4œ theSun | WEDNESDAY APRIL 1 2009

news without borders

Convert MIED study loans to scholarships: Ex-MIC Youth chief

KLANG: The Maju Institute of Educa-
tional Development (MIED), the MIC’s
educational wing, was yesterday
urged to convert the study loans dis-
bursed to almost 10,000 students into
scholarships to help students from the
Indian community get proper tertiary
education and change their lives.
Malaysian Indian Youth Develop-
ment Foundation (MIYDF) chairman
S.A. Vigneswaran, who made the call,
said converting the loans into scholar-
ships would ease the burden of the
parents and students to repay their
loans.
Vigneswaran, a former MIC Youth
chief, told a news conference here
yesterday that close to RM100 million
had been disbursed by MIED as study
loans with interest rate of 6% per
annum and repayment to commence
six months after the students had
completed their studies.
“From 2008, an additional interest
of 2% per annum is charged from the
time the loan is disbursed and 6%
upon completion of the course until
the loan is settled,” he said.
He said according to the Memo-
randum of Association of MIED, which
was incepted in 1984, it was not au-
thorised to give any study loan, only
scholarships.
The provision of any loan with inter-
est, whether study loan or otherwise,
required a money lending licence from
the Housing and Local Government
Ministry under the Money Lenders
Act 1951, he said, adding that MIED
did not have a money lending licence
to date.
Furthermore, Vigneswaran said, all
monies collected with interest were
taxable and failure to pay tax was
another breach of law and failure to
declare the interest as an income was
evading tax and was illegal.
He said an institution such as MIED
which had acquired tax exemption
status must disburse all funds (like
donations and grants) received for the
intended purposes within 18 months,
failing which the income was deemed
taxable.
He said he would lodge a report
on the matter to the Inland Revenue
Board.
By converting the loans into schol-
arships it would somehow correct
the misperception among the Indian
community that the government did
not help them when actually the aid
for the Indians in terms of grants had
been allocated through vehicles like
MIED. – Bernama

Proposal to buy PLUS

shares viable, says MCA
PETALING JAYA: The MCA has found
a DAP proposal for the government to
acquire the remaining shares in PLUS
Berhad to solve the once-in-three-year
toll hikes viable.
“We have completed our own detailed
study on all 22 toll concession contracts
which were declassified on Jan 1. We,
therefore, voice our approval for the
government to take over PLUS,” the MCA
Youth Legal Affairs and Parliamentary
Bureau said in a statement yesterday.
The DAP had urged the government
to buy out the remaining 26% of PLUS
shares which would also resolve the
high compensation that the government
needed to pay for deferring toll hikes.
The government currently owns 74%
of PLUS.
“Assuming a share price of RM3.50 to
RM4 per share is offered for the remainder
of the shares, the total acquisition price
is between RM4.55 billion and RM5.2 bil-
lion,” said the statement jointly issued by
MCA central committee members Lee
Wei Kiat and Wong Nai Chee.
They said MCA had put forward four
issues to the cabinet for deliberation:
» the propriety of direct negotiations
which MCA feels are no longer infrastruc-
ture projects requiring special skills;
» the rationale of granting loans to
private concession companies without
security by the federal government;
» the compensation payable by the
government; and
» the verification of traffic volume.
They also pointed out that if the situa-
tion was left as it was, the toll rate was
expected to double by 2038.
“The toll rate is currently set at 14.96
sen per km and by 2038, the toll rate is
expected to double to 29.16 sen per km.
As such, a trip from KL to Penang costing
RM86 one-way would cost RM168 by
2038,” they said.
Recognise role of Chinese
in history: Tee Keat
by Tan Yi Liang
Penang newsdesk@thesundaily.com
freezes
operations KUALA LUMPUR: The role of the Chinese
of three community in Malaysian history should not
be “diluted”, says MCA president Datuk Seri
quarries Ong Tee Keat (pix).
pg 6 “Historical facts are historical facts. We
cannot add to them or put a spin on them or
ignore them. I speak generally of the com-
mitment of MCA in its efforts to inform of the
efforts of the Chinese community in the fight
for Independence and in nation building,” said
Ong, who pointed out that the struggle for
Independence ultimately involved all races.
“All parties are aware that in the struggle
for Independence, some communities rose up
first, and others followed. This is a fact. But
at the same time, the outcome of the struggle
for Independence was a united effort. If all the
races were not involved, it would have been
impossible for us to achieve Independence.
“Whether we like it or not, many historical
facts, especially those that involve our multi-
racial society and the Chinese community
look more diluted (on record and books).”
Ong, who spoke to reporters after launch-
ing the Dongfeng BISON2 60 & KINLAND 420
heavy vehicles here yesterday, said MCA was
working actively to preserve the history of
Chinese’s contributions to the Merdeka strug-
gle and nation-building.
“As part of my role as MCA president, I
appointed a MCA leader to head the Histori-
cal Documentation Bureau. At the time, there
were those who made fun of it, and questioned
its priority. But history is important to a com-
munity and a nation,” he said, adding that
studies had been conducted on the matter.
“Last year, we conducted an in-house
study on our own initiative, and this year in
April, we will be having a meeting on this
involving historians and non-partisan aca-
demics, and the results will be announced,”
said Ong, adding the results of the in-house
study had already been presented to the
Education Ministry.
“(The presenting of the facts) has already
been done some months ago, after I took
over the helm of MCA. When I said that MCA
conducted such a study, it was last year, and
it was based on existing textbooks.
“This was done after we received sugges-
tions and complaints from scholars, parents
and intellectuals. This triggered the study,”
he added.
Asked whether this was in response to
statements made yesterday by Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that it
was the Malays who first sought for Independ-
ence, Ong said: “I have already made similar
statements in the presence of Umno deputy
president Tan Sri Muhy-
iddin Yassin when
asked by the press.
“In a way, yes,
this is a response
to the PM’s state-
ment. But I said
this even ear-
lier when Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin
and I were asked
while campaign-
ing in Bukit
Gantang.”

IGP worried over student

involvement in crimes
KUALA LUMPUR: Murder, rape, armed robbery
and rioting. It appears that over the past two
years, these were no more the domain of sea-
soned criminals.
Since 2007, police have detected an increase
in the number of cases involving students aged
between 13 and 18, who have been linked to the
crimes.
Understandably, Inspector-General of Police
Tan Sri Musa Hassan is alarmed over this phe-
nomenon.
Of the 3,383 people detained for various crimes
in 2007, Musa said 3,241 were aged between 13
and 18. Last year, 3,725 students were nabbed,
with 3,629 of those involved aged between 13
and 18.
“The cases comprise murder, rape, robbery,
rioting, theft, break-in and others,” he said in
a speech in conjunction with the Police Cadet
Corps 39th anniversary celebrated nationwide
yesterday.
The speech was read out by Kuala Lumpur
Deputy CPO Datuk Abdul Samah Mat at the Kuala
Lumpur contingent-level celebrations here.
Musa said results of a joint study by the Malay-
sian Institute for Research in Youth Development
and the Centre of Education for Psychology and
Development Malaysia found that 87% of “Mat
Rempit” were made up of those aged between
14 and 25.
The study revealed that 48.1% of “Mat Rempit”
attributed their activities to boredom, while 38%
said it was to while away the free time. About
27.8% said they were influenced by peers.
“These activities can be prevented if students
are given exposure and clear information on the
effects and consequences of being involved with
crime,” said Musa.
He said members of the corps, which cur-
rently had almost 89,110 members nationwide,
could act as the eyes and ears of the police and
play a main role in reducing problems in school,
especially gangsterism.
The police chief said the corps should give
input and information to the police as that would
help solve cases.
Established on March 2, 1970, the corps is a
co-curriculum programme in secondary schools
coordinated by the Education Ministry and the
police. – Bernama