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MP’s poser on lelaki lembut
and mak nyah
WHY do effeminate men (lelaki
lembut) become transvestites (mak
nyah)?
This question was posed by Datuk
Halimah Mohd Sadique (BN-Teng-
gara) to Deputy Women, Family and
Community Development Minister
Noriah Kasnon.
Noriah said she did not have the
answer because the ministry did not
have a study on the matter. Besides,
there has been no other study on
the number of effeminate men who
ended up being transvestites.
“I’m sorry we do not have the
figure as this group (effeminate men)
has yet to become our target group.
And we have not made any study on
this group. But InsyaAllah (God willing),
we will try to look into this matter in
future,” she said.
“Actually, I think, it all started
from education at home. And also
peer group interactions, the strong
influence of today’s borderless tech-
nology as well as frustrations from
past relations with the opposite
sex.”
Halimah also asked whether the
ministry has failed in its rehabilitation
programmes resulting in people in this
situation going back to their previous
activities even after going through
rehabilitation.
To this, Noriah said the programmes
for mak nyah were not a total failure.
“This group has very low self-es-
teem. They are afraid to be approached
and are always worried about the
social stigma that has never stopped
against them,” she said.
“It is difficult for them to quickly
come back to the right path even with
the help and social service support
from our centres.”
Noriah said although there is still
a lot to be done, many of the mak
nyah have realised their mistakes
and started to attend classes to
improve their skills such as in sewing
and handicraft, as well as working in
the cosmetic counters at shopping
complexes.
She also lamented that the minis-
try did not get any support from the
corporate sector and suggested that
they take up the issue as a corporate
social responsibility.
Noraini accused of being
‘long-winded’
Rapper in A BACKBENCHER
expressed his disappointment
the soup over Deputy Human
again
Resources Minister Datuk
pg 6 Noraini Ahmad’s “long-
winded reply” which he said
did not give a satisfactory
answer to the people.
Datuk Mohamad Aziz
(BN-Sri Gading) told
Noraini not to deceive the
people with her answer and
accused the government of
doing more to take care of the
foreign workers rather than
theSun
Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat
Malaysians.
Your answer does not touch
the heart of the rakyat.”
“This country has become
a haven for foreign workers,”
he said when interrupting
Noraini, who was replying to a
supplementary question from
Aaron Ago Dagang (BN-
Kanowit).
Dagang had asked what
the government was doing
to help the private sector
employers so that they can
offer good salaries to the
workers and attract more local
residents to work in sectors
like construction, agriculture,
accommodation, supermarkets
and coffee shops.
To this, Noraini said
the ministry has always
encouraged companies or
employers to enhance their
workers’ skills through
training and has tightened the
conditions for employers to
hire foreign workers.
“We also have allocations
through the Perbadanan
Sumber Manusia Bhd (PSMB),
whereby those who contribute
certain percentage to PSMB
can re-use the levy to provide
additional skills and training to
their workers,” she said.
“Also, we have the half-time
working hour policy because
now, the government is
encouraging every worker to
...”. Before she could finish,
Mohamad cut in and said:
“Your answer does not touch
the heart of the rakyat.”
Mohamad continued to
criticise Noraini despite Deputy
Speaker Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi
briefs
No reward for
exposing ‘Little
Napoleons’
THERE will be no reward for those
who expose government officers
acting above their station, Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ah-
mad Badawi said.
He said the government had
taken measures to flush out
these ‘Little Napoleons’ from the
administration by embracing good
governance.
This include the setting up of a
management committee entrust-
ed with preventing corruption,
abuse of power and irregularities
in the civil service, he said when
responding to a question from
Hamim Samuri (BN-Ledang).
Abdullah said the government
would set up a task force in all the
ministries to reduce bureaucracy.
He said the National Integrity
Perception Index Research 2007
showed that integrated follow-up
action was still needed to enhance
the people’s perception on the
civil service and the government.
– Bernama
Rear seat belt
ruling stays
THE government will not revoke
the rear seat belt ruling for car
passengers although it will
cause problems for big families,
| WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 26 2008
– Datuk Mohamad Aziz
Tuanku Jaafar repeatedly
asking him to stop because
he was not given the floor to
speak.
When Noraini said she will
consider all the feedback given,
Mohamad said: “We have
given the same feedback for
years.”
Wan Junaidi advised him
to stop interrupting the deputy
minister.
Noraini then continued
with her answer, saying the
ministry has always been
accused of being biased, either
with the employers or the
workers.
“To us, this is good, as it
shows that we take care of both
workers and employers at the
same time,” she said.
Earlier, Noraini told Dagang
that according to the 2007
National Workforce Survey,
the average basic monthly
income enjoyed by workers in
the construction industry was
RM952, agriculture RM628,
accommodation or hotels
RM697, supermarkets RM853
and coffee shops RM573.
She said the salary for the
private sector was determined
by three methods – market
forces, collective agreement,
and the wages councils.
“Ten wages councils
have been set up since 2006,
which give protection to 1.33
million workers nationwide.
And recently, the cabinet also
approved wages councils
for the textile and electronic
industry,” she said.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri
Ong Tee Keat said.
He said it had taken large
families into account by giving
some “relaxation”.
“The relaxation does not
mean we can carry as many
passengers as possible. This
must not be our practice,”
he said when winding up the
debate on Budget 2009 for his
ministry.
Ong said the implementa-
tion of the rear seat belt ruling
reflected the ministry’s com-
mitment to increase public
awareness on road safety and
that the ruling, to be effective
in January, had been imple-
mented abroad. – Bernama
‘Fees for astronaut’
probe on Monday
THE Ministry of Science, Technol-
ogy and Innovations will begin its
probe on payments alleged to
have been received by national
astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Musza-
phar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha for
giving lectures on Monday.
“We are giving this week for
people who have complaints to
file them with the ministry before
the probe gets under way,” its
minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili,
said when winding up the debate
on Budget 2009 for his ministry.
He said Sheikh Muszaphar had
denied charging up to RM8,000
an hour for giving lectures on
his space adventure and hav-
ing accumulated RM1.2 million.
– Bernama