PLUS (Pungut lebih untuk Samy)

Posted by Raja Petra
Sunday, 30 December 2007

I refer to the statement made by Dato Shahrir Samad where he suggested the government takes over PLUS to reduce the financial burdeon of the people and the government in addressing the concession agreement with PLUS.

With due and utmost respect to Dato Shahrir Samad, whom I regards as one of the few honest politicians who speak with his mind, I believe Dato Shahrir has actually miss a major point. The government actually owns PLUS as we speak today.

If we were to study the PLUS 2006 annual report, we will be able to make the following deductions:

Issued capital - 1.25 billion
Large Shareholders with shareholding of 5% and above
UEM 40.21%
Khazanah 23.87%
EPF 9.65%

From the Khazanah website, it is quite obvious that UEM is also own by the government via Khazanah. So when the Minister says that we should make it a government property, I believe Dato Shahrir means that it means buying those shares that are not own by the government as it is.

My own analysis of the scenario is that buying PLUS is actually not a very good idea. If you see the shareholding structure of PLUS, you can see that the directors themselves own very little shares in the company. What does this mean? It means that they know this is not a company that can make money. PLUS is merely a financial conduit for the other companies that is associated with UEM where the common director has larger stakes.

By studying the 2006 annual report, we can see that more than RM 5.8 billion was actually paid out to UEM and its subsidiary companies. What does this mean? Well let me make this simple. If someone is sitting in a company and start signing various service agreement with other companies where the directors has a bigger shareholding, it means that something fishy is going on. No wonder they keep a bare minimum number of shares in the company.

If my memory serves me right, UE took a RM 4 billion loan from the government to built the highway and over the last few years I think we can safely say that we have been paying many billions over the original cost. However due to the not so recent financial crisis and some politically led corporate maneuver’s, plus became a government company partly. Well there may be some quarters that claims that t has to be done due to other national interest, I beg to differ.

So, where do we stand today on the toll and PLUS issue. The government will still raised the toll to satisfy the shareholders of Teras Technology, Propel, Rangkaian Segar, UEM, Time Quantum Technology, BizAid Technology. If one were to analyze in detail the amount of payment made to the IT linked arm, you will be shocked on the ” service charges”. If plus is my own company, there is no reason for me to pay RM 2,135 billion recurrently( every year) on IT related service fee to subsidiary like Teras Technology, Time Quantum Technology and Biz Aid. I am a medical doctor and I have an MBA in IT, I can say for sure spending 100 million is already plentiful enough to setup and IT system. All you need is several million more to maintain it yearly. Well maybe I am a cheapskate businessman that count pennies and that is why I can come out with such a figure.

So, Dato Shahril you see, there are people out there that are very good with their maths. They make everything looks good on paper and went to make corporate maneuvers, the Malaysian Public interest is not the prime importance. As the chairman of PAC, I urged you to look at this affair. The public keep asking to see the various concession agreement but many failed to appreciate many facts that is available in the Public Domain. The question that we should be asking is not about buying PLUS (which is partly owned by the government) but about buying UEM. Then only you can control the cost of managing the highway and keeping it low for the malaysian consumer. It appears that we are paying ridiculous amount of money in so called maintenance activity.

With rising oil price, we need to find ways to keep the country to be economically competitive to produce goods cheaper than the rest of the world. With all this corporate game that makes cost of living higher among malaysian, we are definitely losing our edge. For Malaysian, be prepared to pay more next year on TOLL to enrich UEM and its subsidiaries (indirectly its majority shareholders)

Regards and best wishes,

Dr Mohamed Rafick Khan bin Abdul Rahman

MD, MMed(OM), MBA(IT), Dip Ae Med, CTM, AME (17)

Narrow minded

Mr.PM , we read you X'mas message in The Star . Thanx for branding justice lovers as 'narrow minded' and 'intolerence' . Some questions to you Mr.PM . Who is actually narrow minded?

Every Malaysian support Petronas but why it only allocates projects for bumis ? Everyone pays tax but why national wealth distributed one side only ? Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM?

A student should be treated beyond race and religion but why higher education allocation is skewed ? Education ministry says students should not be part of politics and rallies . Sekolah Wawasan promotes racial mix . Good . But why students divided racially when comes to higher education? Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM?

Former Melaka CM, Johari Baharum & Khairy all made racial remarks and not questioned . But why when a minority demands for correction it being penalized badly? Son-in-law or Son-is-the law? One of your leader could show Keris to public but unarmed ppl are the one prosecuted for attempted murder? Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM?

You whom love proper channel why didnt listen to the dozens of petitions given to you by Indians before Nov25 ? Why your big ears turned off? Why only now gov gives assurance no temples tobe demolished? Why only now gov directing MIC aggressively to meet grassroot? Is it because you want ourvotes and not us? Are we only worthonce every 5years?

Why you could forgive zakaria for building illegal Palace but not atemple built 100years back?Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM ?

Indians have been loyal to BN for 50years with hope one day BN will open space for us . Why did you use tear gas , water cannon and false attempted murder charge against your loyal supporters? Were they so harmful than Mat Rempit?

The Mongolian murder case tarnished national image as it involved big political names . Why your AG more interested to punish a minority group consist of bus driver and technician instead? Why didnt you understand poor ppl's thirst for justice and could understand million dollar corrupter surrounding you?

You could effort to buy a million dollar space ship in which not even a screw designed by Malaysian but cant afford to adopt Tamil schools which delivers future manpower, future votes and future tax payers? Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM?

Why did you sent 5 lawyers to ISA? Denying rights is the crime or questioning why it's denied is the crime? Your press statements contradicts your actions. Who is actually narrow minded Mr.PM?

Lead by example else let my examples lead you Mr.PM .

Pretty women shot and blown

Posted by Raja Petra
Friday, 28 December 2007

RM432 billion will be spent/invested in the development corridors over the next 12 years (ECER RM120b, NCER RM112b, IDR RM200b). That is RM36 billion a year, RM3 billion a month, RM750 million a week, and RM107 million a day starting now.

Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan has been shot and blown up by a suicide attacker in Rawalpindi, Pakistan today 27 December 2007. That was her career choice, to involve herself in politics and embroil herself in the violence that her nation has become.

Today, I also heard another version of the Altantuya murder. Some say that Altantuya was shot and killed first inside a VIP's office in Kuala Lumpur. Then she was taken to the oil palm estate in Shah Alam, laid down on the ground and then blown up. The evidence presented in court so far seems to support this view, i.e. she was shot elsewhere and then blown up elsewhere. The police testified in court that they found blood-stained slippers in Korporal Sirul Azhar's jeep. The blood was Altantuya's. Obviously the blood got onto Sirul Azhar's slippers when he was moving her dead body after she had been shot.

It is unlkely that whoever shot Altantuya would have shot her at the Rothman's Roundabout in Petaling Jaya. It is also unlikely that she was shot at the oil palm estate. She must have been shot out of sight inside a building. So, it does add up.

Obviously, the forensics investigators and the A-G's office are refusing to say where Altantuya was believed to have been shot. This is another major cover up.

From a more humanist point of view, both Benazir and Altantuya were women, pretty women, going about their lives doing what they thought was best for them. Altantuya did whatever she did and Benazir did what she did. The common factor between them both was that they got involved with politicians who were Muslims in a Muslim country. This is a very dangerous mix for anyone, especially pretty women.

You see, Islamic countries do not function very well. They all fall asleep on the job. While they are sleeping they may have terribly wet dreams which they think is real. Then, when they wake up and realise the pleasure has disappeared instantly, they get very upset. They may try to massage their 'egos' to regain the pleasure but as the saying goes, too much massaging makes your wrists limp. According to Eddie Murphy, you may even go blind. This is when they end up shooting people. Anyone will do, but woman are preferred.

Today, I also heard that by 2009 there will be close to one million unemployed people in the country - Malaysians, Banglas, Indons, Sabahan Filipinos, Nepalis, etc., are going to be unemployed. This is because the Prime Minister is sleeping and he is having many wet dreams. Fortunately he has not woken up yet, so no blazing guns yet. But the theory goes that by 2009 the PM may have to wake up. That is when oil would have surged past USD100 per barrel, the electricity rates would have gone up, our growth would have slipped to about 5% or less, and there will be widespread unhappiness, unrest and demonstrations in the streets.

Many more factories would have closed down and jobs would be scarce. Hundreds of thousands of bumiputra graduates will be unemployed. As you read this, the steady rate of bumiputra graduate unemployment in any given year is now 100,000 (plus minus 20k). Bumiputra graduates are now turning up for job interviews as taxi drivers.

By 2009, this very 'Islamic' state of affairs will peak. Then, if we are lucky, a state of emergency will be declared in the country, saner heads will take charge, and there will be a return of the Jedi. The Jedi will rule for a few years and put things in order. Hopefully the Jedi will be healthy and strong for a long time to be able to do all this.

If we are unlucky, the PM will wake up from his wet dream and start shooting from the hips. If he continues firing blanks, not too many people will get hurt. But judging from the raid on the Blogger in Kuantan, the brutal suppression of the Hindraf, the violence against Bersih, the shooting of two people at Batu Buruk, and other acts of State-sanctioned violence, it is most likely that the PM will do the 'Islamic' thing like Pakistan - he will let the shit hit the fan. Then we will be in deep shit.

I also heard today that 70% of Chinese BN supporters will not vote for BN anymore in the next general election. There is a suggestion that the PM will have to make way for a 2nd Chinese Deputy PM to keep the Chinese votes. This will alienate the Malays too and even UMNO members will not vote for the BN. It is also doubtful if such an act will placate the Chinese.

Kelantan and Terengganu are considered 'gone cases' - the BN will lose in these two states. Tun Daim has come out of nowhere and said that Kedah, Penang and Selangor may become hot spots. In short, the BN is going to lose big, very big.

Chinese contractors are making very simple calculations. From his many wet dreams, the PM has let 'fly' that RM432 billion will be spent/invested in the development corridors over the next 12 years (ECER RM120b, NCER RM112b, and IDR RM200b). That is RM36 billion a year starting now. That is RM3 billion a month starting now. That is RM750 million a week starting now. That is RM107 million a day starting now. No one, especially the Chinese contractors, believes this is going to happen.

So, the one million unemployment figure by 2009 is not unreal. Already over 120,000 bumiputra university and college graduates (diploma and degree holders) are unemployed. Most Mat Rempits are also unemployed. According to Putra UMNO, there are over 250,000 Mat rempits in the country. That is already 370,000 unemployed bumiputras. Indons and Banglas are also straggling around the country looking for jobs. In Sabah the unemployed Filipinos will become a great problem after the elections are over.

Pretty women beware. Malaysians beware.

Dirty

Posted by Raja Petra
Sunday, 23 December 2007
By Little Bird With Talons

As Raja Petra says, the next General Election may be held in March 2008. Or it may be held towards the end of 2008. It cannot be held off much longer than that. Whatever the date, the BN has lost substantial support among the Indians, the most hardcore BN supporters to-date.

Acknowledging the problem, MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran has been quoted in the media as saying, “We in the MIC do not want Indians to cast protest votes in the next general election. We want the community to continue to support Barisan." Vignes you may be too late.

The BN has also lost the support of many Malays, including many UMNO members. If we read the Blogs of UMNO members and UMNO sympathisers like Kadir Jasin, Sang Kelembai, Ruhanie Ahmad, Datuk Kamal Amir, Rocky's Bru and others, we will see that many Malays too have become fed up with UMNO.

The Chinese are really pissed off at the present Government. They do not believe in any of the statistics being manufactured by the Government especially the 'feel good' numbers being churned out by Bank Negara and others. No one is buying the propaganda.

UMNO has evolved. It used to be the United Mamaks And Nanas Organisation. It is no more that now. Now UMNO stands for Untuk Melayu No Otak or U.M.N.O. This new U.M.N.O. is behaving like a headless chicken. Indeed the chicken does not have a head at all. A Chinese contractor from Johor almost fell down laughing when the chicken's head said that the flood problem could be solved if all the rivers were straightened. We have thousands of crooked rivers in the country but they don't all get flooded.

Whatever they do seems to backfire. First the PM said 'don't challenge me'. But he got challenged anyway. So he arrested five Indians under the ISA and framed attempted murder charges against 31 other Indians. Now the 31 have been released. Nothing will happen to them. Obviously their challenge has been successful. The five others under ISA will get released soon because Karpal Singh has pointed out that the PM made another mistake in detaining them for two years, minus a cure period of 60 days that is normal under the ISA (according to the law).

The Government also received too much negative publicity over the 'let's douse them with tear gas' caper. The foreign media showed peaceful protesters being treated like animals on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

Since taking over the PM's job four years ago, the PM has made no new economic initiatives - other than the fake development corridors. Just this week the media has reported that the double-tracking project from Ipoh to the north will be implemented at a cost of RM12.5 Billion. Saudara Kim Quek has done an excellent analysis of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu's revenues in comparison with the RM12.5 Billion double tracking project from Ipoh to Padang Besar. Quek says that KTM's total revenue is RM288 million. This is only revenue, before expenses. After expenses, KTM makes losses. That is why KTM is still available for sale to any fool for just RM1.00. KTM is what can be termed a non-profit organisation. It never makes a profit.

Quek estimates that revenue from the Ipoh-Padang Besar sector is RM60 million. Again, this is only revenue. It does not mean profit. Just like YTL's 'vely, vely crever' proposal to build the fast train to Singapore on a Private Finance Initiative where YTL would only be contractor and operator, leaving the U.M.N.O. Government as the Operator (and swallower of losses) Tan Sri Syed Mukhtar Bukhari will also build only and transfer the asset ownership of the RM12.5 Billion white elephant to the U.M.N.O. Government. Our grandchildren will bear the losses through taxes. The ROI or return on investment from this doomed project will be negative. The U.M.N.O Government sudah mati akai - they are brain dead. They do not know what to do.

Over in ECER, Norwawi Affendi has reiterated that the Government will spend RM122 Billion over the next 12 years to develop ECER. That means spending RM10.0 billion a year. A map of ECER shows massive development projected for Pantai Sepat, which lies on a huge island just off Kuantan - facing head on to the monsoon driven South China Sea. Every fisherman in Kuantan knows that you can only build anything on the side of the island facing the mainland, which is sheltered but terribly muddy. The beautiful coastline facing the open sea is uninhabitable because it faces the brunt of the monsoon for four months. That is why on Pantai Sepat there is nothing other than a few Malay houses and cows.

All the fancy boat piers will not work. The monsoon will smash the boats to bits. Has anyone ever heard of something called the Kuantan Port? It was built facing the open sea. After 30 years few people even know it exists. Kemaman has a better chance of being successful because it has a beautiful natural deep sea harbour.

So, to make a long story short, no one is going to spend RM10.0 billion a year for the next 10 years in ECER, NCER or Iskandar.

Even if they have all the projects properly lined up, where is the money going to from? Before this, Nor Mohd Yakcop, the 2nd Finance Minister, used to say 'we have money from here, money from there, etc.' Until he had to borrow RM2.7 Billion from the Chinese to build the 2nd Penang Bridge. People asked Nor Mohd if we have money why did you borrow so much from the Chinese just to build a bridge in Penang? So how is the U.M.N.O. Government going to fund the RM122.0 Billion for ECER? Mana ada duit? So it's not going to happen. These are just gimmicks to pull the wool over the kampong peoples' eyes. Also to con the U.M.N.O. party members.The ahli parti Untuk Melayu No Otak. Siapa Melayu tak ada otak, sertailah U.M.N.O. dengan segera.

Just like in 1969, the BN is going to lose big time in the next general election. They will still form the government but they may lose the two-thirds majority, lose Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and maybe even Penang, and suffer reversals in Sabah and Selangor. Pas will make more inroads into Johor.

What will happen if the BN loses the two-thirds majority and loses a few states? Looking at the past as proof, the BN will throw a big fuss to frighten people. They may even declare an Emergency and rule the country through a junta (Majlis Gerakan Negara or Mageran), which they did in 1969. This is the real threat to the security of the nation. As Raja Petra has said, the Elections Commission Chairman, Tan Sri Rashid, has said his job is to make sure the Malays do not lose the political power in this country. What he really meant was U.M.N.O. No one really cares about the Malays.

Now they are matai akai - brain dead. They do not what else to do to win back support. Maybe before the next general election the Prime Minister will announce a 100% income tax exemption - but beginning from 2009. This simple trick may win the Chinese votes. Tapi Melayu tak bayar cukai pun.

So what should we do? The best thing is for everyone to cast their votes for the Opposition. Any Opposition will do. I will even vote for PAS. And then go home quietly and don't do anything about it. No need for victory parades, no need for shouting in Parliament. No need to insult anyone. Let's just cast our votes and then go home quietly and wait for the results. If the results say the BN has lost, let's go about our business quietly.

Do not give any opportunity for U.M.N.O. to brandish their really short keris (malu lah - senjata Melayu bukan saja pendek, tapi tumpul dan bengkok-bengkok.) Do not give U.M.N.O. any opportunity to let loose the Pekida 'tiga line' gangsters, the U.M.N.O. Putra Mat Rempit gangsters, Khir Toyo's Javanese gangsters in Selangor, etc.

And everyone should start talking about this freely and openly. U.M.N.O. is now totally bankrupt. The Malays are not getting any bigger share of the cake. Duit sabsidi pun dah tak guna. The cost of living has gone up so much, even the salary increments do not mean much.

2000 years

The birth of religions in 2000 years. Eventhough I don't believe in them, but its nice to watch. Enjoy.

From a Chinese

Indian was not the only one being marginalize in Malaysia. The Chinese, Kadazan, Iban, Malanau, Orang Asli and even The Malay themselves were being marginalize by UMNO/BN. I'm a Chinese yet what I going to said is not a racist stuff yet something which how we Chinese manage to survive.

If you think that the government is helping us, you are dead wrong. Why is our Chinese primary school is so big and some of them were even bigger then the Sekolah Kebangsaan? It was from our donation money. We work like mad to get those money. The government nor the MCA didn't even give us a penny on it. We work like mad to built those school and make them bigger because we believe that good education will bring future to our children. We even hire good teachers from China to teach our student where as the school is paying them (donation money), NOT THE GOVERNMENT.

When our children want to further their studies, do you think UM, UPM or MARA will accept us? Hell not with their stupid quota!! So what do we do? Again we work like mad, borrow money from bank and some even dare to borrow from Ah Long to send our children on board to further their studies. Some might asked why you want to waste those money sending your kids outstation? If you look at the recent world ranking about our local university, you will know why we Chinese send our children away. You think the Government is sincere in running those local university? Lol, the ranking and the current unemployment rate show a good example of those so call UMNO's University.

Back to basic, where do we find the money? Work from the bottom, don't complaint much, be hardworking, and keep in your mind that the government and MCA DID NOT HELP US IN SETTING UP OUR CAREER. We have to learn them ourself, we are not born to be a business man. We are just like everyone, we are NOT special. People keep complaining that we Chinese is damn rich but do we steal from you? Do we force you to buy our products? Do we force you to make business with us? No cause we do it sincerely and we earn those money with our own hand.

So what is the moral of this story? 3 main point!

EDUCATION is damn important! Even you have no money to eat, you MUST make sure your children go to school!! Education is their future, you screw them up and your child future is gone!

UNITY! Even you see we Chinese support different parties like MCA, Gerakan or DAP, we are united under 1 topic, EDUCATION! When ever UMNO try to disturb our Primary School, we will stand unite to fight for it even tough we are from different parties! This is why they fail to touch our school even they have try for so many years!

And last one is ATTITUDE!! No money to eat? If you have money to smoke, drink 'Samsu' or even for gambling, you still dare to said you don't have money to eat?? Change your attitude first before you complain about your life. Salary too low? Go get other jobs. There are lots of jobs out there looking for people at school leaver like McDonalds, KFC, stores at shopping complex and many more. Too old for those kind of jobs? Then I really got nothing else to said since you don't have to guts to chance your destiny.

Life still MUST GO on even you have been marginalize. We Chinese have learn from it. We teach all our children that the government won't help us, work = money and education = future (good career). No work = no money and no education = no future. A simple yet powerful thoughts that keep we Chinese moving in this country.

Hope these tips will help.

The Malaysian Malay

THE MALAYSIAN MALAY
by Dr Syed Alwi of Singapore

As you know, I am an avid watcher of Malaysian affairs. I must confess that lately, Malaysia appears to be failing. Not a day passes by without more events that clearly highlight Malaysia 's race-religion fault-line. If things keep going this way, I fear for Malaysia's future.

Today, schools in Singapore celebrate Racial Harmony Day. I canvisibly see the joy in the children's faces as they wear their ethnic costumes and have fun together at school. But in Malaysia - even the right to choose a religion has become a sensitive, national issue. No doubt, there are many in Malaysia who hate my liberal views on Islam, family included. But I will say what I must say openly. I have come to the conclusion that Malaysia cannot progress any further without first addressing fundamental questions regarding its identity and soul.

I remember the days when we can laugh at Lat's cartoons on everyday Malaysian life. But sadly, the Islamic tide has polarised Malaysians. Some people ask why I should bother about Malaysian affairs since I am a Singaporean. May I remind Malaysians that it was Tan Siew Sin who once said that Singapore and Malaysia are Siamese Twins. Should Malaysia go down - it would hurt the region tremendously. Especially Singapore ..

Where do you think Malay apostates would head for if Lina Joy loses her case? Singapore of course! I find the Malaysian Malay to be very under-exposed. For them, it's all Islam and the NEP and everything under the sun would sort itself out. I am sorry to say this - but Islam and the NEP may be the cause of the undoing of the Malaysian Malay.

There is nothing wrong with religion or affirmative action. But, like everything else in life, they must be taken in moderation and with a pinch of salt. A little doubt is good. Unfortunately in Malaysia , emotions over Islam have overcome reason. What we see today is the result of the NEP and Islamisation policies of the past thirty years or so.

No one owes Malaysian Malays a living. Let me assure you that should Malaysia fail - the Malaysian Malay will suffer enormously. And rightly so. After all - they have been pampered with all sorts of goodies over the years. They cannot now expect more goodies. Perhaps the day of reckoning for them, is near. Whatever it is, Malaysia had better wake up to the realities around her. The globalised world of the 21st century has no NEP to offer the Malaysian Malay. And humans cannot live by religion alone.

Regards,
Dr Syed Alwi

Interesting.. Long but interesting..

The Indian protest in Kuala Lumpur has been a great success because it made a very loud noise. But the Indian protesters forgot to shout Daulat Tuanku. Instead they showed allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II by carrying placards that had Queen Elizabeth's picture. Others also carried pictures of Mahatma Ghandi.

According to the NST, Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar said that they would 'get a second bite at the cherry' when they go to London in mid-January to present a memorandum to the Queen of England. But the Queen is reported to suffer constipation and some flatulence during cold winter months like January – a predicament inherited from her ancestors who avoided the privy in winter because they had no internal plumbing. She may not be disposed to receive Uthayakumar. But there is some confusion. The NST reports: "We don't want to rely on Indian-based parties anymore. We want to go directly to Umno because it is they who hold power," said the lawyer who was in the midst of the illegal gathering yesterday. So is it Queen Elizabeth or UMNO? Unfortunately for the Indian community, all roads to UMNO go through Samy Vellu's office.

This appeal to Queen Elizabeth and Mahatma Ghandi is a mistake. The banners scream 'We are Malaysians'. To the other Malaysians, it seems to be that the protesters are Indian Hindus first and Malaysians second. The ethnic, religious identity is pushed forward. The name 'Hindraf' is also exclusive. It excludes Indians who are Christians, Sikhs and Muslims.

Why call it Hindu Rights Action Front? Why not just Indian Rights Action Front (INDRAF)? Why associate with religion? This is what some NGOs said - the Hindu Indians are making a mistake of projecting a narrow Hindu image.

However, the grievances and the protest by the Indian Hindus is real and justified.The BN Gomen's failure to uplift the Indians is real. It is a big failure. The BN Gomen does not really care for them. UMNO says they want to be the payung for all Malaysians. This is a lie. They are the least bothered about the fate of the Indians. Uthayakumar's idea that he wants to go directly to UMNO may earn him a Datukship, but the Indians will not get anything else.

Hindu Tamils are now treated like fourth class citizens by the BN Gomen. Parties like MIC and PPP just get by on handouts for their community. The Tamils can be ignored by the UMNO boys. Why should the UMNO boys respect the Indians? While the Hindraf was protesting on Jalan Ampang, Nallakaruppan was hosting the founding of his new Indian political party called Malaysian Indian United Party (or Muniandy) at the Istana Hotel. In his speech, Nallakaruppan pledged allegiance to the BN. He said that the Muniandy party would support all the BN's policies. Just a few months ago he was dancing on stage with Anwar Ibrahim in Ijok, hoping to be Keadilan's candidate against the BN at the by-election. But since Anwar dropped him in favour of a Malay, Nallakaruppan is now dancing to the UMNO-BN tune.

The Indians cannot depend on the BN Gomen or anyone else to uplift them. They have no choice but to uplift themselves. Like the Chinese, any community (including the Malays) that does not depend on the BN Gomen will become richer and more successful. This is because the BN Gomen itself does not have any idea how to uplift the people. This is a Gomen that is groping in the dark. The blind cannot lead anyone to light. They cannot see.

Historically, the majority of Indians came here as very poor people. But the Indians in India and Malaysia are not one uniform body. Indians are a small minority in Malaysia – making up less than 10% of the population. Numerically they are becoming even more irrelevant.

But this small minority is divided into so many sub-minorities almost all of whom are far richer and better off than the Tamil Hindus – the largest Indian group who were also the people protesting on Sunday. The Sindhi and Gujerati Hindus are business oriented. They may not even acknowledge that Tamil Hindus are human. In their belief the Tamils are children of Hanuman, the dark-skinned monkey god who helped their white-skinned god Ram rescue their white-skinned princess Sita Devi from the clutches of the dark-skinned Ravan.

Then we have the Ceylon Tamils. An irate Indian Tamil woman once said that the Ceylon Tamils in Malaysia are ashamed to say that they are also Indians or Tamils. So in official application forms where they must state their race, they put themselves under 'Lain-Lain' or Others, not as Indians. Few people may be aware of this but the Ceylon Tamils are by far the most successful racial group in Malaysia, whose per capita incomes may be higher than the Chinese, Gujeratis, Mamaks, etc. There are more millionaires per thousand people among Ceylon Tamils than any other race in Malaysia. The richest man in Malaysia is a Ceylon Tamil billionaire known as Ananda Krishnan.

There are the Sikhs who have their own axes to grind against the Hindus. The Sikhs have also done very well in Malaysia. They may have started as jagas and susu lembu sellers but now they are among the best doctors and lawyers in the country. Money lending is still their forte. In a nutshell, they are doing much better than the Tamil Hindus.

Then there are the RSS sympathizers in Malaysia. RSS stands for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Nathuram Vinayak Godse, the Hindu extremist who murdered Mahatma Ghandi in 1948, was a member of the RSS. The RSS in India is led by Brahmins whose main purpose is to preserve the Hindu caste system and thereby preserve their positions. They do not look kindly at Mahatma Ghandi and none of them will have a picture of Ghandi in their homes, let alone hoist Ghandi's picture at a public rally.

There is very little love lost between all these Indians. There are extremely very few intra-Hindu Indian marriages. It is almost impossible to see a Ceylon Hindu marry an Indian Hindu or a Gujerati marry a Telugu. You will not find any of the RSS Brahmins marrying any of the Hindraf people. It just does not happen. On the other hand, in Malaysia, there are thousands of marriages between Malays and Indians of all types and castes. This Sunday, 9th December, a extraordinarily beautiful and quite rich Malay woman is marrying a Hindu Tamil (who of course had to convert). The wedding will be held at a major hotel and will be reported in the Malay media. The Indian media will never cover such an event.

The RSS sympathizers did not support the Hindraf protest. Instead, they released a statement to the media that said: "the MIC and the Government had helped to fund, build, repair as well as settle relocation and land issues for temples nationwide." In other words: what is there to complain about? There are enough temples. Caste and inter-Indian race differences are great. The discrimination and prejudices within the Indians is greater than from without. But that does not really affect the bread and butter issues that were the main reason for the protest on Sunday.

It is also mind-boggling that many Hindu success stories have come to a tragic end through outright murder. All too often Indians suffer violence at the hands of fellow Indians. This is not unlike the case with the African Americans and Mexican Americans who suffer tragic violence at the hands of their own people.

In Penang recently, a well known and very senior Tamil Hindu lawyer by the name of Annamalai was brutally stabbed to death by two Indians, most likely hired killers, in broad daylight. I knew Mr Annamalai who was over 60 years old and was a polite and gentle man. The killers have not been caught and neither is the motive known. A few years ago, a young Hindu woman who owned three beauty salons in Klang was also brutally murdered by Indians. After being beaten and stabbed, her body was repeatedly run over by her own Pajero. The crazed intensity of the violence against her was unimaginable. Again, her killers were not found and neither was the reason for her murder known. Earlier to that, a young Tamil Hindu geologist who ran a very succesful geological services company in Bukit Mertajam was killed by Indians. His head was cracked open by an axe. His killers were never caught and neither was the reason for his murder known.

These were among the cream of their society in their own neighbourhoods - Indians who had come up in life through hard work and against much odds. They all suffered violent death at the hands of Indians. It could be any number of reasons why they were killed but often it is pure jealousy by Indians against fellow Indians. It is okay if a Chinese or Malay is succesful, but when an Indian makes good, any number of other Indians may become extremely jealous. And if there is even a hint of an insult or injury, real or imagined, it may be enough to trigger murderous action. So the Indians do not need extra enemies from outside to keep them down. They can be their own worst enemies.

First of all, the Indians must realise that holding up posters of Ghandi or Queen Elizabeth is brain dead. It would have been better if they held up posters of the great Tamil hero Veerapandian Kattaboman. But since no one knows what Veerapandian Kattaboman looked like, they could have even held up posters of the great Tamil movie hero MG Ramachandran or MGR who once portrayed Veerapandian Kattaboman in a Tamil movie. But why Ghandi and why on earth Queen Elizabeth II? This only proves that the Indian Tamils may have their feet planted here, but not all their thoughts are fully settled here.

The time for pussyfooting and endless talk is over. Indians must 'bite the bullet' and take decisive and practical action to help themselves. Since all the protests have been made, it is now up to the Indians to put forward what they really want to do.

Do not expect the Barisan Nasional or the UMNO boys to help you. They do not even know how to help themselves. After 50 years they do not even realize the main problem that is holding the Malays down – their religion and their total disregard of the English language. So how are they going to figure out what are the real issues facing the Indians? Even if they want to help the Indians they will not know what to do.

Some simple-minded Indians have suggested that the Indians be exempted from all university racial quotas. This is a beginning but it does not solve the problem of the poor Tamils in the estates and the rural areas. The MIC has set up the Tafe College, taken over private law and accounting colleges (Vanto Academy) and set up medical schools yet the plight of the Tamil Hindus in the estates and rural areas has not changed much.

In Semeling in Kedah (in the Merbok constituency), the MIC has built the most modern medical campus not only in Malaysia but maybe in the whole of Asia, Europe and the US. Please Google 'AIMST'. One minute you are driving through oil palm plantations then suddenly you turn a corner and almost run into a group of huge UFO spaceship type buildings rising out of the oil palms - this is the Asian Institute of Medical Science and Technology. Yet only the guards and gardeners at the AIMST are Indians from the surrounding rubber and oil palm estates in Semeling. Most of the Indian students at AIMST are from well to do Indian families from outside Kedah who can afford the almost RM300,000 fees at this private medical school. Increasingly now, more Chinese students are also enrolling at AIMST.

So even if all the protests work and the Barisan Nasional Gomen offers Indians unlimited entry into universities, it is the children of educated, urban, west coast Indians who are going to gain admission. The Ceylon Tamils, the urban Tamils, Punjabis, Gujeratis, Tamil Muslims, etc., will take advantage of the opportunities. The Indians from the rural areas and the estates are never going to make it, or at least not any time soon.

Dont believe me? Here is my proof. Before the NEP, before 1970, it was status quo. The playing field was 'more' level then. Or was it ? The Ceylon Tamils monopolised senior Gomen jobs, teaching jobs, doctors, lawyers, etc. The Telugus were mandors at the estates while the Tamils were the labourers. The Sindhis and Gujeratis monopolised the textiles business. The Mamaks ran the sundry shops. The Tamil Hindus were at the lowest rung of the ladder. Who really cared for them? But that was the 'level' playing field available at that time. It is by sheer effort and perseverance that many of the Tamil Hindus have come up in life to become the Uthayakumars and the Selvams of today. But these are so few, the exceptions.

So even if the BN Gomen completely opened up all the university opportunities to Indians it is the minority within the minority ie the Ceylon Tamils, the Gujeratis, the Punjabis, the Tamil Muslims, etc., who are going to take full advantage of these opportunities. The majority Indian Hindus in the estates are going to end up no better than before.

The solution seems obvious enough. The Indians must demand that Indian Hindus from the estates and the rural areas must be given super priorities at university entrance. This has been done for the past 37 years in Malaysia where poor Malay children from the rural schools and rural areas are given preferences over urban kids. So, if an Indian Hindu child from the estates has lesser grades than a child from the urban centres, the rural Indian child must be treated differently. But will the Indian community agree to this? How many of the urban-living Hindraf protesters from Sunday will agree to this idea?

The Indians must also demand for a 100% Government-funded special boarding school system where poor Indian Hindu children from the estates and rural areas are provided free schooling and board from Forms 1 till 5 and beyond. If the Malay kampongs were not conducive for Malay children to become the sons and daughters of the NEP, neither are the estates conducive to make successes out of Indian children. It is just not going to happen. There are exceptions where estate children have gone to earn PhDs but lets cut the crap, okay? We are not concerned with exceptional cases. We want to democratize opportunities for the Indian poor in the estates, the vast majority who are not exceptional but just ordinary poor people. There is a catch though. These Indian boarding schools must be taught by Malay and Chinese teachers only. The students must be weaned away from the negative, crude and pessimistic attitudes and language of the estates. Indian teachers may unwittingly delay this process. Lastly, these boarding schools for Indians must be located in largely Malay localities like in the East Coast states. They must be totally isolated from their estate environments and learn to fit into a more Malay and Malaysian environment. This way, if they have to protest again, they will not hold up pictures of Ghandi or Queen Elizabeth. They may learn to hold up posters of Sultan Muzaffar Shah, Hang Kasthuri, Hang Lekir, Tun Ali, Abdullah Munshi, and so on who were all Tamils.

As for the other poor Indian Hindus, the Indian community must demand that the Gomen provide them unlimited entry into all the vocational training institutes, especially the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara or IKBN, plus the MARA Skills Institutes. Surprisingly, it is Nazri Aziz as Minister in charge of MARA who has opened some MARA Skills Institutes to Indians.

The Indian community must also demand Gomen-funded housing for all poor Indians, those in the estates and rural areas as well as in the urban areas. They can either rent or buy these houses from the Gomen through any number of rent-own schemes, etc. The housing must not be the cheapo, two-room, one-bathroom type pigeon holes. They must be decent-sized houses with at least three sleeping rooms and two bathrooms. Even if they cost a bit more, the housing must be comfortable. Safe and comfortable housing is important to break the poverty cycle and bring Indian Hindus into the mainstream of our society.

Indians must also demand access to the Amanah Saham investment fund. Not the Amanah Saham Nasional that is open to all races and is priced at market prices but the RM1.00 per share Amanah Saham Bumiputra where your RM1.00 per share is guaranteed by the Gomen. Then, all the Banks' special Amanah Saham financing packages (since the RM1.00 per share is guaranteed by the Gomen) that are available to bumiputras will also be made available to Indians. This will be a major help to the Indian community.

Then here are more important but even more difficult things that the Indian community must do. They must listen to Mr SM Idris of the Consumers Association of Penang who has been campaigning all his life to abolish toddy shops on the estates. Indians and drinking must part company because it has been proven time and time again that Indians and alchohol do not mix well. Ban alchohol on the estates and the Indian community will save a lot of heartache.

There must be an end to Tamil schools in the country. Tamil is a great language. It has a long history and is a beautiful poetic language. But Tamil will keep the Hindus in the poverty cycle in Malaysia. In Malaysia, Tamil will make you poor. Believe me on this one. Ban Tamil schools and send all the Tamil kids to Gomen schools or Chinese schools.

Then, more importantly, to curb gangsterism, completely ban all Tamil movies, especially through Vanavil and other TV stations. They are absolutely brain-dead and a bad influence on already brain-dead Indian youngsters. Tamil movies are of zero cultural and moral value. Unfortunately Indian Hindus can riot (they did) to buy tickets for Rajni's latest movie 'Boss'. It was another useless Tamil movie that cannot win an award even at the Blind Movie Producers Awards. Endless fighting, beating, crying, killing, dancing, singing, marrying, seducing are the staple of brain-dead Tamil movies which have a strong and significant impact on the Indian population. Two Tamil movie actors, MG Ramachandran and Jayalalitha, have been elected as Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu just because of their movie acting. (No you cannot compare them to Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Large numbers of Indians know more about Indian politics than what is happening in Malaysia. They may not know the names of Malaysian Cabinet Ministers but they will know the names of Indian Chief Ministers and other Indian politicians. This shows that, after 150 years, many of the Indians have not fully grafted their roots to the local conditions. This must change. The Indians are ready to migrate to Australia (or to the Queen of England's kampong) and sing Waltzing Matilda in English to earn Australian citizenship. Why not remain in Malaysia and learn to speak Malay properly?

Finally, the Indian Hindus, all of them, including the RSS, the Punjabis, the Gujeratis, the Brahmins and the estate Indians, must get together and propose to the Barisan Nasional Gomen to pass laws that make it illegal and a crime to practice any kind of caste system in Malaysia. This means that all Hindu temples must be open to all Hindus, irrespective of caste. Any Hindu, and not just a Brahmin, can become a priest at the Hindu temples.

The RSS will definitely not agree to this suggestion. The RSS is the vanguard of the caste system and seeks to protect the position of the Brahmins. More than the BN Gomen, more than the conditions in the estates, more than Tamil schooling or Tamil movies, the caste system is the single most backward and degrading force that holds back all Indians. Whether Sindhis, Gujeratis, Punjabis, Tamils, Telugus, RSS, etc., they are all negatively affected by the really stupid and false caste system. Get rid of the caste system and the Indians will bloom to become a great people.

And the Indians in Malaysia definitely do not need 17,000 temples for three million Hindus. What for? Each temple needs a Brahmin priest, a commitee and it spreads more religious prejudice and anger. The same with suraus and mosques. Why do we need so many mosques. Over the past 15 years thousands of suraus and mosques have been built. Each one now has its imam, committee, etc. Each one is spreading religous prejudices. We do not need so many mosques or Hindu temples. Enough is enough. Only the RSS and PAS boys are interested in temples and mosques because they can control the temples and mosques. Temples and mosques bring in money. The more temples there are, the more money accrues to the brahmins.

But this initiative can only come from the Indians. The Malays and the Gomen will not even know where to begin on this one. They have no idea of the caste system. So the Indians cannot expect any help in this area from the Gomen. It is the Indians who must move this initiative. There will be plenty of resistance from the RSS and gang but you must all get together and kick this caste sucker into the sea. Otherwise it is all a complete waste of time. The Indians must be the inheritors of Thiru Valluvar, Bagat Singh, Ranjit Singh and Bharatiyar. They were real heroes. Ghandi was confused. Godse was a nut.