Cleaner’s life turned upside down after accident

May 31, 2009

IPOH: Life was fine for cleaner Wong Yoke Kham until her husband was involved in a nasty accident three years ago.

He became an invalid, forcing Wong to become the family’s sole breadwinner overnight.

Wong, 42, said that her 38-year-old husband Ting Hoo Ling was working in Singapore before the tragedy struck.

Help needed: Chan (left) comforting Ting, who was bedridden following an accident three years ago. With them are (from right) Beruas MCA division chief Ooi Jing Ting, Ayer Tawar New Village JKKK chairman Ling Leong Chin and Wong.

“My life was turned upside down overnight,” she said, adding that her family was dependent on her meagre RM400 a month income as a cleaner. They have also been relying on financial aid from relatives.

“But I know I cannot depend on them forever as they, too, have their families to care for,” she said.

Besides having to care for their two children, aged eight and 10, Wong also has to bring Ting for his regular check-up at the Manjung Hospital.

Perak MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau chief Alex Chan has appealed for donations to help the family.

“The bureau handed Wong a donation of RM1,000 while an anonymous donor also contributed another RM1,000 to start the ball rolling,” he said.

Those who wish to help can send cheques made out to “Perak MCA Public Services and Complaints Bureau” with Ting’s name written on the back.

The cheques can be sent to the Perak MCA headquarters at 90-92, Tingkat Satu, Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, 30000 Ipoh.

For details, contact Chan at 05-2536981.

Hawkers get a home in Ipoh - Star

By CHRISTINA KOH

SOME 25 years ago, mobile hawkers and petty traders in the Kinta Valley were a disorganised bunch, plying their trade at street corners or any empty space they could find.

It earned them accusations that their businesses were causing traffic jams, and complaints from shoplot owners of hawkers parking themselves in front of their premises.

Acting on these complaints, the local authorities introduced policies around 1986 meant to cut down on the number of street hawkers as they were considered ‘a nuisance’.

Auspicious event: Ka Chuan (third left) cutting the ribbon to open the new rented premises of the Kinta Mobile Petty Traders Association.

It was only when Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, then a Perak state executive councillor, stepped in that the authorities softened their stance on the traders.

Ong had urged the traders to band together and register themselves as a society, then negotiated for the council to approve business licences for trading at specially designated areas.

Kinta Mobile Petty Traders Association chairman Tan He Chuang said had it not been for Ong, their association would never have existed.

“That’s why our members will always remember him for helping us during those difficult times.

“Back then, it was so hard for us to earn a living and he showed us how to organise ourselves. Because of him, we could get licences to trade,” said Tan.

Today the association is 1,400 member strong and Ong remains its honorary adviser. To commemorate his efforts, the association invited him to open its new rented premises at First Garden in Ipoh on Sunday.

PSD scholarship review - Star

Thursday May 14, 2009 By NG CHENG YEE

PUTRAJAYA: The Government will review the selection criteria for Public Services Department scholarships, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

He said a meeting would be held among Barisan Nasional component party leaders, the PSD director-general and the Chief Secretary to the Government today.

They will discuss the matter and reconsider rejected cases.

“All four MCA ministers had met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to discuss the cases highlighted to us regarding the selection of PSD scholarship recipients.

“The same issue was also brought up at the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister has agreed to review the criteria,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

The MCA, he said, received many complaints where students considered the best in certain states were not selected for the scholarships.

“Instead, the moment they were informed about their unsuccessful bid to obtain scholarships to study overseas, the students were asked whether they would accept offers to study at local public universities or foreign universities based in Malaysia.

“This is a very serious situation where students do not get enough time to consider their decision,” he said, adding that such circumstances must be stopped.

Currently, Ong said, the selection is based on four criteria - merit (20%), race (60%), Sabah and Sarawak citizens (10%) and students from underprivileged groups (10%).

He said if meritocracy was part of the criteria, the students’ co-curriculum activities and interviews should not be included for consideration.

“Meritocracy means it should solely be the students’ results and not any other areas,” he said.

PSD scholarships make no sense: Wee - Sun

by Kong See Hoh

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12, 2009) : MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong (pix) says the way Public Services Department (PSD) awards scholarships "makes no sense", and wants the Cabinet to deliberate on the matter.

He also wants the department to be transparent and to explain in detail how the candidates were chosen, the Chinese press reported today.

Wee, who is deputy education minister, said the movement has already requested party chief Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the three other MCA ministers to raise the PSD scholarship topic at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow to determine if PSD has gone against the present government policy in awarding scholarships under the foreign degree programme.

He told reporters this at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Monday after receiving complaints that applicants with 14 A1s and 13 A1s were not awarded scholarships to study abroad but were offered courses in local universities or the matriculation programme.

The PSD interviewed 8,363 out of the 15,084 candidates who had applied for the 2,000 foreign degree scholarships up for grabs. The results of the PSD offer were made known last Friday.

He said the complainants were told by the department that their results were not good enough.
"But the students (complainants) told me their schoolmates with nine A1s were awarded scholarships!"

He said based on what Ong had earlier announced, that 20% or 400 of the 2,000 scholarships would be awarded to the top-scorers, the 52 Chinese who scored 13 A1s or better should have been selected.

For the 2008 SPM, three Chinese candidates obtained 16 A1s, two obtained 15 A1s, six scored 14 A1s and 41 received 13 A1s.

Wee urged the PSD to list the criteria for the selection of government scholars to pursue studies overseas.

Even if the department has other plans such as retaining some of the outstanding students to study in top universities in the country, it should not keep mum, he said, adding that this is, after all, an era when transparency is emphasised.

Wee also described as unfair a decision by PSD to require those awarded scholarships or those given alternative offers to study locally to reply within three day from May 8.

He urged applicants who were not successful to also appeal through the MCA Youth after having appealed directly to the department online.

They can download the appeal form from MCA Youth website (http://youth.mca.org.my) and submit the completed form, together with the relevant documents, to the movement's education bureau (Biro Pendidikan Pemuda MCA Kebangsaan, Tingkat 7, Wisa MCA, 163 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur) by tomorrow the latest.

Gerakan Youth secretary-general Dr Dominic Lau also urged PSD to be more transparent in awarding scholarships.

He expressed regret that the department failed to provide acceptable reasons why it rejected the applications of five straight As students from Malacca.

Meanwhile, PSD Director-General Tan Sri Ismail Adam said the department will arrange for some of the high-achievers who were not awarded scholarships to study overseas to pursue their studies in local universities, such as Monash University.

He told Sin Chew that some 8,000 applicants fulfilled the PSD scholarship criteria but with only 2,000 places, "some people will definitely be disappointed".

"All of them are good academically and are separated only by their points in extra-curricular activities, interview and family economic background."