2 theSun | THURSDAY JULY 16 2009

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Samy Vellu endorses

Don’t use agents to get Palanivel for deputy post
PUTRAJAYA: MIC president
Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said
yesterday he has endorsed

citizenship, warns Hisham

by Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: Those who pay agents to
speed up their applications for govern-
ment documents, including citizenship,
entry permits and birth certificates,
will be blacklisted and the approvals
revoked.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hisham-
muddin Hussein, in giving the stern
warning, said it is not the practice of the
ministry to appoint such agents, adding
that applicants must deal directly with
the respective government agencies.
“Do not be fooled by the modus oper-
andi of these fake agents who are actu-
ally taking advantage of the situation.
Some had imposed between RM5,000
and RM10,000 as fees for each applica-
tion,” he said.
Though he acknowledged that there
was a lengthy processing time and a
backlog of applications, including those
for permanent resident status, working
permits and birth registration certifi-
cates, Hishammuddin said this was no
excuse to resort to bribery.
“Those found bribing the agents or
our officers, will have their (application)
approvals revoked. Their names will
also be blacklisted so that their future
applications would not be considered at
all,” he said at a press conference held
at the ministry.
‘They had few months left’
» From Front Page
accompanying him to dress rehearsals at
the beloved Royal Opera – where they met
more than half a century ago when she
was an aspiring young ballet dancer and
he an emerging conductor – but also his
full-time career.
Sir Edward, although not terminally
ill, had had to cope with deteriorating
eyesight for many years. By the end of
his professional life, when he was well in
to his eighties, he was forced to conduct
only those pieces contained within his
prodigious memory. A recent decline in his
general condition, following a hip replace-
ment, and for a musician the desperate
blow of losing his hearing, had made the
prospect of life without Lady Joan unten-
able.
According to her British doctors, the
couple had, at best, a few months left to-
gether, though Lady Joan might have only
lived for a few more pain-racked weeks.
The minister added that agents and
government staff who are involved in
such practices will face legal action.
He also pledged to expedite the
processing of applications and clear the
backlog.
“In terms of citizenship for example,
the ministry will expedite processing the
backlog of applications and make the
decisions accordingly. Our target is to
give the results to all these applications
by end of this year,” he said, showing
reporters hundreds of boxes containing
applications.
He said the ministry would always
observe existing regulations and quali-
fication criteria and would not simply
approve all applications, adding there
would not be any flexibility or exemp-
tion given. “The ministry will speed
up the process of deciding whether an
applicant is qualified or not to be given
citizenship status. We do not want to
keep them waiting pending a decision
from the ministry,” he added.
Asked whether the government
would set a time frame for this, he said
it depends on the process as it involves
several agencies including the National
Registration Department and the minis-
try’s security and registration divisions.
In another development, he said the
cabinet committees on foreign workers
and illegal immigrants, chaired by Dep-
uty Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Research on the internet led them to
contact the controversial Dignitas clinic,
where more than 117 Britons have gone
to take advantage of Switzerland’s liberal
laws on assisted suicide. “It was very calm
and very civilised,” explained Caractacus.
“It is a very good way to go and you are
under control.”
He added: “So while it was shocking
when I found out, it seemed a completely
reasonable thing to do and we had no
trouble supporting what they did.”
Son and daughter had persuaded their
parents to allow Caractacus to accom-
pany them from their home in Greenwich,
south-east London, to Zurich on Tuesday.
Boudicca, 39, a UN worker based in Rome,
met them there. Only a small group of
close friends, one of whom is a solicitor,
was privy to the decision. “In the end,
they were relieved we were there,” said
Downes, 41, an IT worker and part-time
musician. Sarah Wootton, chief executive
of Dignity in Dying, which campaigns for
Yassin, will meet on Friday to discuss
several issues including foreign maids.
It would also look into the country’s
dependence on foreign workers, policies
regarding the employment of foreign
workers and the status of United Na-
tions High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) cardholders.
Edward and Joan
a change in the law, said this latest high-
profile case showed there was a need for
urgent action. “This problem is clearly not
going to go away; we are descending down
a slippery slope towards unregulated as-
sisted dying abroad, at a rapid pace,” she
said. – The Independent
incumbent deputy president
Datuk G. Palanivel to defend
the party’s No. 2 post at the
MIC elections on Sept 12.
Speaking to Bernama
in a telephone interview,
Samy Vellu also said that
he had endorsed Human
Resources Minister and MIC
secretary-general Datuk Dr
S. Subramaniam, Deputy
Federal Territories Minister
and MIC information chief
Datuk M. Saravanan and
Deputy Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department Datuk
S. K. Devamany for the three
posts of vice-president.
The MIC elections on Sept
12 is for one post of deputy
president, three vice-presi-
dents and 23 Central Working
Committee (CWC) members.
At the presidential election
in March, Samy Vellu won the
post of president, uncontested,
for the 11th term.
Palanivel has announced
that he would defend the No.
2 post at the party general
assembly, which would be
attended by 1,400 delegates.
Former deputy president
Datuk S. Subramaniam and
incumbent vice-president
Datuk S. Sothinathan have
also announced their inten-
tion to contest the deputy
presidency.
Many leaders have
announced their inten-
tion to contest the posts of
vice-president. Two of the
incumbent vice-presidents
are Sothinathan and Datuk
S. Veerasingham. Tan Sri K.S.
Nijhar quit as vice-president
last year after a tiff with Samy
Vellu but both leaders have
patched up since.
“I want to announce that
I am endorsing Datuk G.
Palanivel for the No. 2 post
because he is a very efficient,
strong and simple man of
the people. I hope members
and delegates will throw
their support behind him for
continuity.
“I want a team which will
deliver and strengthen the
party and, as such, I am also
endorsing Dr Subramaniam,
Saravanan and Devamany for
the three vice-president seats,”
Samy Vellu said.
On the three whom he had
endorsed for the posts of vice-
Civil servants want bonus in service
scheme
KUALA LUMPUR: The Congress of Union Employees in the Public
and Civil Service (Cuepacs), is seeking to incorporate the bonus
Palanivel ... I will do my best
to live up to the trust placed
upon me
president, he said all three
were holding government
positions and, as such, were in
a good position to better serve
the Indian community.
Samy Vellu also said that
he was drawing up a list of
candidates for the 23 CWC
posts and that he would en-
dorse “several new faces”.
“I will announce the com-
plete list soon. I am announc-
ing my line-up now to inform
members and delegates that
this is the team that will man-
age the MIC business more
effectively and take the party
closer to the community,” he
said.
Meanwhile Palanivel has
expressed gratitude to Samy
Vellu for endorsing him to
retain the party post.
“I am indeed, grateful to
the president for endorsing
me for the post. I have al-
ways believed that in being a
deputy, you have to abide by
whatever decision taken by
the president.
“I will do my best to live
up to the expectations, confi-
dence and trust placed upon
me by the party, its members
and the community,” he said
when contacted.
Sothinathan, when contact-
ed, remained defiant and said
he will not withdraw from the
deputy president contest.
“I will contest the post as I
have been campaigning since
announcing the intention on
May 30,” he said.
Sothinathan, 49, a former
MIC secretary-general and
Member of Parliament for
Teluk Kemang said he was
confident delegates would vote
wisely, adding every member
has the right to contest.

Ministry to decide on Narsco’s debts
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The Rural and Re-
gional Development Ministry will decide
soon how best to deal with the problems
faced by the National Rubber Small
Holders Co-operative, or better known
as Narsco, which chalked up millions
in debts.
A senior aide of Minister Datuk Seri
Mohd Shafie Apdal, when contacted
by theSun following a report yesterday
on Narsco’s RM20 million debts, said
the ministry will make an official an-
nouncement on the matter, perhaps as
soon as this week.
He also said Mohd Shafie and the
officials from Narsco and Risda (Rubber
Industry Smallholders Authority) had a
meeting yesterday to discuss the matter.
Risda’s top management used to sit on
Narsco’s board and were party to some
of the questionable decisions made that
led to the debt piling up. But in 2006,
they became separate entities.
TheSun yesterday carried a front-page
report on Narsco’s ambitious venture to
support rubber smallholders nationwide
which turned into an accounting mess
after piling up more than RM60 million
in debts. After having paid the bulk of
the debts, the co-operative, which has
some 200,000 members nationwide, is
still saddled with debts of more than
RM20 million.
Narsco, which carried out its busi-
ness through Narsco Holdings Bhd and
several other subsidiary companies,
has been dragged to court over the past
years by aggrieved parties.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court had
in 2005 ordered Narsco to pay one of it
latex suppliers a sum of more than RM-
5million with interest.
Following yesterday’s report, a sup-
plier got in touch with theSun to explain
his plight.
“My company continuously supplied
latex to Narsco despite not being paid,
because I believed that Narsco was
backed by the government and will pay
what is due,” said the supplier, who
declined to be named.
“As a result, I ended up with debts
because I had to mortgage my house to
maintain my rubber business,” he said.
Narsco’s newly-appointed chairman
Datuk Jamaluddin Tot said yesterday
that questionable decisions, mismanage-
ment, lack of proper accounting meth-
ods and fluctuating rubber prices in past
years contributed to the pile of debts.
element in the service scheme of civil servants to ensure it is
paid annually. Currently, bonus is paid at the discretion of the
government based on its ability to pay, unlike in the private sector
where it is an annual practice.
Cuepacs is also proposing that the interest rate on housing
loans be reduced from the current 4% to 1% annually. – Ber-
nama
Penang’s biggest drug bust this year
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Police have seized a total of 57kg of
heroin and 150kg of caffeine, amounting to about RM3.5 million
from an operation carried out on Tuesday morning – the biggest
drug bust in the state this year.
The Southwest District Narcotics Department with officers
from the Queensbay Police station raided a condominium unit,
which served as an illegal drug lab, in Persiaran Bayan Indah,
Bayan Lepas at about 10am, after acting on a tip-off.
Balik Pulau OCPD Supt Mohd Hatta Mohd Zain said besides
the Heroin No. 3 and the caffeine, which were in packages, a
pistol with six live bullets was also found in the house. Other
items seized include acid, four ovens, a wok, cooking stove and
a weighing scale.