Saturday April 26, 2008
The Star - News

Did Balkis have the right to move out the RM9.9m?

PETALING JAYA: The RM9.9mil in the bank account of the Wives of Selangor Assemblymen and MPs Welfare and Charity Organisation (Balkis) belonged to it. And Balkis was within its rights to hand the money over to another organisation.

This is the stand of the president of the organisation at that time, Datin Seri Zahrah Kechik.

“We have sought legal advice and our lawyers advised us on the options available – either to put the money with any organisation or give it to the state.

Balkis members are proud of our work for the poor, we will never take what does not belong to us... DATIN SERI ZAHRAH KECHIK

“After some deliberations, we decided to give the money to the Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti),” Zahrah said yesterday.

The money was moved after a March 11 emergency meeting of Balkis, just days after the state government fell to the Pakatan Rakyat.

The current Selangor government is questioning the legality of the transfer of the funds.

Zahrah’s husband and former Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo said the organisation consulted its auditors and legal adviser before making the transfer and there was no “hanky-panky involved”.

Zahrah added that Balkis had decided to channel the money to Bakti because the two organisations have similar objectives.

She said the organisation’s constitution allowed for the money to be transferred to the state government or another entity with similar structure and charity orientation like Balkis – provided the recipient is recognised by the director-general of the Inland Revenue Board.

“Balkis was formed by wives of Barisan Nasional elected representatives who wanted to do something for the underprivileged.

“Now that Selangor is ruled by the opposition coalition, the members felt they could no longer serve effectively and that the organisation should be dissolved,” said Zahrah, adding that she chaired the March 11 meeting in her capacity as Balkis president.

“Balkis members worked hard to raise the RM9.9mil through various fund-raising activities over the years. The money is used to help the underprivileged groups in the state.

“All income, expenditure and contributions are clearly documented. Balkis members are proud of our work for the poor, we will never take what does not belong to us,” she said.

She said the wives of elected representatives under Khalid’s administration could also establish a similar organisation if they too desired to help the poor.

Dr Khir said the association was unsure if Khalid’s government would want to go on with the programmes already in place, or use the money for similar intentions,

He said the money was transferred to Bakti with the condition that those under Balkis’ Poor Students’ Aid Programme would continue to receive the aid.

“There was some worry after Pakatan Rakyat won the state that the new government might remove some of the students from the list (of recipients) and the poor students would not be able to continue their studies,” he said.

Dr Khir said the money was also used to fund a shelter home for women in Section 7, Shah Alam.

“The movement may want to establish a new association. The new association will be headed by Puan Sri Asbi Rohani Asnan, in her capacity as the wife of Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib,” he said.

Komuter drivers must announce station stops

The Star - News

Home > News > Opinion

Friday April 25, 2008

Komuter drivers must announce station stops

I WOULD like to urge the KTMB management to make it compulsory for all KTM Komuter drivers to announce the name of the station the train is arriving at.

When the Komuter service was first introduced, the drivers used to announce each stop and station, but on my recent travel, I noticed a failure to do so.

I was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Klang station and vice-versa the last week for a few days.

Unfortunately, none of the drivers made any announcements. I was struggling at night, unable to tell which station the train was arriving at.

The situation was worsened by the unavailability of lightings for the station signboard in almost all stations.

I had to check with regular travellers to ensure that I did not step out at the wrong station.

However, one passenger wrongly guided me and I disembarked a few stations from Klang station, my destination. I had to wait almost 30 minutes for the next train.

If this is my experience with KTM Komuter, how much more difficult it would be for the disabled like the blind.

KTMB should look into this matter immediately.

VIGNESWARAN KANNAN,

Sitiawan.

Educate public on rights of the disabled

Wednesday April 23, 2008
News - The Star
Educate public on rights of the disabled
SEVERAL articles recently highlighted children with special needs (“Teacher under probe” – Sunday Star, April 13; “The caged boy of Sanglang” – The Star, April 17).

In Ipoh, a Down Syndrome boy was caned by his teacher for misbehaviour, while a boy with mental disabilities was caged at his home in Alor Star because of his hyperactivity.

Meanwhile, the parents of a Chinese primary school student in Kuala Lumpur recently wrote to the Chinese press to protest against the setting up of a pilot Special Education programme in the school. They noted that special needs children should be put in special schools, out of the way of other children.

I think it is timely, therefore, for us to be reminded that the Persons with Disabilities Act 2007 was passed in Parliament on Dec 18, 2007. And, in April this year, Malaysia became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The convention entitles the disabled to the “full enjoyment of all human rights and ensures full and effective participation as well as inclusion in society”.

The Disabilities Act states that the authorities should promote the integration of students with disabilities into normal schools, with a view to accommodating these students in the mainstream.

We are just over a decade from 2020, the target date for Malaysia to achieve developed nation status. Hence, there is some urgency for us to work towards bridging the gap between the laws we have on paper, and what we see in reality.

I would like to urge the Government to be wholehearted in its support for the law that it has passed. It needs to work together with related NGOs to educate the Malaysian public on the rights of the disabled.

We should work towards the setting up of integrated special education programmes in every government school with a view to full inclusion as soon as the system is ready.

Much work needs to be done in the area of special education – there should be provisions for facilities to accommodate disabilities, therapists and teacher aides, and teacher training in inclusive education.

It is a tall order, but it can be achieved with resolve and effort. It is, after all, no longer a matter of choice. The law requires Malaysians to restore the disabled to their rightful place in society.

ANGELINE LIM

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

College helps community in its own way

Friday April 18, 2008

College helps community in its own way
By JADE CHAN

AFTER personally experiencing a robbery followed by a long post-surgery period, Masterskill College of Nursing & Health CEO Edmund Santhara realised how important physiotherapy was and discovered that was a severe shortage of physiotherapists in Malaysia.

“I learnt that the most important part of surgery are the post-surgery procedures because if that’s not done properly, you may lose 20-25% of your ability to recover fully.

“This is when you go to physiotherapists and undergo a rehabilitation process. Things that we take for granted, like using a fork and spoon or writing, have to be relearnt.

“Most physiotherapy centres in Malaysia have a severe shortage of qualified staff.

“The longer it takes, the stiffer your limb becomes and the more painful it is to do physiotherapy,” he said.

Santhara decided to look at the social aspects of helping people and how Masterskill could be a nation-builder in their own way. Masterkill’s physiotherapy project began as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives when they collaborated with the Malaysian Paralympic Council to support the KL’06 Fespic Games.

Keeping focussed: Students practising under the eyes of a lecturer.

After the Games, Masterskill launched its physiotherapy learning centre, named the McMillan Physiotherapy Centre, at their main campus in Taman Kemacahaya, Cheras. To contribute more effectively and to better serve the community, Masterskill also invested RM4.5mil to set up a physiotherapy research centre at Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Sungai Long.

“We found that it was difficult for people to come to our campus due to the lack of public transport, so we decided to open our physiotherapy research centre,” Santhara said.

“Our definition of commercialisation is that it’s open to the public but we won’t charge for the first three years except for a RM1 registration fee. “The physiotherapy centre in Sungai Long has been in operation since January and we’re looking into providing services for at least 500 patients,” he said.

The centre operates like a clinic and provides treatments for common injuries a general worker will usually have and general physiotherapy.

Service provider: The research centre at Sungai Long.

“We have 32 physiotherapy specialists, clinical instructors and a thousand over physiotherapists being trained – some of whom will be full-fledged physiotherapists six months from now,” Santhara said.

“One of the best ways to expose them, other than at hospitals, would be at our own centre,” he added. One of the project’s aims, he said, was to use the resources Masterskill had as they were presently the biggest physiotherapy school in Malaysia.

“We want to expose the students not only to clinical expertise, but how to manage a physiotherapy centre and teach them entrepreneurial skills. “It’ll also be a place where those that have be sent for training at hospitals can impart their knowledge and for our lecturers to have clinical experience to have a high level of skill-based experiences.”

Masterskill continues to provide training and development facilities to the physiotherapy community to enhance their skill and knowledge by, among others, developing a physiotherapy degree programme for qualification upgrade purposes, pledging scholarships and RM250,000 grants for knowledge development and bringing field experts to conduct seminars and workshops.

Their collaborations with Chettinad Hospital and Research Institute, India, and La Trobe University, Australia, offer additional training for students and allows for exchange in terms of knowledge and clinical experiences. In the pipeline are plans to open physiotherapy centres nationwide, with one in Sungai Petani, Kedah, in three months.

StarMetro will be featuring a series of stories of community works for the StarBiz-ICRM Corporate Responsibility Awards, which recognises and honours companies that demonstrate outstanding corporate responsibility practices in the different aspects of their business operations.