In current times, abandoning babies and the death of such babies are continuing not only in Malaysia, but also in advanced countries like the United States and United Kingdom and throughout most parts of the world.

How do we deal with this phenomenon? What do we do to ensure that given the stress levels of today’s society, such problems do not become rampant? How do we prevent unwanted pregnancies?

Those who abandon babies are usually mothers in crisis situations. They are mothers who live in insecurity, in fear and in seclusion. These are mothers who hide their pregnancies. They are mothers who, throughout their pregnancies, are facing emotional crisis and lacking support of family members and friends. There are also those who abandon their babies in a moment of panic.

Firstly, the government has to look at long term solutions. It should set aside adequate funding to deal with the problem. It should look into proactive outreach programmes that educate and help in preventing unwanted pregnancies.

Secondly, government measures should be taken to ensure that the message reaches out to the women in trouble. Personnel should be trained and systems should be set up to be on the lookout for these mothers in very discreet ways. Awareness and a committed approach to the problem can at least see a reduction in statistics of abandoned babies.

A good approach is to set up a system by which these ‘mothers’ can be dealt with anonymously. Counselling and assistance should be channelled anonymously. Anonymity should be guaranteed.

Thirdly, the mothers should be encouraged to deliver their babies in safe places. For those who are ‘planning’ to abandon their newborn infants, safe heavens should be accesible. These can be LPPKN clinics, government primary health clinics, district hospitals, private hospitals, 24 hour clinics, government run welfare homes.

These safe heavens should be equipped to deal with abandoned babies. Identity of the mother should be confidential and she should not be threatened with prosecution.

Such a move will prevent or at least reduce the number of deaths of abandoned babies. It is more important to save a baby’s life than to prosecute the mother who abandons the baby!
Who knows one day these abandoned babies will grow up in safe homes and with good care grow up to be good citizens.

Peaceful minds have been disturbed one more time. This time a high-ranking officer of the PM’s department was alleged to have uttered disparaging remarks at a government seminar in Malacca sending a wave of hurt across the nation.

The worst thing is, this happened at a 1Malaysia seminar on the eve of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak’s forthcoming visit to Malacca.

I am certain the Prime minister will handle the new issue well, in the same manner that he has  handled several other issues since he took over as PM eight months ago. I think it is important for the Prime Minister to send only the right people to the ground. Only the right people who can carry the right messages should be sent to the ground.

I have listened to the Prime Ministers officer like Datuk Mohd. Shafie bin Abdullah addressing at a recent seminar at Shah Alam. He addressed issues well at a seminar attended by multi-racial component party leaders.

I think if we want the 1Malaysia concept to succeed good sense should prevail. Nation building is a very painful process especially in countries with mixed populations. And please, if you could spare some time, do read Karim Raslan’s  “Ceritalah” column from today’s TheStar newspaper.

Tomorrow’s visit is DS Najib’s second visit within five months, the first being in August 2009. It is good that he is following his father’s footsteps. This is a first time after the late Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak’s visit, that a Malaysian PM is coming to join us in celebrating Thaipusam.

The fact that the PM wants to be a part of this festival shows that he is ‘walking the talk’. Earlier last week, his trip to Chennai was also a first for a Malaysian PM. His visit to the city which is the capital of Tamil Nadu, highlighted his intention to give more attention to furthering better understanding and friendlier ties with people and institutions from a state where so many of today’s Malaysian Indians originated.

DS Najib’s intent and action will warm the hearts of many of us. This is surely a good start to his plans on further initiatives to focus and tackle the problems of Malaysian Indians.

We usher in the month of Thai in a very auspicious manner, by boiling rice, milk and sugar in ceremoniously decorated pots. And as the concoction boils and flows out of the pot in abundance it is seen as bringing in new hope and auspiciousness into our lives.

The whole world sees January as a new month, as a new beginning. It is in the month of January specifically January 14^th, in the month of Thai, that the Tamils make their new beginning.

The month prior to Thai is Margazhi. During Margazhi, God The Creator is glorified in temples beginning their prayers as early as 5am. Every Hindu house used to be decorated with Kolams – designs hand drawn with rice flour.

I recall when I was a young boy on how my mother used to wake up very early in the mornings to draw these floral designs on earthen space in front of our attap house in Kelawei Road, Penang. She would do it very meticulously and the Kolams will be spread over a large space.

My job was to go around the neighbourhood collecting coloured flowers to decorate the Kolams. By the time the sun rises, the entire ground in front of our doors would look so bright and beautiful. In no time, many birds, ants and insects will come to feed on the rice flour.

For 30 long days, the Kolam was a daily ritual/routine and interested lady folks would be exchanging new designs for Kolams. The grand finale would come on January 14 – Pongal day, when many Kolams will be drawn in front of the house. Sometimes also on the stairways leading to the next floor, and in the prayer rooms as well.

Prayers were offered to the Sun God and by noon we would have some poor folk come to our house for the Pongal meal. We would serve them authentic South Indian meals of Sarkarrai Pongal(sweet rice), sambar and rice.

These days my family observes as much of this tradition as possible.  Once the Pongal is prepared in the special ‘Pongal pot’ and the rest of the meal is cooked we have the Pongal prayers and then enjoy the meal with some friends who look forward to the special food!

The Pongal pot is an auspicious item and some families have used the same pot for generations even!

Incidentally, when I was the Deputy Minister in the Rural Development Ministry, Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad had approved a RM1 Million revolving fund to revive the pottery industry.  Thanks to this contribution, the potters who came to this country more than a 100 years ago are able to strengthen their industry. It is with a sense of deep satisfaction that I recall on how I was able to revive the pottery industry under the concept of Industry Kampung.

Happy Pongal!

Remaining calm and following the right direction is the hallmark of good leadership. The top leaders in the country have called for discipline, restraint and calm in handling this sensitive issue.   All matters can be resolved with proper handling of the issue and it does not need to be further incited with negative emotions and actions.

The media too has a responsible role to play in this matter.

Religion is a sensitive issue and places of worship are sacred to all people. To live in harmony and peace, mutual respect and understanding is the only way to go. Our history of living together with one another has been an example for many countries in the world to emulate. We must not disregard the positive aspects we have learnt from our experiences. How can we be proud as Malaysians if we resort to attacks on our fellow citizens or taunt their belief systems?

The acts of vandalism against places of worship, and in the most recent case, against churches, is the work of irresponsible elements who are out to undermine the government’s efforts on national unity.  It certainly cannot be the work of responsible people and such acts should be condemned by every responsible citizen.

Achieving unity within the party should be our priority. That should be part of our KPI. Only a united party will have the strength to function politically, especially in a state which is being ruled by the opposition.

Now that the division and national level party elections were over, we should set aside our differences and function as a united force. Our constitution has given us the right to contest for posts and party members have the right to vote people in and out. We are eligible for this role every three years. Once the elections are over, we must return to the fold and unite as one voice politically.

I stress again that political unity should be part of our KPI. Only a united MIC will have the recognition to represent our members and the Indian community in important forums.

This morning I had the opportunity of meeting in Butterworth 60 participants of a seminar on Political Awareness organised by the MIC Penang . The participants were all members of the Penang MIC Youth and Women divisions. It was an interesting occasion because we were gathered to brainstorm some very pertinent issues that we as Indians were facing politically.

Since it was a seminar centered on the idea of creating awareness on political issues, I suggested to the participants that we had to first define ourselves politically. The next step was to plan how we must function like a political party and not like an NGO. We must strategically chart our work as a political party and raise the level of political awareness of the voters.

I also told them that we have to continously meet and talk to our voters and educate them on the importance of their voting power. We must make them politically aware and remind them that they should support those who support them.We should tell voters that they should vote for those who work for them.

I also brought to their attention that there is a new domestic political situation and that the international situation has also changed. We could not afford to overlook the new situation and that we were no longer in the comfort zones of the past.

There are  new problems now. We have to adjust to the new situation, meet the new requirements and solve the new problems. The challenge facing the MIC, the Indians and also the nation must be identified, discussed and debated such that we may produce and implement the best solutions.

We must do things that gives a better perception of our role as a political party. The electorate must see us as an entity that is willing to embrace its responsibility and deliver. Only then can we clear the misconceptions about us. We have to ponder and plan on what should be done to improve our status and create the right perception about us.

MIC must become a learning party; it must build its institutional capacity to function in a more productive way. It must meet the challenges with the right tools to succeed and become stronger in the process.

2. By his statement, the Prime Minister has cleared the confusion that would have otherwise been another set back on the 1Malaysia concept.

3. Datuk Seri Najib’s statement has clearly given meaning to promote the 1Malaysia concept among all the races.

4. In all the Prime Minister’s recent moves, he has clearly shown that diversity is our strenght.

5. Malaysia is what we are now. And this is what Datuk Seri Najib is giving meaning to.

6. Malaysians would act together as a nation and support the government as long as there is no confusion.

7. What is important to realise is that vernacular schools are following the syallabus of the national education system. Tamil schools are following the syallabus set by the government.

8. Moreover, once students enter secondary education, they are together with other malaysians.

9. It is time for all of us to preserve and appreciate the uniqueness of our country, though diverse we are, we are moving together as Malaysians.

I recall the Deepavali we celebrated in Penang in the 1950s and 1960s. The spirit and atmosphere then was different. Every one prepared the traditional ‘cakes’ like murukku and also cooked breakfast and meals on Deepavali day.  In fact a special day and special time was auspiciously selected to start the festive mood; be it in the preparation of sweets or purchasing of new clothes.

In those days we never had the opportunity to purchase new clothes or shoes or other personal items like bags or belts whenever there was a sale. It was Deepavali that brought us the distinct pleasure of owning new things. Everything would be new; shoes, shirts, trousers, socks and even schoolbags. If you missed out on any item, you will have to wait for the next Deepavali!

The run-up to Deepavali day was very exciting too. The eve would be the most exciting with relatives arriving from distant places. Normally everyone works without sleep. For example, new curtains would be hung and if one couldn’t afford to buy new curtains then the old ones were washed and promptly put up again. My mother would work throughout the night, preparing for the next morning prayers, while I could barely sleep waiting for the first burst of sunlight so I could play some fire-crackers.

This would be followed by my sisters and me carrying trays of cakes to our immediate neighbours and to other close relatives. We lived in Kelawei Road. Ours was a very small kampong with only three houses adjoining a Burmese village and Siamese village. My house was a stilted attap house made of wood with brick walls for the kitchen portion.

Our immediate neighbour on the left was a Malay lady whom we fondly referred to as Mak Jan and the house to our right was occupied by a Chinese lady. Carrying a tray of home-made Indian cakes and sweets to Mak Jan’s house was our first task. Then we would go to the Chinese neighbour’s house. After that we would carry trays of cakes to other Malay and Chinese homes located along Kelawai road. Often our trays were returned with some coins or a heap of sugar. The coins, mostly twenty cents, would make me skip with excitement and I would happily pocket it.

I must add here that during the Hari Raya and Chinese New Year festivals, the process was reversed and my Malay and Chinese friends would visit us with trays of their goodies. Such was the spirit of the old Malaya and the newly formed Malaysia during the 1950s and 1960s. We were already practising then what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib  has now re-introduced – the concept of 1Malaysia. Thank you to the Prime Minister for bringing back the old spirit of the 50s and 60s where people of all races lived together in a naturally and mutually respectful manner without any sort of artificiality. There was of course less politics then.

By late afternoon on Deepavali day the excitement would slowdown and by 7 pm, everything would be quiet. I would be content on the one hand for having spent a happy day and   a little sad on the other hand because it would be a long wait for the next Deepavali!

Nowadays, Deepavali is different with ‘open houses’ and things becoming ‘commercialised’. More and more people are embracing things that money can buy and forgoing on things that take effort.  The well-to-do celebrate Deepavali differently, the not so well-to-do will try and manage while the poor who can ill afford will face hardship in trying to please their children.

Malaysia is a land of plenty. All of us can chip in to make the lives of others happier. Although we do see that happening, the caring spirit should spread to every poor home.

My Deepavali wish is that every one of us should try to make as many people as possibly happy. We must make many feel loved and cared for and our efforts to bring cheer to everyone should continue beyond the festival of light!  Happy Deepavali everyone!

Indians have an emotional link with the MIC. Tunku Abdul Rahman had once said, “ Even if there was only one Indian in the MIC, I would only talk to the MIC.”  Unfortunately we no longer live in the era of leaders like the Tunku.

In the last general election Makkal Sakti supporters were seen carrying the PAS flags, were seen wrapping the PAS banners around their bodies, and PAS members were uttering the words ‘makkal sakti’  like a mantra.

Now it seems Barisan Nasional leaders are giving it a go. They have begun chanting the mantra. Is the Barisan Nasional even dealing with the original makkal sakti phenomenon? Or are they dealing with a replacement?

On the accusations that MIC had failed the Indians and that is why we lost many seats in the last general elections, may I say that we are only a minority and how can we alone bring the fall of the strong  Barisan Nasional  governments in Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor? Are we also responsible for the PAS victory  again and again in Kelantan?

In the last general election there was an across the board multi-racial anger against the BN, so it is unfair to make MIC the scapegoat!

I have been going for the Bagan Pinang campaigns and I am sure UMNO will know who the real workers on the ground are. The Deputy Prime Minister, YAB Tan Sri Muhiydin Yassin saw for himself  the work of the MIC  at the Sua Betong estate and who  the real ‘sakti’ is.

Long live the MIC!