KUALA LUMPUR: A short stint in Holland has given Jivan Mohan the extra motivation to steer Sapura to glory in Division One of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
The 25-year-old national midfielder spent 1½ months with the Hilversum Mix Hockey Club in Amsterdam prior to start of the MHL earlier this month.
“It was a great experience to play in Holland. Their league is very competitive and the games are very physical. I learnt a lot and it has motivated me to raise the standard of my game,” said Jivan.
Festive mood: Jivan Mohan (centre front row) enjoying an early Deepavali celebration with friends and relatives at his uncle M. Ramachandran’s house in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, on Friday. — ASRI ABDUL GHANI/The Star
“My goal is to help my club (Sapura) win one of the titles at stake this season.”
Sapura’s best achievement in the MHL was in 2005 when they were crowned League and overall champions. They were also League winners in 2004 and overall champions in 2006.
“Ernst and Young and Tenaga Nasional may be the more fancied teams but, hopefully, we can give them a good fight this time around,” he said.
The other teams in Division One are Maybank, National Juniors and Nur Insafi.
Sapura have played two matches so far, beating Maybank 2-1 in their opening match before losing to Ernst and Young 1-2.
Jivan is one of the two national players in Sapura’s side, the other being G. Sasitheran.
The team also have a good mix of former internationals in S. Kuhan, Maninderjit Singh, K. Keevan Raj, K. Logan Raj and goalkeeper Mohd Nashihin Nubli.
Jivan is also looking beyond the MHL in a bid to come out of the shadows of his more illustrious elder brother Jiwa, who quit the national team early this year after serving the country for more than a decade.
“My brother has competed in the Olympics and World Cup. I have not. It will be an important year for Malaysia next year and my goal is to help Malaysia qualify for the World Cup,” said Jivan, who recently graduated from the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) with a degree in Human Resource Development.
The national team were severely criticised after failing to qualify for the last World Cup and Jivan does want to see a repeat of that.
Jivan is now back with his family in Penang for the Deepavali celebrations and is hoping to make up for lost time with his loved ones.
“I have been with the national team for seven years and this has been possible because my family has been very supportive,” he added.
The MHL will resume after a one-week break for Deepavali and Sapura’s next match will be against Tenaga Nasional on Friday.
KUALA LUMPUR: National hockey player M. Jivan’s childhood dream was to become a police officer. And this could become a reality for the Penang-born player, who obtained a degree in the Human Resource Development during the convocation of the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) in Serdang yesterday.
The 25-year-old midfielder, who has 98 international caps to his credit, said that it was not easy to juggle time between study and to train and play hockey for the country.
“However, it was all worthwhile as I obtained the second class upper degree. I thank my parents (Y. Mohan and Chua Cheok Kooi) for their support and encouragement,’’ said Jivan.
Jivan, who made his senior international debut in the Bangladesh Prime Minister Cup in 2001, said that he would apply for a job as an Assistant Superintendent of Police.
Family joy: M. Jivan is chaired by his father Y. Mohan and friends Kevinder Singh and Jayaprakash after the Universiti Putra Malaysia convocation yesterday. Looking on (from left) are elder brother Jiwa, sister-in-law Tarveen, younger brother Jayarajan and mother Chua Cheok Kooi.
“It was my dream since I was young to become a police officer,’’ said Jivan, whose elder brother Jiwa quit the national team in May.
Jivan, who has represented Sapura in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) since 2003, said that he also hoped to help his club win one of the two titles this year.
“We failed to win any silverware last year and we will give our best this time,’’ he said.
Sapura, who came back from a goal down to beat Maybank 2-1 in the opening match on Friday, will face favourites Ernst and Young today.
“We hope to get the better of Ernst and Young, who have several national players,’’ said Jivan.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today decided to discuss the controversy surrounding the tender process for the procurement of new helicopters for the armed forces at its next meeting.
MCPXCommittee chairperson, Padang Besar MP Azmi Khalid said the meeting is needed to inform the public of the real situation. Asked if Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak who has been implicated in the controversy would be called in for the meeting, he replied: "We will see first, I don't want to jump the gun.""That is why we need a briefing first as I am not going to pre-empt this," he stressed.Azmi said the discussion was needed as committee members need to know the actual process of the purchase."The (meeting) will also discuss on how to make a decision on why they (the government) have to pay four times than the book value. The norm in the purchase in companies in that part of the world is only 2.6."How come you have to pay 4.7 more? So we'll leave it (the issue) to the members of this committee. I think they want to know the rationale of how it was done and why," he added.Azmi also assured that the people and the ministry involved in the Eurocopter deal would be called in.
Two other matters for discussionApart from the helicopter deal, the upcoming meeting will also look into the high-speed broadband contracts that were awarded to Telekom Malaysia as well as Maybank's acquisition of a 56 percent stake in bank Internasional Indonesia, a financially struggling bank, with a discounted price of RM4.26 billion."The committee will keep having discussions for us to come up with better measures to curb these situations," he said, adding that the meeting however will not involve any investigation.Today's meeting which was held in the Parliament building also discussed the introduction of the use of bio-metric system to handle the issue of illegal immigrants in the country.No date has been fixed for the next meeting. In another development, Azmi said the committee had suggested that the Home Ministry help Immigration Department set-up a bio-metric system at all entry-points on land and sea throughout the country to curb illegal immigrants issue.The RM50 million system, which is now being introduced in Tawau, Sabah, uses a high-technology system which detects the identity of an immigrant automatically by using the thumb-print."There are a lot of (illegal) immigrants who were sent back (to their respective countries) and had questionable records but came back to Malaysia with a different name," said Azmi.Even though the bio-metric system in Sabah costs RM50 million, this however could help reduce the security cost of the people, he explained."Social cost will also be much reduced. If the bio-metric system can be used in Singapore to observe the outflow of immigrants from Malaysia, I don't see why we should not use it too," he said.The bio-metric system, he noted, could be used between Thailand and Malaysia and other boarders in the country.He further suggested that civil-volunteered corps Rela could also be utilised to guard the coastal regions."The illegal immigrations will not come to designated entry-points. They come through to any coasts unguarded, now we have introduced Rela as an organisation, and they have quite the strength in numbers. Why not utilise them?” he asked.The three-hour meeting which was held with representatives from the Home Ministry was also attended by opposition MPs Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Selatan), Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) and William Leong (DAP-Selayang).source by malaysiakini
A high-level investigation has ‘confirmed’ that current attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail had abused his power to fabricate evidence in Anwar Ibrahim’s trials 10 years ago, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.source by malaysiakini
Altantuya Shariibuu, the controversially murdered Mongolian national, and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are back again in the spotlight.
MCPX
Making waves in cyberspace is an article entitled ‘Abuse of power by the deputy prime minister’ appearing in ISA detainee Raja Petra Kamarudin’s Malaysia Today website. The report reveals a string of SMS messages purportedly exchanged between Najib and lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah over a period of nearly one month, starting from Nov 8 to Dec 2, 2006.Their correspondence revolved around Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Najib’s advisors charged with abetting two police officers in the slaying of the 28-year old Mongolian national - with whom the deputy premier has been alleged to have had a sexual relationship.
Tipped to succeed Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he steps down by March next year, Najib is now in locked in the throes of a heated race for top party posts in his Umno party.
Not only is he contesting the Umno presidency, which Abdullah is vacating, he is also busily organising and installing a line-up of lieutenants who can help him shore up power in his bid to become the next premier.
No effect on campaign
However, his supporters deny the latest news could have any effect on his campaign.
"We are not bothered about that," said a long-time close supporter told Malaysiakini. "It is obviously intended to sabotage him but he is riding a wave of popularity now. I don't think Umno members have much choice anyway."
Yet the 55-year old Najib, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, has taken the trouble to swear his innocence twice. The last was at mosque during the Permatang Pauh by-election tussle with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
In delegates' conferences at 191 Umno divisions across the country, Najib has secured 28 nominations - winning the thumbs-up from all the divisions that have voted so far.The UK-trained economist needs to obtain a total of 58 nominations in order to stand for party election in March next year.
So far, no one else has been nominated to contest the presidency - which comes with the premiership in tow - but party watchers say it it is still a long journey ahead, with another three weeks to go until nominations end on Nov 9.
Anti-Najib banners
Meanwhile, anti-Najib banners have sprung up in some parts of the city. Civil groups have been condemning Raja Petra's detention under the Internal Security Act, calling for the oppressive law - that was originally intended to contain terrorists - to be repealed.
Some critics have even suggested that his arrest was to stop him from writing about the Altantuya murder, which could potentially upset Najib's plan of becoming the nation's next prime minister.
"The extension detention order is clearly politically motivated to silence critics and dissenting views from the government. Raja Petra has been very vocal in exposing corruption and abuse of powers in the government, especially the gruesome murder of the Mongolian women, Altantuya that may implicate powerful figures in the government," said Syed Ibrahim, chairman of the Abolish ISA movement.
String of SMSes
The Malaysia Today article, which came out on Saturday, said while the SMS correspondence did “not answer lingering questions about Najib's alleged past relations with Altantuya, the text messages show clearly Najib's active intereference in the case very early on.” One of the text messages allegedly sent by Najib said that Razak “will face a tentative charge but all is not lost.” The article went on to question: “This message raises a lot of questions about Najib's role in this case. Why did he mention ‘tentative’ charge and that ‘all is not lost’ for Razak Baginda? How would Najib know this before Razak was charged? Is there already a deal in place that will see Razak aquitted?”
Raja Petra, the editor of Malaysia Today, was arrested under the ISA last month and jailed for two years for allegedly disrespecting Islam in some of the articles that had appeared on the website.
A thorn in Najib's flesh, Raja Petra - who is also a well-known supporter of Anwar - has published numerous exposes about Najib and his wife on his website.
He is also facing sedition charges for having allegedly implied the deputy premier and his wife, Rosmah Mansor were involved in Altantuya’s death. Both have denied the allegationsource by malaysiakini
Jabatan Tenaga Manusia opens applications for Industrial Technical course for January 2009 intake (closing date) 20 Oct 2008. Please visit www.jtm.gov.my for more details. Please assist me to pass the information to all our brothers and sisters out there. For online application, please ,logon to http://www.jtm.gov.my/UPLSept08/index.jsp
MCPXIn the eyes of critics, the latest threat to ban the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the group credited for the Indian awakening in the country, is the latest move by the Barisan Nasional-l
ed federal government to 'demonise' the group.According to them, the BN may have kick-started a contorted campaign to smear the movement, which may ultimately lead to a ban.Many regard Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, MIC president S Samy Vellu (right) and Utusan Malaysia as the driving forces behind this murky campaign to paint the human rights group as an unruly, ill-mannered and impolite body.Thus, understandably, the government had to get even with Hindraf, which has been largely blamed for shifting Indian votes en bloc from BN to the opposition in the March general election, they said.Hindraf inspired Makkal Sakti or people power has stu
ng the government into realising the importance of minority Indian votes for its electoral survival. It has also woken up the community from a deep slumber and state of denial.The majority of Indians in the country had for a long time believed that only the MIC and BN could look after their interests, a syndrome perpetuated and constantly highlighted by media campaigns and stereotypical image-building.Hindraf's emergence awoke the community, eliminated the 'BN is best' myth and instilled anger and frustration in Indians, who now blame the government for 51 years of betrayal, mistrust and marginalisation.Critics believe the government waited for its chance to exact revenge and it duly arrived when Hindraf activists paid a Hari Raya visit to the prime minister's open house in the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 1.They said BN leaders then seized the chance to criticise, not mincing their words in calling Hindraf a rude and ungrateful movement out to disrupt racial and religious harmony in the country."It was an insult to Islam," said Syed Hamid, an obvious over-statement arising from a sense of urgency to go for a quick kill.
A ban looms
Now the threat is on to ban the unregistered body."How could the government ban an unregistered body?" asked London-based Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy.Even if the government somehow manages to ban Hindraf, he is convinced that it would only fuel the burning Makkal Sakti spirit of the Indians."The government may be able 
to get rid of Hindraf, but not the Makkal Sakti fervour," said the self-exiled leader, who left the country just before the government's clampdown on the movement late last year, following its mammoth rally on Nov 25.Five Hindraf leaders –P Uthayakumar, 47, M Manoharan, 47, R Kenghadharan, 41, V Ganabatirau 35, and T Vasanthakumar, 35, have been in detention in Kamunting under the Internal Security Act since Dec 13.Hindraf visited the prime minister's open house to urge Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to release the five and repeal ISA.Waythamoorthy insisted that the Putrajaya administration extended an open invitation to Hindraf to come to the open house and that its activists lined up in an orderly manner to shake hands and wish Abdullah well in the festive season.BN leaders, Utusan Malaysia and certain Umno-linked NGOs have been accused of distorting the Hindraf visit.The movement has since lodged a series of nationwide police reports against Syed Hamid, Utusan and several non-government organisations and threatened to file multi-million ringgit suits against its critics.Not wanting to be left out, MIC leaders accused the activists of sabotaging the party's efforts to persuade the government to release the Hindraf 5.Bafflingly, Samy Vellu has emerged to champion the Hindraf cause, a struggle that he belittled and loathed when he was in the government. Not surprisingly he has been accused of hijacking the Hi
ndraf cause to re-brand and re-position MIC as a vital political entity for the Indian community.But the unequivocal truth is, MIC is rapidly becoming irrelevant to Indians.In the last election, the community widely rejected BN's divide and rule policy and voted in multi-racial political bodies to represent their interests.Although Pakatan Rakyat leaders like PAS president Hadi Awang, bloggers, NGOs and civil activists have defended Hindraf's Hari Raya visit , the government is disinterested to listen, contrary to Abdullah's claim that he has "big ears to hear grievances of all Malaysians".Sincere efforts neededWaythamoorthy believes Hindraf is being used as a pawn to increase the individual popularity of Umno leaders in their race for supremacy in the run up to party elections next March."It shows that Umno has lost touch with grassroots sentiments and undercurrent demands for a different political approach to govern a multi-racial Malaysia," Waythamoorthy said.Banning Hindraf would not solve the outstanding Indian issues in the country nor will it pave way for MIC and BN to regain lost votes.BN and MIC must realise that they must first address and resolve Hindraf's 18 issues submitted in a memorandum last year, which touched on the non-existence of kindergartens in Tamil schools, the high suicide rate among Indians, the indiscriminate demolition of Hindu temples and direct discrimination, marginalisation and racism against Indians, both in the public and private sector.
Strong action against an unregistered body would not dampen the Makkal Sakti spirit that has become the heart and soul of the majority of Malaysian Indians.They demand constructive government action to address and resolve their dilemma, provide them with wider opportunities for both business and employment and upgrade their standard of living.In all, they demand that the government does away with its marginalisation policy.Banning Hindraf is not the solution.Getting rid of an Indian mouthpiece will only aggravate the situation and isolate BN further from the community.source from malaysiakini
KUALA LUMPUR: A short stint in Holland has given Jivan Mohan the extra motivation to steer Sapura to glory in Division One of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL).
