubarak regime.

Washington will also have to ac-cept that a democratic Egypt will be eventually more cohesive and less tolerant of Israel’s continued assault on the Arabs’ pride and solidarity. And if Israel can come to terms with the new reality, the peace for Middle East may be closer in sight.

Won’t these developments be good for the wider world? I wish the Egyptians a smooth and speedy surf-ing on the wave of democratisation and hope to soon feel its ripples here in Malaysia.

12 February 11 — 13, 2011InsIght

By Gan Pei Ling and Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin

Being poor, jobless and homeless may be anomalous in a relatively wealthy society like ours. Hardly surprising since people

treat them with nonchalance. But there is a hu-man side to their plight.

Charlene Ong is one of the many faceless un-fortunate souls. She lost her job several years ago when the hotel she worked for went bankrupt. “Thousands of us became jobless,” the 66-year-old recalled.

As she could not find a new stable job, Ong started collecting recyclable items off the streets. However, the income was insufficient and she would later become homeless.

“I had to collect tin cans under the hot sun,” said Ong, who used to receive food from Ke-chara Soup Kitchen.

The Buddhist charity organisation hired her as a full-time cleaner last September, providing her with food and allowance.

Ong was then able to rent a room with the allowance and RM300 aid she received monthly from the social welfare department. Although the room is small, she now has a roof over her head.

Born in Malacca, Ong’s fam-ily sent her to an orphanage in Segamat, Johor, when she was a year old. She only managed to trace her biological siblings 10 years ago.

“I lived with my elder sister’s family for nine months in Sega-mat but I couldn’t get used to kampung life so I came back to the city,” she said.

Ong first came to Kuala Lumpur when she was 16.

“Some of my nieces and nephews are living in KL but I’m not sure exactly where,” said Ong, who speaks fluent English despite having only completed primary education.

Ong has worked as a cleaner at many hotels and also as a domestic helper but enjoys her cur-rent job the best.

“My superior Justin is very gentle and treats me well,” she said, describing him as the “best boss” she had come across so far.

Compared to Ong, 58-year-old Patrick is less fortunate. The former security guard lost his job five years ago and was later thrown out by his family due to his gambling habit.

He failed to secure a new permanent job and has been surviving on odd jobs since then.

During good days he would have enough money to buy food but when jobs are scarce, especially during holidays, he has to beg for money on the streets.

Soup kitchens become a vital source for Patrick to get food at such times.

In fact, Selangor Times met Patrick at Kota Raya when he was getting food from the Pertiwi Soup Kitchen a few days before Chinese New Year.

He immediately asked our reporters if we could help him get a job.

“Can you help me? I’m willing to do any job,” pleaded the man.

Patrick has been caught a few times during raids conducted jointly by the local council, social welfare department and narcotics de-partment.

“I’m not 60 yet so I’m not qualified to enter an old folks’ home. They release people like me back onto the streets and warn us not to sleep on the streets anymore but where can we go?” he lamented.

Soup kitchens also play a crucial role in alleviating the financial burden of the urban poor.

Yusnidah Mohd Jawah, 38, has been struggling to feed her eight children since coming to Kuala Lumpur around a year ago.

Soup kitchenS got their name in the 18th century when soup and bread, among the cheapest yet nourishing and filling foods, were provided to feed the poor and hungry in europe.Fast forward to the 21st century, soup kitchens around the world no longer serve only soup and bread and have adapted to local diets. they remain an important relief for the urban poor worldwide.

they serve diverse communities, including the unemployed, working poor, homeless, the elderly, as well as people with health problems or disability.

however, soup kitchens and other food assistance programs have faced opposition throughout history.

critics are mostly concerned that soup kitchens would encourage pauperism by destroying the poor’s self-reliance.

in addition, critics have pointed out that while soup kitchens do provide short-term relief to the poor and hungry, they do not address the root causes of hunger such as poverty and low wages.

Despite that, soup kitchens will remain a crucial food source for the poor unless governments and societies can successfully eliminate poverty, reduce waste and ensure fairer distribution of wealth across society.

The start of soup kitchens

Kazimir (left) and Thilaga Sulathireh preparing the food at FNB KL’s house in Petaling Jaya.

Charlene Ong: Lost her job several years ago.

Kechara volunteers (from left)

Tam, Yu Ling and Sharul

Nizam helping to package the food at

Kechara soup kitchen.

Kechara soup kitchen entry at Jalan Barat

The Pertiwi soup kitchen next to Tune Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Ong has worked as a cleaner at many hotels and also as a domestic helper but enjoys her cur-rent job the best.

“My superior Justin is very gentle and treats me well,” she said, describing him as the “best boss” she had come across so far.

Compared to Ong, 58-year-old Patrick is less fortunate. The former security guard lost his job five years ago and was later thrown out by his family due to his gambling habit.

He failed to secure a new permanent job and has been surviving on odd jobs since then.

During good days he would have enough money to buy food but when jobs are scarce, especially during holidays, he has to beg for money on the streets.

Soup kitchens become a vital source for Patrick to get food at such times.

In fact, Selangor Times met Patrick at Kota Raya when he was getting food from the Pertiwi Soup Kitchen a few days before Chinese New Year.

He immediately asked our reporters if we could help him get a job.

“Can you help me? I’m willing to do any job,” pleaded the man.

Patrick has been caught a few times during raids conducted jointly by the local council, social welfare department and narcotics de-partment.

“I’m not 60 yet so I’m not qualified to enter an old folks’ home. They release people like me back onto the streets and warn us not to sleep on the streets anymore but where can we go?” he lamented.

Soup kitchens also play a crucial role in alleviating the financial burden of the urban poor.

Yusnidah Mohd Jawah, 38, has been struggling to feed her eight children since coming to Kuala Lumpur around a year ago.

Tales from The sTreeTs

Spreading hope and love through foodFEEDINg the hungry should be a good cause but not everyone thinks that way. Soup kitchen organisers are quite used to being chastised for giving free food to the urban poor.

Kechara Soup Kitchen project director Justin Cheah, 35, said crit-ics were usually concerned that the poor or homeless would become reliant on free food instead of trying to improve their situation.

“They don’t understand. The food is actually a way for us to show the people we genuinely care about them and want to help,” he told Selangor Times.

Cheah said many homeless peo-ple were sceptical when Kechara volunteers first approached them to give them free food.

It requires time to build up trust with homeless people and the Bud-dhist charity’s ultimate aim is to get them off the streets by looking for suitable jobs or homes for them.

He said Kechara has been able to convince some drug users to get rehabilitated, as well as secure jobs for the homeless.

Currently based in Jalan Barat, Kuala Lumpur, the soup kitchen started in 2006 and provides vege-

tarian and halal lunches from 11am to 1pm every weekday.

The people who come to get food are required to register with Ke-chara and are given an identification card.

“We want to get them know them better, and also to find out if they really need the food,” said Cheah, adding that some refugees frequent their soup kitchen too.

On weekends, Kechara volun-teers would roam the city streets including around Chow Kit, Bukit Bintang and Sentul to distribute food to the homeless.

Cheah estimates there are around 800 homeless people in the city but he also noted that there are some who stay in abandoned premises which they might have missed.

As people become homeless for different reasons, Kechara also has volunteer counsellors to help the homeless address their issues.

Similar to Kechara, volunteers from the Pertiwi Soup Kitchen also found the homeless and urban poor to be distrustful when first ap-proached.

“They asked us who we were and why were we giving them food,” said

Munirah Hamid, 60, who was in-spired by her friend to set up the soup kitchen last March.

Volunteers used to roam the streets around the city to give out food but after the people became familiar with Pertiwi, they knew when and where to find the soup kitchen.

Now the soup kitchen distributes 250 packets of food at two fixed locations – next to Tune Hotel at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Kota Raya – four nights a week.

A long queue, with women and children given priority at the front of the line, can be found at both sites on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday nights.

Munirah said they bought the food packets from a caterer as they do not have time to cook and pack-age it.

“We’re all doing this after work,” said the businesswoman.

While Kechara and Pertiwi func-tion as charitable organisations, another soup kitchen, run by Food Not Bombs Kuala Lumpur (FNB KL), combines charity with politi-cal statement.

The group’s central idea is that

governments should not be spend-ing so much money on arms when people on the streets are going hungry. Hence, the name “food not bombs”. FNB is a global movement started in the United States which now has chapters all over the world.

The Kuala Lumpur chapter was started 10 years ago. FNB KL is now a loose collective of mostly young, politically-curious people.

FNB KL cooks and serves food to 20-30 people on Sundays near the St John’s Cathedral at Jalan Bukit Nanas.

They collect leftover vegetables from Subang Jaya SS15 market vendors and rice donated by others to make the food in their house based in Petaling Jaya.

“We don’t need to buy much stuff,” said Kazimir Lee Iskander, 25, who has been volunteering for five Sundays in a row. FNB KL also grows their own vegetables at their house’s garden.

They provide plates, cutlery and cups for the people and encourage them to wash their own dishes after the meal.

Individuals interested to donate or volunteer with the above soup

kitchens can check out the websites or contact the emails listed below for more information:

Kechara Soup Kitchen – www.kechara.com/soup-kitchen/ or jus-tin.cheah@kechara.com.They are also currently looking for volunteer doctors to provide medical aid to the homeless and urban poor at their centre at Jalan Barat.

Pertiwi Soup Kitchen – pertiwi-soupkitchen@gmail.com

Food Not Bombs – fnbkl.blogs-pot.com

Her family used to live in Kelantan. Her husband used to sell cars but has been unable to work due to old age.

“We moved here because we thought there are more job opportunities here,” said Yusnidah.

However, things did not go as planned and her family of 10 has been living in a hotel room for almost a year.

The former homemaker has been selling kuih to pay the hotel’s RM50 daily rent. Her two eldest children, one 17 and another 15, are also doing odd jobs to help sustain the family.

All her eight children have stopped going

to school since they came to the capital city.“One of my sons found the soup kitchens

when he was wandering around town. The food helps us to get by,” she said.

Yusnidah has appealed to a political party’s women wing to get a municipality flat for her family. Once they have got a permanent home, she hopes to put her children back to school.

Besides younger folks like Yusnidah and her children, the food from soup kitchens also helps to make life easier for the elderly poor.

“You will not go hungry in KL if you know where to look for the free food,” said Jashi Johari, 50, who has been leading a difficult

life since birth.Among his haunts are the Klang bus stand

near Central Market, Masjid India, Bukit Nenas and the churches. Selangor Times met him near St John’s Cathedral where Food Not Bombs gives out food every Sunday.

Born to a poor family in Johor, Jashi started working since he was seven to support his fam-ily. He used to come to Kuala Lumpur during school holidays to find better-paying jobs.

He now lives with his friends in the city and does odd jobs. Sometimes he would work as a cook at restaurants, at other times he would get offers to help people move.

“I can make good roti canai and chapatti,” quipped the man who has also worked in Singapore.

Jashi’s wife died last March from breast cancer. He has three children who are living in Johor Baru and Singapore but he does not like to depend on them.

In addition, Jashi would share his money with those who have less than he does, par-ticularly people with disability, whenever he could afford.

“I know what it’s like to be poor, I’ve lived through worse times, so whenever I’ve extra, I just share with them,” he said.

Justin Cheah: Kechara Soup Kitchen project director.

Vegan curry, soup and other dishes prepared by Kazimir and Thilaga Sulathireh for the poor.

14 february 11 — 13, 2011

VIEWS

Handcuffed

Ikhsan holds up the book during the book launch recently.

Under what circumstances can Polis Diraja Malaysia use handcuffs on civilians? @sooncm, via Twitter

Chapter IV of the Criminal Procedure Code covers arrest, escape and re-taking. An arrest takes place when the police officer actually touches or confines the body of the person to be arrested [Section 15(1)]. If a person resists arrest, the police officer “may use all means necessary to effect the arrest” [Section 15(2)].

An arrest is completed when there is a submission to the custody of the police by word or action. In cases where a suspected person is not arrested immediately, care must be taken that the suspected person remains at liberty. No restraint of any kind may lawfully be exercised over him as long as he is not placed under arrest.

Handcuffs are necessarily used to prevent the suspect from escaping. Examples of these can be seen when you watch crime-busting American TV shows like CSI, Criminal Minds or Law & Order. Whenever there is a chase scene and when the cops finally appre-hend the suspect, the first thing they do is to smack handcuffs on the suspect.

If there is no resistance, or danger of flee-ing, the police officer may not use the hand-cuffs on civilians.

Whilst all the above is true in cold hard theory, reality is different. What is deemed as resistance or danger of fleeing can be very subjective. Perhaps the suspect’s ankle twitched? Or he scratched his thigh? Or didn’t respond fast enough to a question? Resistance! Potential to run! Handcuffs!

This of course is not to paint a bad picture of our hardworking police officers. This is true of police officers all over the world. But hey, put yourselves in their shoes. If you’re a lawyer, when you stand up in court, don’t you imagine yourself as someone from Boston Legal, LA Law or The Practice?

If you’re a doctor doing your rounds, surely you occasionally pretend you’re one of those cool doctors from Chicago Hope, ER, Scrubs, or Grey’s Anatomy?

So, if you were a police officer apprehend-ing a suspect, you’d sometimes want to indulge in a bit of Miami Vice or NYPD Blue-style get-down- stay-down, eat-the-road-punk,

hands-where-I-c a n - s e e - ‘ e m , which would in-evitably lead to slappin’ on those shiny metal cuffs and hearing the oh-so-satisfying click. Or, er, may-be that’s just us.

Dear Lord Bobo, why is Ja-lan Tun Razak a l w a y s s o j a m m e d ? @fahmi_fadzil, via

Twitter

The jams of Jalan Tun Razak are one of the many great mysteries of Malaysia.

It ranks alongside the half-built Johor-Singapore bridge and the Crystal Mosque in Terengganu.

Occult researchers who have spent many years studying the phenomenon attribute it to the coming of Balroghaugh, Lord Bobo’s arch-enemy, from Planet Zaboo.

Cutting edge astrologers are unanimous that the jams are due to Uranus (no, not yours) wanting to steal one of Jupiter’s rings in the house of the Bronzed Illama.

Despite either of the above explanations being equally plausible, LoyarBurok traffic analysts strongly believe the manifestations of jams on Jalan Tun Razak are due to more mundane factors such as –

•impatientdriverscuttinglanesandjam-ming themselves into the smallest of crevices (no, not those ones);

•moronicdriversinthewronglanewhowait until the last 3cm before they deem it the most opportune time to switch lanes;

•thepoorqualityofroadsandsenselessroad management;

•policewhothinktheir jobisstandingaround hand on hips with the occasional wave and blow (no, not that type); and,

•toomanypersonalvehiclesontheroadand too much development in Kuala Lumpur without proper urban planning.

LoyarBurok would advise you to avoid Jalan Tun Razak whenever able, or better yet, avoid Kuala Lumpur altogether. But then again, that would just move the jams else-where, wouldn’t it?

Heck, what’s the big problem anyway? Traffic jams are a part of Malaysian life. Lord Bobo knows that many productive things (no, not those sorta things) get done in traffic jams. Just talking about the LoyarBurok blawg, many comments come via mobile devices during traffic jams. Jalan Tun Razak jams caused by impatient Malaysian drivers.

Ask Lord Bobo is a weekly column by LoyarBurok (www.loyarburok.com)

where all your profound,abstruse, erudite, hermetic, recondite,

sagacious, and other thesaurus-described queries are answered!

in a jam

KLANG: ‘Klang Municipal Council: Innovation, Creativity and Talent’, a book which compiles the works of its members, was launched recently at Hamzah Hall.

“The book is a team effort which is reflected as a documented idea of innovation, creativity and talent of the council members,” said Mohd Ikhsan Mukri, the secretary of Klang Municipal Council (MPK).

The book was published by MPK to encourage the innovative and creative efforts of its members while highlighting their hidden talents.

“This book was arranged in such a way as to inspire and encourage MPK staff who since the 90s has shown promissing talent not only in district level or state level

but also at national level,” added Ikhsan.According to Ikhsan, the innovation gallery located

at the lobby of the MPK headquarters was created as a team effort between the revenue department and the entire MPK family.

“We are developing the small Innovation and Crea-tive Group to be something bigger and this allows for us to solve any problems that crops up,”he elaborated.

After the launch, a ceremony to hand out certificates to participants of the mentor and mentee programme was held. Also held was presentation of trophies and cash incentives to sports persons who brought glory to MPK.

MPK launches innovation book

Heck, entire articles get thought-up, writ-ten, submitted, and published during traffic jams! Also, just like the stereotypical Brit who loves talking about the weather, Malaysians love talking about jams.

“Wah, traffic today damn bad ah.” / “Okay-lah, not too bad what.” / “Eh, which road you took lah, how come can get here so fast?”

Imagine if traffic jams suddenly cleared up. What would Malaysians use as a conversation ice-breaker?

Worse – everyone would get to their des-tinations early! What would happen to “Ma-laysian timing”? It would be chaos. The space-time continuum would be jeopardised! So, get to you know your traffic jams. Embrace them. Love them. They are an essential part of the fabric of Malaysian society.

Although Lord Bobo already knows your question before you even knew you had a question, as a practical display of your true desire to have your query answered, His Su-preme Eminenceness has graciously allowed you to communicate your questions by –• emailingasklordbobo@loyarburok.com,

stating your full name, and a pseudonym if you wish the question to be published anonymously (and a good reason for ano-nymity).

• tweeting yourquestionsbymentioning@LoyarBurok and using the hashtag#asklordbobo. The first 100 questions pub-lished will receive LoyarBurok’s ONLY merchandise you ever need (worth a lot for humankind) courtesy of Selangor Times. Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Hear This and Tremblingly Obey (al-

though trembling is optional if you are some-where very warm)!

Liberavi Animam Meam! I Have Freed My Spirit!

15February 11 — 13, 2011

Fiction

PEMBEKALAN DAN PENGHANTARAN BAJA KE LADANG SAWIT PKPS

Tawaran adalah dipelawa kepada syarikat-syarikat tempatan yang berdaftar dengan Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Selangor (PKPS) DAN Kementerian Kewangan di dalam kod bidang berkaitan, serta berminat untuk menyertai tawaran tender seperti tajuk kerja yang berikut :

Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian SelangorSelangor agricultural Development corporation

KENYATAAN TENDER TERBUKA

BIL.` NO. SIRI TENDER TAJUK KERJA TARIKH, MASA & TEMPAT TAKLIMAT

1 PKPS/UP/TDR-1/11

NOTA & PERINGATAN :i. Borang Tender dijual pada harga RM 100.00 setiap satu.ii. Setiap syarikat hanya layak membeli SATU (1) dokumen tender sahaja.iii. Borang Tender akan dijual mulai 16 FEBRUARI 2011 (RABU) pada waktu pejabat di Unit Perolehan

PKPS, Tingkat 10, Wisma PKPS, Persiaran Perbandaran, Seksyen 14, 40675 Shah Alam, Selangor. iv. Penender diwajibkan menghadiri sesi taklimat seperti yang telah dijadualkan.v. Borang Tender yang lengkap hendaklah DIMETERI dan dimasukkan ke dalam Peti Tender di Tingkat

10, Wisma PKPS, Persiaran Perbandaran, Seksyen 14, 40675 Shah Alam, Selangor menggunakan sampul surat yang disediakan.

vi. TARIKH TUTUP PERMOHONAN : 8 MAC 2011 (SELASA), JAM 12 TENGAHARIvii. Untuk maklumat lanjut, sila hubungi Unit Perolehan PKPS di talian : 03-55192621 / 2 / 3

16 FEBRUARI 2011 (RABU) jam 9 pagi bertempat di Bilik Mesyuarat Mawar, Tingkat 11, Wisma PKPS, Shah Alam, Selangor

TAWARAN TENDER BAGI KERJA-KERJA MEMBEKAL DAN MENGHANTAR BAJA UNTUK KEPERLUAN LADANG KELAPA SAWIT MILIK PKPS :1. LDG.PKPS JELUTONG JATI, SABAK

BERNAM, SELANGOR 2. LDG.PKPS SG. PANJANG, SABAK

BERNAM, SELANGOR 3. LDG.PKPS KERLING, HULU SELAN-

GOR, SELANGOR 4. LDG.PKPS TG. DUABELAS, KUALA

LANGAT, SELANGOR 5. LDG.PKPS EDITAS, GUA MUSANG,

KELANTAN 6. LDG.PKPS IRAT, LAHAD DATU,

SABAH 7 LDG.PKPS JAGOHARMONI, LAHAD

DATU, SABAH

Eric and JulianFiction by Hadi Mohd Nor

“Close your eyes.” she said.I did what I was told and closed my

eyes. The breeze was blowing through my hair and the sound of the waves was so relaxing. I swear, I wanted to doze off right then and there. she dragged me impa-tiently through the beach. I held her back a bit so that I wouldn’t trip. But I like walking on the sand.

“Now open them!” she said. I did.In front of me was her beautiful face,

smiling to me like an angel welcoming me to heaven. We’re in Perhentian Island after all, and it does feel like heaven.

And she was an angel.“look!” she said, pointing enthusiasti-

cally at a wooden house. It looked empty.“Wow… Is that what you wanted to

show me?” I said, unimpressed.“Yes! You know what that is?” she

asked, again, enthusiastically.“It’s a house made out of wood. Prob-

ably belongs to one of the locals.” I replied.“It’s empty! let’s go check it out!

Maybe there’s buried treasure inside.” she said, walking towards it.

I didn’t agree to anything and sud-denly I was her sidekick in this unofficial treasure-hunting team. All I wanted to do was to head back to the hotel, drink coffee and read a book. I just bought a vampire book that people always talked about. It’s a very popular book.

I didn’t even agree to come here. I had proposed going to Paris. I saved up the money and bought all the clothes for Paris but, no, she wanted to come here.

Terengganu. she said she missed this place. After all, this is where we met.

“What do you think is inside?” I asked, secretly uninterested.

“I think this is where they keep all the jewellery that you refused to buy for me,” she said, sarcastically.

“Very funny,” I replied her sarcasm.

The wooden house was more of a cabin (or maybe it was a cabin, I don’t know. What’s the difference, anyway?). The cabin was abandoned and very small, maybe three feet square. The inside of it was filled with dust and debris. It was just like an empty room with no furniture whatsoever. Its windows are merely care-fully cut holes on the walls. It was nothing interesting.

“This is so interesting!” she said.“What?” I asked.“This cabin is probably like 50 years

old and maybe a family lived here last time.” she said. she walked to the window (the carefully cut hole on the wall) and popped her head out and breathed in.

The house was very cool as behind it is the Perhentian jungle. By cool, I mean temperature-wise. There’s nothing hip about literally having monkeys as neigh-bours.

I lit a cigarette.“Hey!” she exclaimed.“Relax, baby, we’re on vacation. Cut

me some slack.” I said.“The doctor said you should quit.”“The doctor, the TV, my brother, eve-

ryone said I should quit. I’m on vacation! Cut me some slack.”

“Fine. Can I have one?” she asked. I gave her one.

she put it between her lips and I lit it up for her. It reminded me of romantic scenes from 1950’s Hollywood films.

suddenly, I heard some rustling in the bush behind the cabin.

“What was that?” she said.I went out through the house’s only

door and walked to the back. There, I saw a monitor lizard crawling, almost slither-ing, slowly. It was so gorgeous and majes-tic. I have had this thing for reptiles ever since I was a kid. I crept slowly behind it.

I put out my cigarette and crept slowly towards the animal with arms wide open. My heart was throbbing. I felt the adren-

aline rush. Then, I accidentally cracked a twig. The lizard heard me and it ran as fast as lightning into the jungle. I chased it with all my strength.

I was like a lion chasing a gazelle. My eyes were focused on the lizard. I didn’t want to lose sight of it. of course, after a few seconds of running, I grew tired and weary and lost sight of it. I was panting and blamed the cigarettes for this loss. I blamed a lot of things in my life for this defeat.

I forgot which direction I came from so I walked randomly. I followed the sound of the ocean. It led me to the beach, of course. I was too tired so I sat under a coconut tree. I cursed the cigarettes for my loss of stamina. Damn cigarettes.

“What were you planning to do with it if you caught it?” a voice asked from behind. I turned around and saw her walking calmly towards me. she stood in front of me folding her arms.

“I don’t know really.”“Do you know what tree you’re sitting

under?” she asked.“Coconut?”“This is our tree.” she said, smiling.I turned around and saw our names

carved on the trunk. “eric and Julian”. It was a bit faded but I was surprised it survived. I stood up. suddenly, the past came rushing into my head and I remem-bered everything we did on this island.

I smiled at her.“You found it.” she said. I wrapped my

arm around her.“Yeah. I did, didn’t I?”We stared at the tree and reminisced

on the past. I’m very lucky to have met her. After 42 years of marriage, two daugh-ters and a son, we still feel like we werea pair of young lovebirds. I guess we will forever be a pair of young lovebirds.

We walked on the beach holding hands just like we did yesterday. Just like we did years ago.

By Alvin Yap

SELAYANG: Police here have offered to conduct joint enforcement operations against illegal traders with the selayang Municipal Council (MPs) and the Immigration Department.

Gombak police officers said they and Immigration officers would operate a 24-hour mobile base near the selayang Utama wet market to act against the traders, many of whom were illegal immigrants.

  “The Gombak district police proposed a one-month trial for joint operations with the Immigra-tion department,” MPs councillor lim Ching How told Selangor Times in a phone interview on Tuesday.

lim said Gombak police district officers met MPs councillors, representatives from the selayang Hawkers and Traders Association, and selayang parliamentarian William leong in a meeting on Jan 28 to discuss problems of illegal foreign traders un-dercutting locals traders at the wet market.

lim said during the meeting, Gombak police of-ficials said they wanted to work with the Immigration department because they had no jurisdiction to de-tain the illegal traders for immigration-related of-fences. Police have had to release illegal immigrants after detaining them because of this.

The date of the proposed joint operation will be announced later.

lim has also proposed that MPs focus its moni-toring and enforcement work at night since they would have the advantage of police presence.

on Jan 19, SelangorTimes reported that immi-grant traders were operating illegally at selayang Utama market. local traders complained that the illegal traders were taking business away from them by selling produce at a cheaper price.

lim, at that time, suggested joint operations with DBKl, the police and Immigration Department to stop the illegal traders from setting up stalls in the market.

Joint task force on illegal traders

By Basil Foo

SHAH ALAM: To remain rele-vant in current times, Universiti Industri selangor (Unisel) will drop the word ‘Industri’ from its name in a rebranding exercise next Mon-day.

“This university was previously established during the time when industry was developing rapidly in selangor, so the name then was ap-propriate,” said president and vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Rosti saruwono (right).

The idea for a rebranding was mooted with members of the board and university staff last year at a meeting intended to be a reflection of the university over the past decade.

He said their image now has to be more in-clusive of other courses like social science and preschool education which are increasing in demand.

“Although enrolment for the past 10 years has been increasing, so has our competition. This is so our image won’t be limited to industries like manufacturing and electronics,” he said.

A new course in nursing has been introduced

but Rosti maintains that while there are not many new courses, the existing ones will be refocused.

Through a change in vision, which is to nurture high moral and ethical values, he hopes graduates will learn industry qualities that are not usually taught in universities, such as timeliness and office ethics.

“As such, each degree course will have an academic advisor and an industry advisor, in order to better

equip graduates,” he said.“Curruriculums will also be updated with

societal values and communication modules,” he added.

He gave an example of the new vision by al-lowing event management students to run events of their own from start to finish for a better learning experience.

Meanwhile, the appointment of university chancellor would be announced by the state government on a future date.

“There are already candidates for the position and the announcement should be by this month, but it might not be on the day of the rebranding launch,” he said.

Unisel rebrands to stay relevant

16 February 11 — 13, 2011

Features

Bangi girl makes it big in Big AppleNadirah with her work

on projection – photos by Vignes Balasingam (Republik Studio)

A photo from Nadirah’s liminar series.

By Rahmah Ghazali

A local studio called the Republik in Wangsa Walk, Kuala Lumpur, had never seen an overwhelming turnout eager to see a Malaysian who has brought

the country to the world stage of photography. That was until Nadirah Zakariya appeared.

In a small, dark room of the studio sat a young and emerging artist from a small town called Bangi who was anxious to present her artwork to the Malaysian public in person for the first time since she moved to New York four years ago.

Nadirah, a 26-year-old who specialises in self-por-traits, has gained a reputation by working with award-winning musician Bjork and prominent photographers such as Bruce Stevenson and Yelena Yemchuck.

One would never have thought that Bangi could produce one shining star who has started to carve out

her name in the history of Lomography – an analogue type of photography –  at a very young age.

“I used to do my own experiment without having to bother anyone…it is also a form of self-expression,” Nadirah, who was on a short trip to Malaysia recently, told a packed studio.

But what started out as a hobby has brought her photography skills to greater heights – where most of her artwork has been featured in art galleries in New York, California and London.

The New York’s Fashion Institute Technology (FIT) photography graduate slowly began to work behind the camera by featuring other people but still considered her work as self-portraits.

Elaborating, she said there were two types of pho-tographers – mirror and window – and she categorised herself as the former.

“Mirror photographers photograph subjects that reflect who they are, while window photographers capture what they see, like documentary photographers. As for me, I cannot deny that I am a mirror photogra-pher,” she said, adding this was despite someone else is in the photograph.

“When it comes to editing and selection process, I would usually choose images that I can relate to…even though there’s a shot of someone else, I still think there is a part of me in the photographs,” she said

Refusing to put herself in a box, Nadirah tends to explore a variety of photography styles, which finally brings her to the concept of ‘liminality’ – a perfect term to define her.

“Liminality means the state of transition between two worlds. So my work is between reality and a dream state.

“And the people or things that linger in between the state are called liminars, which brings to my current body of work,” she said.

According to her, the concept is “really compelling” as it portrays her journey of upbringing that detached herself from the outside world.

“I tend to feel that I am neither here nor there, as it is hard for me to feel completely at home when I am somewhere,” she said, adding that this was due to her

The crowd in the studio during the presentation.

17February 11 — 13, 2011

Features

upbringing abroad.“When I was younger, we lived in Texas for a while.

When we moved back to Malaysia I was considered too Americanised and I wasn’t able to fit in,” she said.

Now that she has moved to New York, things have not quite changed either.

“When I am over there, I am obviously a Malaysian, but a foreigner. So it is not home either. There’s always a feeling that you belong, but you don’t.

“It is a big part of me and I try to convey that through my work,” said Nadirah.

Explaining further on her work, she said small chil-dren have been her favourite subjects to capture for her on-going project, as “they are not conscious of them-selves”.

“I am not interested in shooting models in bland white background…but kids, they are most fun to work with because they are not conscious of how they look. They are also disciplined when I tell them what to do and each shot takes me about two to three minutes each because they have short attention span.

“But I enjoy shooting them because I would get the purest expression and I guess it is the same when you capture older people. They are pure and innocent.”

As technology grows rapidly, many professional photographers are familiar with the use of digital single-lense reflex camera or DSLR compared to analogue cameras that use films.

While many would argue about the difference of quality of the end products, Nadirah disagrees with the notion that a medium plays a major role in appreciating the value of the artwork.

“I personally feel the value of the artwork is in the art itself and not necessarily the medium.

“For me, I choose my medium based on the project but I must admit I shoot more with films than digital,” she said. However, she stressed that she has nothing against digital.

“Sometimes, my choice of camera depends on my knowledge of the camera and my comfort level of using them…digital and analogue offer different qualities, not more or less than the other,” she explained.

Many would perceive that New York , the city where dreams are made of, opens up opportunities  and ap-preciation for artwork due to its wide exposure.

Taking a different stand, Nadirah says Malaysia too, offers art and inspiration to anyone as long as they have passion to seek it.

“There is art everywhere…in New York, it doesn’t have the jungle, it doesn’t have the islands and the peo-ple would think that the grass is greener on the other side.

“But rest assured, people would kill to be here (in Malaysia). They would say, ‘I wish I was there, it is so cold and uninspiring here’,” said the fourth child in the family.

She says that it is the surroundings that contribute a lot to inspiration of an artist, no matter where they may be.

“It is you, yourself and your interest as long as you have the passion. You can do whatever you, wherever you want,” she said, adding that art doesn’t necessarily need to be created in some popular places.

Citing an example, she pointed out one of her photos was shot in Malaysia before she moved to New York – and is still her favourite.

“If you have seen a photo of me in a pool, I shot that here, before I went to New York. Until today, that is still one of my favourite images.

“You don’t need to go all the way over there to be able to create images or to be inspired… be inspired by people around you, by music, by politics or everyday life,” she said with a smile.

Even though Nadirah has graduated after four years of study, she still would like to pursue her dream to become a professional photographer in the Big Apple.

“Even since I was in university, I was still interning and working as a personal photographer. But now that I have graduated, I would have more time to do freelance work and I try to do a show at an art gallery in New York next month,” she said.

However, she did not rule out the possibility of mov-ing back to Malaysia if there is a market for her artwork.

“I haven’t really worked in Malaysia yet, but maybe if they are interested in my work, I wouldn’t want to say no to it. But now I am going to do as much as I can in New York while I am there and see where that leads,” said Nadirah.

She expresses hope she will come back to Malaysia on a longer trip in the near future.

“I love it here. Let’s pray that I have enough money so I can come back more often,” said Nadirah.

Nadirah’s artwork can be seen a www.nadirah.net

EXHIBITIONS2010 Featured Artist December, SALT Gallery, New York2010 Emerging Market, CultureFix, New York2010 BFA Thesis Show, SALT Gallery, New York2009 Roots and Vines Art Benefit, 409 Grand St., New York2009 Forest/Forrest, Bushwick Open Studios Week, Petri Space, Brooklyn, NY2008 Digital Malaya Collective, KLue UrbanScapes 2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2008 Lomo LC-A+ Amiga Self Portrait Artist, www.lomography.com2008 Unveiled Allure, Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC2007 Alterations Done: 8 Female Artists, Gallery 220, Chelsea, NYC2007 JPG Magazine: Fashion Photography Exhibi-tion, Space Gallery, SF, CA2005 INTIMACY, Campbell Works, LondonPUBLICATIONS2010 Nylon Guys June/July2010 Nylon Guys April/May2009 Absolute Return + Alpha2009 HUE Magazine2008 JPG Magazine, Issue 142008 Lomography Online Magazine Interview : Self Portrait Artist Extraordinaire2007 JPG Magazine, Issue 12, Theme: Fashion2007 JPG Magazine, Issue 11, Theme: Dreams-capes2006 Photoshop User Magazine, Project Photo-shop Lightroom2006 Soura Magazine, Soura of the Month (Dubai Publication)2006 Soura Magazine, Women in Lomography Interview (Dubai Publication)

Questionable spending for new warships

THE government recently re-iterated that it has allocated RM6 billion to build six new patrol vessels under the Tenth Malay-sia Plan.

When the plan was deferred two years ago the Malay Mail quoted Prime Minister Najib as saying that the new orders were required be-cause 2,000 companies depend-ed on the additional work under the vendor development pro-gramme.

However, only 632 vendor companies have been identified by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to benefit from the current plan. He added that at least RM2 bil-lion of the allocation will be channelled to them.

It has not been disclosed who these companies are and, again, there has not been any indica-tion that an open tender process was utilised for this project.

The addition of six new war-ships also raises questions as to why the government is allocating billions of taxpayers’ money to stockpile new weapons of war. It has already acquired two new submarines and the six new off-shore patrol vessels (OPVs) are

part of a 1995 ar-r a n g e m e n t t o h a v e 2 7 n e w OPVs built by 2015.

The govern-ment needs to

explain why it is acquiring these new OPVs

which will cost taxpayers RM1 billion each. This is relatively more expensive than South Korea’s much larger and newer frigates which were recently contracted to Hyundai Heavy Industries at US$300 million each.

In their context it would be easier to understand such ex-penditure considering that South Korea, an advanced coun-try, aims to be a blue water navy by 2020 and is confronted with North Korean aggression in-volving one of the largest armies in the world.

In light of the recent increase in food and commodity price levels in the country as a result of ‘subsidy rationalisation’, the question that needs to be asked is if this counts as prudent spending.

Charles SantiagoMember of Parliament, Klang

SHAH ALAM: Iranian ambassador to Malaysia Dr Mohamad Mehdi Zahedi paid a courtesy visit to Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on Jan 28.

The visit saw the Menteri Besar and Dr Mohamad Mehdi participating in a meeting at the former’s office which lasted for about an hour.

The meeting involved exchanging their views on current issues in the local and international stages, particularly involving the latest developments in Selangor and Iran.

During the meeting, Dr Mohamad Mehdi also expressed admiration for the rapid development in Selangor and hoped to establish closer working ties with the state government.

Courtesy visit from Iran ambassador

Khalid and officials from the Iran embassy last month.

18 february 11 — 13, 2011

REVIEW

Cosy and quaint Teapot Deli in the heart of Shah Alam.

By Yasleh Hani Mat Yassin

Teapot Deli on the second floor of SACC Mall, Shah Alam, is a cosy, quaint little

delicatessen serving mainly western cuisine with a bit of Malaysian fare thrown in.

First timers might be appalled at the limited menu and might com-pare the Deli to other places which carry a wider variety of food. How-ever, one shouldn’t write off the Deli based on this shortcoming.

What the Deli does offer in terms of epicurean delight more than makes up for its brevity of choices.

There’s a soup of the day to kick off the meal, served with garlic bread (RM5). The soup changes daily, and on the day that we went there they were serving broccoli soup. Not feeling up to this, we passed on the soup and instead or-dered cheese on toast (RM6 for six pieces) for our starter.

 For our main meal, we ordered Chicken Kiev (RM15), Roast Chic-ken (RM15) and Beef Lasag-na(RM15).

The Roast Chicken arrived first. Presentation-wise – a whole chicken leg covered in brown gravy, with a side of cubed potatoes and boiled cauliflower – the dish  didn’t  look very appetising.

But as it turns out, you really can’t judge a book by its cover. The Roast Chicken was tender and per-

fectly moist, not dry as how you might find this common dish in other restaurants. The side serving of the potatoes and cauliflower was done perfectly.

In the midst of my sister enjoying her Roast Chicken, my brother’s beef lasagna arrived and it, too, was deemed heavenly. The cheese on it was perfectly gooey, the pasta sheets was al dente and the beef sauce was flavourful. Like all main dishes at the Deli, it too came with side serv-ings of vegetables – boiled carrots and cauliflower.

My Chicken Kiev came last, but that was expected for I was fore-warned that my order would take 20 minutes to prepare. Stuffed with cheese and herbs, breaded then fried, the chicken breast was cooked just right. As one who normally avoids chicken breast for I find the meat too dry, I actually enjoyed eat-ing it in this dish. The side of fries and vegetables make for a complete meal.

The most interesting dish on the limited menu would have been the roast beef with Yorkshire pudding (RM27), but we didn’t get to order it that day as the cafe only serves this English specialty on Fridays, Satur-days and Sundays.

Other items on the menu include a variety of pies (fish, chicken, beef, country), fried rice with chicken, roti jala, Penang mee rebus, and nasi tomato (available on Friday and

Saturday).A wonderful

meal wouldn’t b e c o m p l e t e without dessert, and the Deli has a nice selection of sweet treats to end your meal.

We ordered b u t t e r c a k e (RM4.50), ba-ked cheese cake ( R M 6 ) a n d créme caramel (RM3.50).

The deserts were also delec-table. You can tell that the Deli didn’t scrimp on

the ingredients

Surprise at the Teapot Deli

for you can taste the creaminess of the butter in the butter cake and the cheesecake was made of two differ-ent cheeses – a denser cheese mix-ture for the body of the cake and a lighter, creamier mix for the top-ping. As for the créme caramel, it simply melted in the mouth and the taste of caramel was strong and rich.

A full-course meal from appetiz-ers to desert including beverages for three persons came to RM83, an affordable indulgence.

A few things one should know before going to the Teapot Deli: Plan on a long lunch as the meals take some time to prepare. And the food does not arrive according to a course progression.

Your starter might arrive after your main meal, as it happened for us, and if you do not state clearly that you want your dessert at the end of the meal, don’t be surprised if you receive your desert first!

Another thing you should know

is the dishes at the Deli really fail in terms of presentation. Your food will not look tantalising. However, don’t let this weakness put you off your food for the Deli does serve

really delicious food.The next time you are craving for

some delicious western fare, you now know a place where you can get your fix.

Chicken Kiev was the last to arrived but was cooked just right.

The Roast Chicken was tender and moist.

Cole, Robson coming to KL

Robson (left) and Cole is coming to KL on April 8.

SHAH ALAM: Manchester United legends Bryan Robson and Andrew Cole will be in Kuala Lumpur as part of their three-city Asian tour to help raise funds for the Manchester United Foundation.

They will be at a gala dinner on April 8 at the Man-darin Oriental Hotel where a number of unique Man-chester United items will be auctioned to benefit the football club’s charity projects.

Manchester United Foundation Chief Executive John Shiels said in a press statement, “We are thrilled to have both Bryan and Andrew join the Asian fundrais-ing tour in support of United for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). As a club, one of our greatest responsibilities is towards improving the lives of the next generation.”

Shiels added that they hoped to raise £1 million for UNICEF projects to improve children’s health.

The gala dinner in Kuala Lumpur will also be suppor-ted by Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). Robson and Cole will also attend other fundraising galas in the region which will be held in Bangkok on April 6 and Hong Kong on April 9. Luxury watch maker, Hublot, which is a partner of Manchester United, will also donate one of its timepieces to each event.

United fans will get the opportunity to meet these two legends of Old Trafford. Robson, or “Captain Marvel”, was the longest serving captain in the club’s history and is current manager of the Thai national team. Andrew Cole was a member of the United treble winning team in 1999 and the second-highest goal-scorer in Premiership history.

United for UNICEF was formed in 1999 as a coop-eration between Manchester United and UNICEF to raise funds for UNICEF programmes.

19February 11 — 13, 2011

Travel

A lot of people know about Kuala Selangor. Some wri-ters and blog g ers have

“flogged” that place half to death over its seafood restaurants.

Not that many people know about Tanjung Karang. They know it exists somewhere in Selangor but the distance and the sun are too much of a deterrence for a quick visit.

A handful of people know about Bagan Tengkorak. Loosely trans-lated, it means “Jetty of Skulls”.

It is not an accurate description of the place and there’s hardly any historical record of its origins. Tan-jung Karang, where Bagan Teng-korak is located, is actually a fishing and rice growing district.

If Bagan Tengkorak is the “Jetty of Skulls”, then Tanjung Karang is the “Cape of Corals”. On paper, both places sound quite exotic. But if you like to view wide swathes of land with grass, trees, bushes and vines then Bagan Tengkorak is the place to be.

Tanjung Karang is about seven kilometres north of Kuala Selangor town. The “Jetty of Skulls” is hidden from public view because it is a de-tour from the main road.

Before you reach Bagan Teng-korak, you will have to pass through Pasir Penambang which is the sec-ond most popular place after Kuala Selangor.

Weekends at Pasir Penambang are crowded with outsiders, mainly from Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lum-pur. The visitors come to Pasir Penambang either for seafood meals or to get fresh supplies of prawns and other fish.

From Kuala Selangor onwards, there are numerous fishing villages. Some of these are more popular than others, for example, the D’Muara Marine Park where the Dorani Bayu Resort is lo-cated.

Bagan Tengkorak is probably one of the least visited places along the route. It is hardly devel-oped and property has low commercial value.

Basically, there is noth-

The sun, the sea and a long stretch of evergreen trees make up the coastal road along Tanjung Karang. LIN ZHENYUAN makes a side trip to Bagan Tengkorak.

ing. There are very few cars travelling the solitary, straight and narrow road. The kampung homes reveal little signs of life.

The question in any stranger’s mind is “where are all the people?” The Malays dominate this green sanctuary. There are pockets of Chi-nese staying near the jetty where fishing is their livelihood.

Places like Kampung Sungai Sireh Batu Sebelas, Kampung Ten-gah, Kampung Sungai Burong , Kampung Parit Empat and Kam-pung Dato Ahmad Razali have higher concentrations of inhabit-ants.

All those populated areas are within a 10km radius. Tanjung Ka-rang town itself is where the action is as far as the villagers are con-cerned.

But the Chinese mainly populate

the commercial zones. The kampung folk prefer the peace and serenity of the countryside.

Commercial activities in Bagan Tengkorak include a poultry meat processing factory, food processing plant, marine prawn farming and food and beverage business.

Little else is found here. Unless

you have a strange fascination for leech-es, frogs and creepy-crawlies, chances are you won’t be looking for exotic species of butterflies here.

Four kilometres along a tight road lead a visitor straight i n t o K a m p u n g Bagan Tengkorak and ends at a tiny Chinese fishing set-

tlement which springs up like an oasis in the desert.

The houses are small and are about 20ft away from a ramshackle jetty where the low tide reveals smooth muddy slabs and tired-looking fishing boats.

Chinese women were mending a fish net under the shade of a large

roof. Nearby, op-posite the single-store y houses , small fishes and shrimps were left to dry in the hot sun.

Only storks can be seen picking edible slugs from the mud beds. The fishing hours have long passed. But strangers do not come here for the view. There are better ones else-where.

Hidden in this inner sanctum of Bagan Tengkorak is a restaurant with no name. Its menu is limited. There is no soup or Oh Chien (oys-ter omelette) on order. It’s unusual but true.

What it does have is its signature dish, the claypot catfish cooked in thick bean paste sauce. Its appear-ance is a bit disagreeable but it tastes like heaven on earth.

  The big prawns were fresher than the morning flowers in a botanical gar-den. There’s a sharp, tangy taste to three of the four dishes we ordered.

 Besides the vegetables, we also ordered a plate of la-la. The la-la shells were uncommonly large and thick. These are not nor-mally seen in other sea-food outlets. This dish too earned a five-star rating.

 The restaurant’s solitary cook is a middle-aged man who easily puts to shame many of the top chefs in the city. His extraordinary skills have attracted a small number of diehard supporters who flock here during weekends.

Some outsiders say this unpreten-tious restaurant is the jewel in Bagan Tengkorak’s crown. One meal at this eatery will convince you of its repu-tation. The bill will also bring a big smile to your face.

Next door to this restaurant is a building for breeding mantis prawns and la-la clams. There were numer-ous aquariums with oxygenated running water keeping thousands of these delicious sea critters healthy and succulent.

From the size of the aquariums, these popular crustaceans will even-tually find their way into city restau-rants.

Bagan Tengkorak is such a sleepy hollow that even the flies take a si-esta in the afternoon. And unless your grandfather or a distant relative are staying in the vicinity, outsiders will be in no hurry to pay homage to this riverine settlement.

But I will remember the restau-rant with no name.

Straight into the jetty of skulls

La-la that would please any seafood diner.

Big prawns that will make any normal diner salivate.

Processing small fish out in the hot sun.

Fisherfolk mending nets

for the next day’s trip to

the sea.

Fishing boats anchored along the muddy river banks.

An oil palm plantation inside Bagan Tengkorak.

The sign that shows the way to Bagan Tengkorak.

20 February 11 — 13, 2011

Features

Dates National Events Venue 12 – 16 Mar National Chess Convention Kuala Lumpur 12 – 15 Mar National Age-Group Championship Kuala Lumpur 16 – 20 Mar National Closed Championship Kuala Lumpur 16 – 20 Mar National Women Championship Kuala Lumpur May National Men & Women Masters Kuala Lumpur 29 May – 7 Jun MSSM Chess Penang Jun Malaysia Inter-State Chess Championship Kuala Lumpur Aug Merdeka Team Chess Championship Kuala Lumpur Aug The Malaysian Open Kuala Lumpur Sept National Rapid Age-Group Kuala Lumpur Sept 2nd National Rapid Age-Group Perak Nov National Chess Camps Kuala Lumpur 14 – 18 Dec 4th National Junior Chess Championship Kuala Lumpur Selangor Open Selangor Dec Penang Open Penang KL Open Kuala Lumpur National Scholastics Age-Group Championship Pra-Sukma Catur Dates International Events Venue 21 – 29 Apr Asian Cities Team Championship Jakarta, Indonesia 1 – 10 May Asian Continental Championships Tehran, Iran 1 – 11 Jun Asian Junior U 20 Championships Colombo, Sri Lanka 1 – 11 Jun ASEAN + Age-Group Championships Tarakan, Indonesia 2 – 11 Sept Sport Accord Mind Games Beijing, China 11 Nov South East Asia (SEA) Games Indonesia Asian Schools Championship AI Ain, UAE Asian Youth Championship Subic, Philippines Florencia Campomsnes Memorial Indonesia Jun Commonwealth Open Championship Cape Town, S. Africa World Junior U 20 Championship New Delht, India Oct World Schools Individual Championships Krakow, Poland Sept World Youth Championships Rio de Janerio, Brazil Sept World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad Ankara, Turkey

Understanding the pastCompiled by Peter Long

Talk to any chess trainer worth his salt and the topic of the importance of studying clas-

sical games will come up. Yet with computers and the Internet, pro-grams like Fritz and Rybka, and database tools like ChessBase, infor-mation is readily at your fingertips and that has resulted in many seem-ingly becoming an instant expert today!

So why go through 100-year-old games when with a few clicks of the mouse the latest wrinkle played by the leading players of today can be seen and with the help of a chess engine deciphered?

Well, most would agree that a player’s progress is largely mirrored with how the history of the game of chess developed with the growth and change in strategic ideas of leading players through successive generations and this was best put forward by former World Champion Ma x Euwe in his book The Development of Chess Style.

In my work as chess trainer at Polgar Chess Asia, once past the beginner stage, I see either young players entirely being absorbed by tactics to the detriment of everything else or the ver y opposite i .e. completely deficient, and the medicine that needs to be offered to both is a good dose of the classics!

A s G r a n d m a s t e r A d r i a n

Mikhalchishin, who is Chairman of the FIDE Trainers’ Commission would say, it is by studying the classics that we can clearly see the ideas when first introduced and then understand how they have been developed.

The following game which is played by Paul Morphy (1837-1884) who many consider to be the first unofficial World Champion, is offered to challenge the reader to use as benchmark for his or her own play in looking to achieve the first basic level of skill – combination for strategic ends – before attempting more.

Morphy, Paul - Harrwitz, DanielParis, Match (4) 1858

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Bg5! f6 8.Bh4 Nh6 9.Nc3 Qd7 10.0-0 Be7 11.Rad1 0-0 12.Qc4+ Rf7 13.Nd4! Ng4 14.h3 Ne5 15.Qe2! g5? 16.Bg3 Rg7 17.Nf5 R g6 18.f4 g xf4 19.Rxf4 Kh8 (Diagram)

Good start for Malaysia

20.Rh4! Bf8 2 1 . Bxe 5 ! f xe 5 2 2 . R f 1 Q e 6 2 3 . N b 5 ! Q g 8 2 4 . R f 2 a 6 2 5 . Nx c 7 R c 8 2 6 . Nd 5 B x d 5 2 7 . e x d 5 R c 7 28.c4 Be7 29.Rh5 Q e 8 3 0 . c 5 !

(Diagram)Rxc5 31.Rxh7+ Kxh7 32.Qh5+

Kg8 33.Nxe7+ Kg7 34.Nf5+ Kg8 35.Nxd6 1-0

Morphy’s superiority to his contemporaries lies not in his combinative abilities but in how he, understanding and then applying with absolute mastery the principles of development, the centre, and open lines, was able to build his game irrevocably till so very often we are treated to a finish of beauty that we can never forget simply because they arose from the logic and demands of the position.

MAlAYSIA got off to a good start this year with victory in the annual Malaysia-Singapore Match, now in its 21st edition. It was played between Dec 31, 2010 and Jan 1, 2011.

During the Kuala lumpur edition last year, Singapore had triumphed again by the narrowest of margins possible – one point.

But with a very much weakened team going down to the lion’s den over the New Year weekend, it did not seem likely Malaysia would break a 10-year drought.

All the more when the last few years has seen Singapore, through a combination of offering systematic training at all levels and age groups together with player imports, overtake Malaysia in the international rankings (currently Singapore is ranked 60th while Malaysia is 67th).

But Malaysia managed to overcome a seven-point deficit after the first day to triumph 77.5-74.5, thanks to a crushing win in the third round which put us three points in the. This was subsequently defended in the fourth and final round.

Full calendar for MCFThe Malaysian Chess Federation has offered a calendar for 2011, and while some dates are tentative as subject to that “monkey on our back” known as sponsorship, local enthusiasts will find this a reliable guide to what to expect this year.

ABOUT THE AUTHORPeter Long is FIDE Master who is a two-time National Junior Champion and National Champion in 1986. Long is also Malaysia’s only FIDE trainer and the Polgar Chess University Director for Asia. He can contacted at peterlong@aol.asia

SELANGOR TIMES ⁄ February 11 – 13, 2010 ⁄ 21

Notices

22 February 11 — 13, 2011

Gallery

A disabled man displays

his caligraphy skills at the Thean Hou

Temple during Chinese New

Year last week.

Selangor Exco Teresa Kok, Datuk Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Iz-zah Anwar chatting before the Sri Muda assemblyperson Mat Shuhaimi Shafie’s court case at the Shah Alam High Court on Monday.

Selangor Exco Ronnie Liu at a voter registration exercise in Bukit Tinggi, Klang, with Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo-Burne, on Jan 29.

Selangor state exco Dr Xavier Jayakumar hands over a cheque for RM300,000 on behalf of the Selangor state government to Sri Maha Mariamman Rimba Jaya temple officials in Shah Alam on Monday. The Padang Jawa temple was demolished several days before Deepavali celebrations in 2007.

NEW YEAR WISH: Council presidents and city hall mayors with Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim and state Exco Ronnie Liu at a Chinese New Year gathering in Shah Alam recently. From left (behind): Tukiman Nail (Hulu Selangor Municipal Council), Mohd Jaid Ehsan (Selayang Municipal Council), Datuk Mohd Roslan Sakiman (MBPJ), Abdul Razak Jaafar (Kuala Langat District Council), Zailani Kadir (Sabak Bernam District Council), Datuk Mazalan Md Nor (MBSA), Haris Kasim (Kuala Selangor District Council), Mohd Sayuthi Bakar (Sepang Municipal Council).From left: (in front): Mohd Azhar Mohamed Ali (Selangor local government deputy director), Datuk Mohammad Yacob (Ampang Jaya Municipal Council), Khalid, Liu, Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abdul Rahman (Kajang Municipal Council), Abdullah Marjunid (Subang Jaya Municipal Council deputy president), Datuk Mislan Tugiu (Klang Municipal Council).

23FEBRUARY 11 — 13, 2011

culture

PERFORMANCE

Frinjan for the massesiNtERviEw

❚ COMPILED BY ZEDECK SIEW

“SiS, let’S reclaim our rightS!”

Creative festivals seem to be all the rage these days. Dutamas’s Map KL, in particular, has been guilty of excess; apart from this Justice For Sisters event, the venue is organising something called LiFest (a festival “celebrating Art, Photography, Music, Culture and Fashion”) beginning the following weekend (Feb 19 - 27). Not complaining, of course; it’s just that all the buzz just makes it tough to keep up. Anyway, “Sis, let’s reclaim our rights!” is another event by Justice For Sisters, a confederation of creative types advocating for the Mak Nyah community, who typically face abuse, persecution and discrimination in Malaysia. This full-day festival promises lots: “from post-punk gigs to post-avant garde arts to poetry readings.” Featuring, among many others, music from Meichern, Ferns, and Think! Tadpole! Think!; poetry by Priya K and Tshiung Han See, and performance art by the Buka Kolektif.

Editor’s PickFestival; Justice For Sisters; Map KL @ Publika; 12 February Admission by donation 03-6207 9732; www.mapkl.org

ARtS

Of all the regular art festivals that happen in the Klang Valley, none so actively tries

to reach the general public as Pekan Frinjan. This day-long “town” of stalls (selling apparel and books), music (from punk bands to singer-songwriters), and miscellaneous performance (street theatre, poetry readings), held monthly, got its start as a state tourism initiative to en-liven downtown Shah Alam. De-signed to provide fringe subcultures an avenue for expression, it’s become one of the most vibrant, visible and inclusive events in Selangor’s cul-tural life.

Pekan Frinjan enters its 17th instalment this weekend. We talk to co-organiser the Frinjan collective’s Zulhabri Supian (he’s also a writer, book publisher, and tour guide) about the state of culture in urban Malaysia, why we’re losing out to Indonesia, and what audiences can expect at the coming Pekan Frinjan.

How did Pekan Frinjan be-gin? We understand that you work in collaboration with the Selangor state government.

It was actually an idea that Tour-ism Exco YB Elizabeth Wong sug-gested to Frinjan collective founder Amri Ruhayat – to brighten up Dataran Shah Alam with arts and culture events and bazaars for young people. Tourism Selangor has helped us a lot in organising Pekan Frinjan, since its first edition on 1 March 2009.

Since then we’ve grown, both as an event and a collective. I co-organ-ise it with Alina Abdullah, and we have a number of people who help out on a volunteer basis.

Pekan Frinjan showcases non-mainstream music, literature and performance. Why do you think that space for these sorts of cultural experiences is limited?

The appreciation – by both the authorities and the public in Malay-sia– of arts and culture is still low; we don’t take these things seriously. This is in stark contrast with our neighbours Indonesia, in which arts and culture is widespread, and con-sidered as a way of life.

To me, there needs to be more genre- or location-specific arts com-munities – everywhere, including in the Klang Valley – before public or private institutions will take notice and create the space for such things.

Malaysian culture is quite infantile, generally. What needs to change?

The Malaysian education system has to be rebalanced, with real em-phasis on culture – the way we have with sports. Again, look at Indone-sia: almost every secondary school there holds a year-end art festival – that unearths a lot of new talent and promotes fresh ideas. This doesn’t happen in Malaysia.

Pekan Frinjan tends to happen in public spaces with a lot of foot

traffic: Dataran Shah Alam, i-City. Who do you want to reach? Why?

The general public is our main target. They are the majority, and they are little exposed to culture beyond the kind you’d see at things like Jom Heboh. It’s our hope that this small effort will have an impact on Malaysians’ exposure to art – probably not anytime soon, but gradually.

We intentionally have Pekan Frinjan in public venues where you can relax, because young people are more comforta-ble with this con-cept. We want to r e ta ke p u b l i c space with fresh, but leisurely ac-tivities.

Is the public receptive to the ( s o m e t i m e s weird) s tuf f that they see in Frinjan?

In g enera l , the response we get is very good. This is because most of the audi-ence doesn’t usu-a l l y g e t t h e chance to se e work like this. On the part of the “art- going public”, their ex-pectations are q u i t e h i g h –

that’s a challenge to us to not stag-nate and continue to improve the way we put together performances.

What will we see at Pekan Frinjan 17? Any highlights?

Bijou Bazaar, a crafts and guer-rilla fashion market based in KL, will be joining us for the first time. We’ll be having performances by rising musicians and poets like Dum Dum Tak and Petak. There’s also going to be the launch of an indie book, by a youth collective, entitled Kuala Lumpur, Aku Okay.

Music Concert; The Annexe Gallery @ Central Market; Feb 17 - 20;RM45; 03-2070 1137; www.annexegallery.comThe outrageously fun, all-inclusive, free-loving Torch Song Massacre music machine, “where we kill

everyone with those oh so tragic love songs”, returns!Featuring some of KL’s best talents: ROZZ, Elvira Arul, Liyana Fizi, Reza Salleh and Aaron Khaled. With special guest appearances by Salamiah Hassan, Junji Delfino, Ida Mariana and Nabila Nasir.

torch Song maSSacre - Battle of the SexeS!

Munkao engages in fun takedowns of the commercial art world, most memorably in the triple-bill (along with fellow pranksters Chi Too and Dill Malik and curator Simon Soon) pomp-fest The Best Art Show In The Universe. With that sort of rep, you can be sure that the artist isn’t taking the theme of his new show, Feng Shui, completely seriously. The curatorial write-up sounds like a shopping catalogue: “Whether you’re hanging

the artwork in your home or office, the artworks [of Feng Shui] hold the promise of enhancing your working or living environment, bestowing health, wealth, joy and peace.” Satire, ho!

feng Shui - a Solo exhiBition By munkao

Film Screenings; Amnesty International Malaysia; The Annexe Gallery @ Central Market; 13 February 2011; free admission; 03-2070 1137; www.annexegallery.com

This day-long programme of movie screenings is themed around the bonds that human beings have with each other – an appropriate topic for an event hosted by human rights NGO Amnesty International. Featuring Rex Bloomstein’s Zarganar: This Prison Where I Live, a documentary about Burma’s leading comedian, sentenced to 59 years of prison by the junta. The British filmmaker will be on-hand for discussion about his flick. Also featuring the premier of Demand Dignity.

FilMleSSonS in love

Published by Selangor State Government and printed by Dasar Cetak (M) Sdn Bhd No. 7, Persiaran Selangor, Seksyen 15, 40000, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.