Malaysiakini (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
(1) Poor management - Islamic schools in shoplots, 18 October 2012
by Zulaikha Zulkifli
AUDIT REPORT Poor management has forced 24 Johor government-aided Islamic schools (SAKJ) to operate out of community halls, suraus and shoplots, while others remain in dilapidated buildings.
The Auditor-General's Report 2011 notes, for example, 3,000 students were forced to squeeze into a single shoplot in Kota Masai, Johor Bahru.
"The audit found that the schools are squatting in community halls and suraus as Education Ministry buildings can no longer cope with the number of students.
"Students in a school in Kota Masai go to school in an unconducive environment due to noise from a car workshop located near to the shoplot the school operates from," it reads, noting also several safety concerns.
Old and broken furniture
The report says that the schools have to squat as no land is gazetted (diwakafkan) for the schools, while the RM10.47 million requested by the schools for repairs of existing buildings doubled that of the RM5.43 million allocated.
"From 2009 to date, no repairs have been done although applications have been made in 2010 and 2011 by the SA (Sekolah Agama) Kampung Pasir Putih and SA Pekan Nanas.
"This situation has led to discomfort and safety concerns for students, teachers and (school) assets, and tarnishes the image of Islamic schools when compared to national schools," it reads.
The schools' basic infrastructure were also lacking, the furniture either broken or very old and teachers in short supply.
In response, the Johor Islamic Affairs Department said that the poor infrastructure was due to lack of funding to the extent that the department has had to seek funds from the Johor Islamic Council.
It added that the state did not allocate any funds to purchase or repair of school furniture in 2011.
(2) Soi Lek: Hudud will cause 1.2 million to lose jobs, 18 October 2012
MCA president Chua Soi Lek has claimed that 1.2 million Malaysians will lose their jobs if PAS implements hudud in Malaysia - which he bases on an anonymous SMS he received today.
Chua listed various industries that he said would contribute to a massive loss of employment should hudud be implemented, including jobs at gambling resort Genting Highlands, betting outlets as well as massage parlours.
He made this claim on his video blog on YouTube and Facebook today, based on an SMS he said he received this morning.
However, Chua said he could not verify the sender as no one picked up his call.
“This SMS said that MCA talks about hudud but never talks about the jobs that will be lost because of the strict enforcement of hudud in this country,” he said.
“So the figures he gave come to 1.2 million that will be affected if there is a strict interpretation and implementation of hudud in this country,” Chua says in the under three-minute video.
'A reality if PAS becomes dominant party'
To beef up his latest hudud attack, Chua included some of his own calculations - with Genting accounting for 20,000 lost jobs, betting outlets 100,000, and Internet cafes, massage parlours and the service sector, especially tourism, around 200,000 to 300,000.
“Now this can become a reality if what is predicted: if PAS becomes a dominant party in the Pakatan Rakyat. And it is going to be a dominant party in Pakatan Rakyat".
He cited Kelantan as an example, saying how difficult it was to find alcohol outlets there as well as other amenities.
“There is no cinema, there is no so-called spa centres, reflexology centres, Four D and Big Sweep are all history”.
Chua ended his video by calling on Malaysians to vote carefully on the upcoming elections.
“So ladies and gentlemen, while we may not be happy with Barisan Nasional, and there are reasons not to be happy...
“But once you do not vote (for BN) 1.2 million Malaysians are jobless... and I pray that this figure is not true.
“If it’s true, it will be a sad day for Malaysia because that will represent nearly 8 to 10 percent of Malaysians who are working (that) will be jobless”.
Chua has been capitalising on PAS’ aspirations of implementing hudud law in attacking the Chinese party’s main foe DAP.
However, it has been pointed out that several of Umno leaders have also supported the implementation of hudud, including Umno’s Kemelah assemblyperson Ayub Rahmat, Umno's working committee secretariat of young ulama chairperson , and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mashitah Ibrahim.
（End）
