8 theSun | WEDNESDAY MARCH 11 2009

news without borders

Dong Jiao Zong may have

been infiltrated, says GMP
GMP (Movement Opposing
the Teaching of Science and
Mathematics in English) chair-
man Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad
believes MCA has infiltrated
Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ), which
Unused visas for
Bangladesh
Speaking to the press
in Kuala Lumpur on
Monday, he explained
Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
that GMP only wants to newsdesk@thesundaily.com
uphold the basic princi-
ple of reverting to the

partly explains why the Chinese
education movement opted out
of a gathering labelled as anti-
government last Saturday.
DJZ has dismissed the ac-
cusation while MCA Youth chief
Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong laughed
it off, China Press reported
yesterday.
During the gathering, which
turned into a protest march to
Istana Negara, where Hassan
handed over a memorandum to
a palace official, police fired tear
gas at the marchers and arrested
several for questioning.
Hassan said DJZ had stayed
out also probably because it
had misunderstood the content
of the memorandum, thinking
GMP was fighting for the teach-
ing and learning of Mathematics
and Science in Bahasa Malaysia
for all schools, including Chinese
primary schools.
He urged outsiders not to be
misled.
Hassan also refuted the claim
by Education Minister Datuk Seri
Hishammuddin Hussein that the
gathering was masterminded
by the Opposition based on the
presence of several of its leaders
at the march.
teaching and learning as baseless and irresponsible.
of Mathematics and Science He said DJZ has been against the
in Bahasa Malaysia. policy to teach Mathematics and
He said he was told DJZ has
been infiltrated by MCA, “which
is why it did not dare to take part
in the gathering”.
He said the Chinese com-
munity is not happy with the
absence of DJZ representatives
at the gathering.
As a result, he said, other Chi-
nese groups such as the Kuala
Lumpur and Selangor Chinese
Assembly Hall (KLSCH) decided
to send their representatives.
“I even invited (KLSCH presi-
dent Datuk) Bong Hon Liong to
join me in presenting the memo
at Istana Negara,” he said, add-
ing that he was grateful to the
Chinese and Indian groups which
took part in the gathering.
Both Dong Zong president
Dr Yap Sin Tian and Jiao Zong
president Ong Kow Yee denied
Hassan’s claim that DJZ had
refused to join the gathering
because of MCA’s infiltration in
the movement. They also made
it clear the movement will not
allow itself to be influenced by
any political party.
Yap described Hassan’s claim
workers cancelled
Science in English right from its
implementation in 2003.
“The government has even
given us warning (because of
our stand),” he said.
Ong said it is not fair to ac-
cuse DJZ as being a coward for
withdrawing from the gathering.
“We are not under any pressure
from any political party. We did
not want to join the gathering
without knowing the content of
the memorandum.”
Wee, who is also the deputy
education minister and MCA’s
education bureau chief, laughed
it off when told that MCA was
accused of having a hand in DJZ’s
withdrawal from the gathering
at the last minute.
He said DJZ has a clear stand
on the issue as well as the liberty
to act independently.
Wee said MCA should not
have been dragged into the
matter as it has no power to in-
fluence DJZ and the seven other
major Chinese groups.
“Perhaps GMP does not
understand how DJZ operates,”
he said.
PUTRAJAYA: All entry visas for Bang-
ladeshi workers approved in 2007 and
which have yet to be used have been
cancelled immediately, Home Minister
Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said yes-
terday.
This is in line with the government’s
decision to not accept any new applica-
tions unless they are for critical sectors,
he told reporters after his ministry’s
monthly assembly here.
“The government has decided to
cancel all entry visas for Bangladeshi
near future and hopes the issue would
not be politicised by certain quarters,”
he said.
Syed Hamid said this in response to
a statement by the labour counsellor at
the Bangladeshi High Commission here,
Talat Mahmud Khan, on Sunday that
more than 70,000 Bangladeshi workers
would enter Malaysia soon to work in
various sectors.
Correcting the figure, he said entry
approval for the workers who had yet
to enter the country but had not done
so was for only 55,147 persons.
“No new approval was made after
that year and I do not know how the
figure was arrived at. I will ask the
Bangladesh counsellor to meet the
Immigration Department to clarify the
matter,” he said.
“Any decision to take in foreign
workers after that period would be
made carefully for sectors classified as
3D, or dirty, dangerous and difficult. That,
too, if really necessary.”
Responding to Syed Hamid’s an-
nouncement, Human Resources Minis-
ter Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam called on

I was conned, too, says ‘conman’
THE “conman” reported to
have cheated 600 would-be
sailors of RM150,000 in fees
with promises of well-paying
jobs on a Singapore-based cargo
ship claimed that he, too, was a
victim of the scam.
Identified only as Ah Kwang,
the 36-year-old man from Perak
told the Chinese press over the
phone on Monday he also signed
up for the non-existent job.
He said after he signed up
for the job, the mastermind, a
Russian businessman known to
him only as Jimmy, promised him
commission for recruiting more
people to work on the ship.
Denying that he was behind
the scam, Ah Kwang said he was
just an innocent job-seeker who
also acted as recruitment agent
for Jimmy and a linkman known
only as Mr Wong.
He said the money he collect-
ed from the prospective sailors
was handed over to Wong and
the commission, amounting to
more than RM10,000, was sup-
posed to be paid to him once
everyone is aboard the ship.
But now, not only did he not
get his commission, he was be-
ing blamed for the scam.
He said he did not dare to
face the 600 on Sunday for fear
that they would not listen to his
explanation and would give him
a bashing instead.
He said he is still in Johor
Baru and would need time to
prove his innocence.
Johor Jaya assemblyman Tan
Cher Puk urged those who were
cheated to contact him at 019-
7516339 or fax their particulars
to Pasir Gudang MCA division at
07-3584060.
workers wanting to enter the country,”
he said. “This is due to the current
scenario, in that there is no need for
foreign labour, except for certain sectors
identified by the government.”
With the move, Syed Hamid said, the
government will refund the workers’
levies paid by the employers.
“The government gives an assurance
that the levy would be refunded in the
employers who had received approval
to bring in foreign workers but had not
done so to drop their plans.
He said that in the current economic
situation it was not proper to bring in
foreign labour. Instead, the employers
should give opportunity to the thou-
sands of Malaysians out of work.
“In this regard, I urge employers to
contact my ministry to help them get local
workers, especially those who had been
retrenched,” he said in a statement.
Thanking Syed Hamid for the deci-
sion, Subramaniam said his ministry was
attentive to the worries of the Malaysian
Trades Union Congress (MTUC), which
had urged the government to rescind
the visas of Bangladeshi workers ex-
pected to arrive here soon.
“The ministry is appreciative of
problems faced by employers who find
it difficult to get local workers because
of their choosiness and apprehension
towards difficult and heavy work.”

Downturn clips Firefly’s wings

by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
GEORGE TOWN: The economic downturn
has clipped the wings of budget airline Firefly,
which is suspending flights to five destinations
and shelving plans to have 10 new routes.
The situation has prompted Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng to make a “desperate” plea to
the federal government to provide financial
aid to the Penang-based airline as part of the
second fiscal stimulus package.
In a letter to Deputy Prime Minister and
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Ra-
zak dated last Friday, Lim proposed a one-off
assistance of RM20 million to cover Firefly’s
accumulated losses and to sustain its Penang
hub operations for the next two years.
A copy of the letter was made available to
the press yesterday.
Lim said that as the airline’s routes to and
from Penang are “developmental”, Firefly has
sustained significant losses of RM10 million
for the 2007 financial year and RM12.4 million
for 2008. “The developmental path would have
been positive if not for the sudden and rapid
deterioration of the global economy, which is
beginning to affect Penang in an unprecedented
way,” he said.
“At the current economic condition, it is un-
likely that Firefly would be able to turn around
the routes from and into Penang because of
the sudden drop in demand.”
Firefly was set up in 2007 to position Pen-
ang as a hub in Peninsular Malaysia by linking
major regional cities to Penang as a feeder to
medium- and long-haul airlines operating from
the state.
“With the accumulated losses from our Pen-
ang routes amounting to RM22.4 million, we
regret to say that Firefly is unable to continue
the incurrence of losses without any financial
assistance from the Penang state or federal
government,” Lim said.
He said the downturn is likely to affect the
economy for the next two to three years.
The five destinations to be suspended in the
first stage of the company’s cutback exercise
from March 29 are Kota Baru (currently seven
times weekly), Kuala Terengganu (seven times),
Kuantan (seven times), Phuket (four times) and
Koh Samui (four times).
The remaining routes from Firefly’s Penang
hub are to Subang (35 times weekly), Langkawi
(14 times), Johor Baru (seven times), Medan (14
times) and Banda Aceh (four times).