As I was saying

Umno needs more Malay votes to stay in power. With only 50% of the Malay vote and less than 50% of the non-Malay vote it is dead meat. So the issue of the abolition of Malay rights and privileges and a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister is being played to the hilt.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Right below is a report from SelangorKini about RM6 million a year being given to Islamic religious schools or Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR). So far RM12 million has been given, said Dr Halimah Ali, the State EXCO member.

The report then goes on to talk about Islam.

There is no mention of similar aid for Indian or Chinese schools. I did not say that the Selangor State Government does not aid Indian and Chinese schools. I am saying that the article just talks about Islam and Islamic schools but does not mention anything about Indian and Chinese schools.

Below is a posting by DAP Member of Parliament Gobind Singh Deo about the lack of scholarships for non-Malay students. One important point to note is what Gobind said: The Selangor government must remember that it is a government of and for all races.

YB Teresa Kok made known the facts and figures as she herself felt the number of Indian and Chinese students participating were somewhat low: said Gobind.

Gobind goes on to ask: Why has there been such a lack of information to the public about the availability of such education loans and scholarships? Who is responsible for it and what is the government going to do about it?

Point number one: SelangorKini is a state news organ. It merely reports what the state is doing. It is a sort of state newsletter.

As I said in an earlier article, they also need a state newspaper to address many other issues. And when I say state newspaper I mean an independent newspaper, not a state mouthpiece like SelangorKini. This means it must not be seen as a state propaganda organ but an independent newspaper that reports without fear or favour.

And to be seen as an independent newspaper that reports without fear or favour it must be allowed to be critical of Pakatan Rakyat or the Selangor State Government when criticism is due.

Point number two: SelangorKini gives the impression that the focus of the state government is on the Malays and Islam. This may not be true but this is the impression given. I know that some money has also been given to Indian and Chinese schools. They have also been given land. Even the temples (meaning non-Islam) have received assistance.

But how many people know of this? SelangorKini talks about Islam and Islamic schools. Why the focus on Islam and Islamic schools? More importantly, why allow ammunition for Barisan Nasional to use against Pakatan Rakyat? I am sure Hindraf, for one, will jump at this issue. Then you accuse Hindraf of being a Trojan Horse when they speak up.

Pakatan Rakyat and the Selangor State Government must learn how to manage perception. Perception management is very crucial. It is bad enough when the government-controlled mainstream media spin lies about Pakatan Rakyat. But here we have Pakatan Rakyat itself contributing to the problem with bad perception management.

One issue being thrown at Pakatan Rakyat the last couple of days is that Lim Kit Siang (a Chinese) will be made the Deputy Prime Minister if Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the federal government. The second issue is that Pakatan Rakyat will not uphold the special rights and privileges of the Malays as enshrined in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution if it comes to power.

Umno realises it may lose the non-Malay vote in the next general election. It therefore needs the Malay vote. But in the last three general elections it managed to win only 50% of the Malay votes.

Umno needs more Malay votes to stay in power. With only 50% of the Malay vote and less than 50% of the non-Malay vote it is dead meat. So the issue of the abolition of Malay rights and privileges and a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister is being played to the hilt.

There is a third issue being played up in the hope of getting back some of the non-Malay votes. And this issue is that PAS will turn Malaysia into an Islamic State if Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the new federal government.

The Malay issue is being used to get back the Malay vote and the Islamic State issue is being used to get back the non-Malay vote.

How is Pakatan Rakyat countering this? If these issues are not addressed it will hurt them in the next general election.

Pakatan Rakyat complains about being victims of unfair mainstream media reporting. I have asked this question before: what is Pakatan Rakyat doing about it? SelangorKini does not seem to be the solution. It appears to be part of the problem.

Pakatan Rakyat is its own worst enemy. Until it understands the meaning of perception management it will continue to get whacked. And I too will continue to whack Pakatan Rakyat until it wakes up and starts doing the right thing.

Trust me on that one.

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Education Assistance in Selangor: Can Pakatan Rakyat offer change?

(gobindsinghdeo.blog.com) - There is much to be said about scholarships and government loans in Selangor.

Yayasan Selangor has come under fire over the lack of scholarships awarded to Indian and Chinese students. It has been said that this is primarily due to a lack of awareness and participation on part of Indian and Chinese students over the availability of such scholarships.

With respect, whether or not such is true, we cannot run from the fact that the numbers reflect a very small number of scholarships to Chinese and Indian students. This is simply unacceptable.

This, again, is only in respect of Yayasan Selangor. I am sure there are also other scholarships available within the state. What are they? What is the distribution of these scholarships or loans to the multiracial public?

The Menteri Besar of Selangor should reveal details of all loans and scholarships available to students in Selangor. He should also disclose the breakdown of how and to whom these scholarships were awarded in the past.

The Selangor government must remember that it is a government of and for all races.

There are poor students in Selangor from all races in great need of funds for education. What is needed is an aggressive advertising campaign in Selangor with a view towards building awareness amongst all races. It is our duty to tell them there are opportunities for them in respect of loans or scholarships in Selangor and that Selangor will not let them down when it comes to matters such as education.

YB Teresa Kok made known the facts and figures as she herself felt the number of Indian and Chinese students participating were somewhat low. The purpose of her exposing it was simply to invite greater awareness and participation.

Nevertheless, the PR government in Selangor must recognize that the rakyat of today are more observant and independent in their views. Therefore, when issues like these arise, one would expect that the government reacts quickly to find out the root cause of the problem and ways to solve it.

Why has there been such a lack of information to the public about the availability of such education loans and scholarships? Who is responsible for it and what is the government going to do about it? (READ MORE HERE)

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Peruntukan RM6 juta setahun untuk SAR di Selangor

(SelangorKini) - Bagi mencapai hasrat negeri maju dan mendapat keredaan Allah, Kerajaan Selangor memperuntukkan RM6 juta setahun bagi membantu Sekolah Agama Rakyat (SAR) di negeri itu.

Exco kerajaan negeri, Dr Halimah Ali berkata, sehingga kini, RM12 juta telah diserahkan kepada sekolah-sekolah berkenaan.

“Kerajaan negeri Selangor sedang berusaha membentuk anak mudanya menjadi khalifah Allah yang bakal mentadbir dunia dan Khaira ummah (ummah terbaik) menjadi agenda kerajaan negeri Selangor,” kata Dr Halimah dipetik daripada Harakahdaily.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap di persidangan antarabangsa yang dikenali sebagai ‘International Conference On Islamic Education 2010 (ICIEd 2010)’ sebagai satu perancangan untuk memperkasakan sistem pendidikan bukan hanya di Selangor malah di seluruh dunia.

Program yang dirasmikan oleh Menteri Besar, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim merupakan satu inisiatif yang dilakukan oleh Jawatankuasa Tetap Pendidikan, Pendidikan Tinggi dan Pembangunan Modal Insan dengan kerjasama beberapa pihak lagi termasuk Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor (Kuis).

Sebanyak 140 kertas kerja telah dibentangkan dalam persidangan diadakan di Holidays Villa Hotel & Suites, di sini telah bermula pada 29 November lalu hingga 1 Disember 2010, oleh tokoh-tokoh pendidikan Islam seperti Sheikh Professor Dr Mohammad Said Ramadhan al-Bouti, Professor Datuk Sidek Baba dan ramai lagi.

Persidangan yang disertai 250 peserta dari pelbagai negara berjalan atas usaha yang dilakukan oleh Kerajaan negeri melalui Exco pendidikan bagi menaikkan taraf pendidikan di Selangor.

Persidangan ini berjaya menjurus ke arah zaman cerah selepas mendapat suntikan semangat perjuangan baharu dari tokoh pendidikan terkenal dunia Islam, Sheikh Professor Dr Mohammad Said Ramadhan al-Bouti dari Universiti Damascus, Syria.

Inti pati ucapannya menyebutkan pendidikan Islam walau di mana sahaja tempatnya dan pada bila-bila masa tetap perlu berteraskan kepada bagaimana bentuk perjalanan perjuangan Nabi Muhammad SAW yang berjaya melahirkan satu generasi sahabat paling hebat yang terkenal di alam dunia dan berjaya di akhirat kelak.

Tegas beliau, daripada model emas itulah, dibentuk berbagai kaedah dan pendekatan yang meskipun berbeza daripada bentuk asal berasaskan kelainan geografi setempat dan berbeza latar belakang kehidupan sesebuah negara tetapi hadaf dan matlamat utama pendidikan Islam tetap mengajak manusia ikhlas melakukan ketundukan kepada Allah SWT.

Dr Said Ramadhan yang juga Ketua Jabatan Agama dan Pegangan, Fakulti Perundangan Islam di Universiti Damascus berkata demikian ketika menyampaikan ucaptama bertajuk Masa Hadapan Pendidikan Islam: Iktibar daripada Sirah Nabawi di hari pertama persidangan tiga hari bermula 29 November dan berakhir pada 1 Disember ini.