TwoSen

MY comments with reference to “Biased history” (Front page, Dec 13) and subsequent letters on the issue are as follows:

» Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi is to be commended for highlighting distortions, half-truths and inaccuracies in our school textbooks.

» It is disappointing that these alleged weaknesses and bias were introduced and worse still allowed to remain for so long.

» How can the policy of 1Malaysia prevail if these alleged deviations in our history books are correct?

» The government owes it to us Malaysian citizens to thoroughly investigate the complaints by Ranjit and come out with transparency and the truth to remove the risk of undermining national unity.

» The work of the panel now reviewing the history textbook contents must expedite its work, and be truthful in its recommendations to give a balanced and honest analysis of our authentic history or face the condemnation of the people for intellectual dishonesty.

» If these allegations made by Ranjit and others are true and not rectified urgently – the credibility and integrity of government will be seriously undermined.

» I appeal to the education minister to give this matter the highest priority if it is intended that we follow the government’s 1Malaysia concept of People First and Performance Now.

» Unless the public’s uncertainty as to the truth in this matter is cleared quickly, the public perception on all other national issues, including those of investors, will be adversely affected.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam
Chairman
Asli Centre of Public Policy Studies

Source: The Sun – December 28, 2010

IN furtherance to my letter, “Council fumbles over dog licences” (Letters, Dec 22), I called the Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) licensing department yesterday to find out whether dog licence tags for 2011 are ready. To my utter disappointment, I again received a negative reply and was told to pay for the licence and collect the tag in January, after calling the department to confirm availability.

Is it not ridiculous that one has to be in possession of a dog licence certificate and yet be without a licence tag at the collar of the dog to show proof that there is a licence? What happens if MBSA’s enforcement officers come around to take drastic action?

MBSA is the only local authority that requires dog owners to make two payments, one for the licence certificate and another for the tag. Whereas, its counterparts in Selangor and other states issue one receipt and make the tag available for immediate collection.

Is there a uniform set of bylaws for the issuance of dog licences in the country?

Since MBSA has not responded to my letter and the Housing and Local Government Ministry has kept silent on “Where’s the 2006 draft on dog licences” (Letters, Nov 30), we responsible dog owners in Shah Alam are being put to a lot of stress.

Responsible Dog Owner
Shah Alam

Source: The Sun – December 28, 2010

I returned home a few weeks ago after holiday in London. I observed that bus passengers have to put on their seat belts.

The driver will remind passengers to fasten their seat belts before he starts the journey.

My sister and I were impressed by this safety measure and wondered why Malaysia has not imposed this requirement.

Properly worn seat belts will minimise injuries in a crash. The measure will add to cost but lives are priceless. I wish all bus passengers a safe journey.

Zaleha Zainal Abidin
Kuala Lumpur

Source: The Sun – December 28, 2010

I REFER to points raised on HPV vaccinations. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in Malaysia. In almost 98% of cases it is caused by the human papillomavirus.

Countries that have a comprehensive screening programme have seen a 70-80% drop in the risk of cervical cancer. Unfortunately in Malaysia such a programme does not exist.

Of the various types of HPV, the virus type 16 and 18 cause about 70% of cervical cancer. The vaccines available are against these two viruses. The vaccines will thus reduce the risk of cervical cancer by about 70% at least. When one combines the vaccination with pap smears studies have shown that the risk of cervical cancer can be reduced up to 90%

The vaccines have been available in Malaysia for about four years and medical literature on follow-up post vaccination for about six years are available.

These indicate that the vaccines are highly effective, mathematical models predict protection for at least 20 years, and some reduction in pre-cancerous disease is already being seen.

US FDA approval was obtained in 2006.There is robust data on more than 29,000 vaccine receivers and the adverse effects have largely been minor. The vast majority of cervical cancers present to hospitals at a very late stage when a cure is not possible and quality of life is greatly compromised.

As such a vaccine that on its own reduces risks by up to 70% is indeed a great boon.

Dr Ganesh Ramachandran
Kuala Selangor

Source: The Sun – December 27, 2010

I REFER to “In defence of the realm” (Letters, Dec 23). An account of the battle where Lt Adnan Saidi fought so courageously opens with the following words,”On 12 Feb 42, men of the 1st Battalion Malay Regiment and the 44th Indian Brigade stopped advancing troops of the Japanese 18th Division in their attempts to capture the British Supply Depot …”The site of this battle was in Singapore.

The defensive position was held by both, the Malay Regiment and the 44th Indian Brigade indicating a composite Commonwealth formation. This raises some questions vis-a-vis the letter.

Lt Adnan was a commissioned officer. Whose commission was he holding? The significance of a commission is that a sovereign confers the authority on a person to act as an officer in the sovereign’s army. Malaya did not have its own army and therefore he could not have been commissioned by any of our sultans. Was it the British King’s commission or perhaps the Viceroy of India’s? Either way it has to be from “the realm” unless we can determine some other authority.

In this battle it was also reported that the Officer Commanding C Company (to which Lt Adnan belonged) Capt H.R. Rix, was also killed fighting alongside Lt Adnan. As Capt Rix and Lt Adnan were holding the same commission belonged to the same army and unit it must be concluded that both were either defending Malaya,or the realm or both Malaya and the realm together.

For the entire Malaya Campaign but largely on Feb 12, 13 and 14, 1942, the Malay Regiment suffered a total of 159 killed (six British officers, seven Malay officers and 146 other ranks).

The writer says that Lt Adnan fought courageously to defend Malaya but the others died in vain because they were not fighters for freedom but soldiers of the British empire. How is it that a officer holding a commission fighting and dying alongside Indian, Sikh and British officers and men was only fighting to defend Malaya and the others all died in vain, not for freedom, but for the perpetuation of the realm. And ironically it was not even on Malayan soil that Lt Adnan died so heroically..

History of the Malayan campaign will also show that the 3rd Indian Corps fought the Japanese throughout the length of Malaya.

If Lt Adnan fought and died on non-Malayan soil “to defend Malaya” should we also not recognise the ultimate sacrifice of the Sikhs, Gurkhas, Indians, British, Australians and Malays of the Malay Regiment who fought the Japanese on Malayan soil.

History should tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Playfair
Kuala Lumpur

Source: The Sun – December 27, 2010

I REFER to “In defence of the realm” (Letters, Dec 23) where the writer reminds readers “to put the whole matter into a proper perspective”. I agree with this statement wholeheartedly and therefore wish to correct certain misconceptions the writer makes of the “historical facts” with regard to the contributions of non-Malays and Malays in defence of Malaya when British forces retreated from our beloved homeland.

The writer extols the bravery of the Indian, Gurkhas and Sikhs who fought for the British Empire here and elsewhere but dismisses their contributions to our homeland with a postmodern shrug as merely foot soldiers for a foreign Empire. But isn’t this what the Malay Regiment and Lt Adnan Saidi were? The Malay Regiment was formed by the British Empire. Lt Adnan (his commanding officer killed in action, was British) and his men were not fighting for their “land of birth” since Malaysia as we know it was not even created.

No, Lt Adnan was fighting against another foreign invader as an officer of a colonial occupier (to use the writer’s own words, “fighting under the British flag”). How is this any different then from the contributions of the Indians, Sikhs, Chinese (many of whom were born here), Gurkhas, Australians, New Zealanders, Fijians and yes, even the British. If Lt Adnan was a “freedom fighter” in the sense, the writer seems to use it in, he would have been fighting the British and then the Japanese and not have been a serving officer in the former.

Remember, even the Communist Party of Malaya (a multiethnic group) had entered into a strategic and military alliance (Force 136) with retreating British forces and valiantly fought and harassed Japanese occupation forces at great cost to themselves, their families and especially, the Chinese community. Are they too not worthy of consideration in our history books? Are these not “historical facts”? And let us be clear, these are not examples of “freedom fighters” but rather the contributions of a diverse group of people in the forming of this great country of ours.

History by its nature is provocative. It challenges us to reconsider long cherished and comfortable notions of how we ALL got here. If we are to teach history to the younger generation through a parochial ethnocentric lens we do serious damage to the dream of 1Malaysia.

S. Thayaparan
Commander (Rtd) Royal Malaysian Navy

Source: The Sun – December 27, 2010

MY 20-year-old son had difficulty breathing while sleeping with little nose bleeds. An ENT specialist in a private hospital found a tumour in my son’s nose. An MRI confirmed the tumour had blocked the right nose and extended deep beyond it. A likely diagnosis of Angiofibroma was made. If so, it is a benign growth composed of blood vessels.

After seeing three other ENT specialists and a professor in a government hospital I found Prof Datuk Dr Balwant Singh Gendeh of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Specialist Centre. I emailed Harjit Kaur of UKMSC to try to fix an urgent appointment with Balwant. She called me the next day and Balwant saw my son at 3pm that very day.

Balwant noticed that my son looked pale and arranged for an early operation. My son was admitted the next day and the operation was performed just two days after he examined my son.

A big thank you to Balwant for urgently arranging my son’s operation and successfully removing the tumour (which had grown from about 3cm to about 5cm in less than 1½ months). There was no scar on my son’s face or neck and he was discharged uneventfully on the third post-operative day. No CT scan was required. The blood loss during the operation was only about 300cc and no blood transfusion was required even though my son’s haemoglobin was on the low side before the operation.

My son would not have to suffer blood loss and breathing difficulty every day for more than a month and my family would have suffered less stress had we met Balwant earlier.

A big thank you also to Prof Madya Dr Sobri and his team for a successful embolisation (about 80%) and to Prof Madya Dr Jaafar, all of UKMSC. And thank you Harjit for your efficiency. UKMSC could of course improve its website by including the detailed profiles of all their specialists, instead of just their names, for the public’s knowledge.

Good and experienced specialists are available in government hospital specialist centres. Costs in government hospital specialist centres are also much cheaper than in private hospitals. This should help insurance companies reduce their costs and keep medical insurance premiums in check. My son’s total cost for his operation in UKMSC was less than RM14,000.

The government’s policy of allowing professors and specialists in government service to practise part-time in government hospital specialist centres must be applauded. Perhaps it may be time to consider allowing them to spend, say, half of the clinic hours in government public hospitals and the rest in the government hospital private specialist centres in the hope that fewer specialists will opt for private practice.

Chee
Shah Alam

Source: The Sun – December 27, 2010

I READ “Poser over RM30m snub” (News without borders, Dec 13) and followed the issue online because I have relatives studying in Universiti Tunku Abd Rahman. I hope the university will respond to the following questions:

>>

Source: The Sun – December 27, 2010

THE Consumers Association of Penang is aghast that the relevant authorities, particularly the Health Ministry, have kept silent over the raging controversies on the rush to get young girls vaccinated against cervical cancer.

There are many areas of concern over the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which is said to prevent infection against certain species of human papillomavirus associated with cervical cancer, genital warts and some less common cancers.

Many countries are going slow on this vaccine because of many doubts raised. However, Malaysia is rushing into it. HPV vaccines, given in a series of three shots, are to make the body’s immune system produce antibodies against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause seven out of 10 cases of cervical cancer. The antibodies supposedly protect one from getting infected with HPV.

And yet the authorities are not giving the people any details. Even the type of vaccine used seems to be top secret. Two HPV vaccines are in the market: Gardasil and Cervarix. Which one is Malaysia using? And experts tell us that the regular Pap smear screening must be continued to be done even after vaccination because the vaccine only covers some high-risk types of HPV.

The World Health Organisation warned late last year that those vaccinated and do not continue with screening, such as Pap smear because they wrongly believe they are protected against cervical cancer, can raise the death figures, especially with the vaccine protection waning over time.

Some concerns have been raised by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

As of Sept 1, 2009, there were 15,037 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) cases of adverse events following Gardasil vaccination in the US. Of these reports, 93% were reports of events considered to be non-serious, and 7% were reports of events considered to be serious.

Reports on non-serious adverse events after Gardasil vaccination have included fainting, pain and swelling at the injection site (the arm), headache, nausea and fever.

VAERS defines serious adverse events as those that involve hospitalisation, permanent disability, life-threatening illnesses and death.

As of Sept 1, 2009, there have been 44 reports of death among females in the US who have received the vaccine.

CAP calls on the authorities to stop the vaccine programme until the people are clear about it. In September 2009, when the government announced its intention to vaccinate some 300,000 13-year-old-schoolgirls, we voiced our objections. We reiterate that inoculating schoolgirls with the vaccine is a symptomatic and simplistic solution to the problem of cervical cancer in children who may contract cervical cancer due to early sexual activity when instead, the root cause for contracting HPV - sexual relations with multiple partners; should be countered by education.

S.M. Mohamed Idris
President
Consumers Association of Penang

Source: The Sun – December 24, 2010

THERE is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy operative in education in Malaysia that I think should be discussed and done away with. It regards expatriates of Jewish background working as teachers in higher education. Jews from the US, Australia, the UK and elsewhere who apply for a job to work here are generally advised not to disclose their background when applying. And if hired, perhaps with the knowledge of a dean that the new visiting lecturer is Jewish, there is advice along the lines of “don’t ask, don’t tell”: “don’t tell your students or colleagues you’re Jewish. Let them think you’re Christian if they ask.” The upshot is that few qualified Jews seek employment to teach in the country.

Why should this be? The answer is clear: because of solidarity with the Palestinians and official government policy critical of Israel. The irony is that many progressive Jews throughout the world are highly critical of Israel and its policies, and in strong solidarity with the Palestinians. Yet even such Jews are basically “not welcome” as academics. This needs to change. Israel does not “represent” Jews outside Israel. Indeed, many Jews say “not in my name” in reference to Israel abuses and war crimes.

Malaya has a long history of Jewish presence, particularly in Penang, which boasts a large Jewish cemetery in old George Town dating back to 1805, located on Jalan Zainal Abidin. The cemetery is barely mentioned in guide books.

Jews built a synagogue in the heart of Kuala Lumpur a century ago that was in operation down into the late 1930s. That building is still standing not far from Masjid Jamek.

The first and founding vice-chancellor of University of Malaya was the world-famous British-Jewish mathematician Datuk Alexander Oppenheim. He came from a Jewish family, Yiddish-speaking, born in Salford outside Manchester in 1903. Oppenheim’s most famous contribution to number theory is the “Oppenheim conjecture”. He became vice-chancellor of the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1957, and of UM in Kuala Lumpur in 1962, and served in that capacity until 1965. As VC of both universities, Oppenheim worked closely with Tunku Abdul Rahman in organisational questions, private fund raising and the like. Yet Oppenheim’s memory at UM is barely recorded, even though he is the most famous mathematician ever to have been connected with the university.

The University of Malaya should name a major building or new research centre after him, and establish a special scholarship in his name.

It is high time Malaysia does away with this tacit “don’t ask, don’t tell” veil of silence regarding its own Jewish heritage, and welcome Jews from abroad who wish to teach or work and live here. Justified criticism of Israeli policy should not preclude Malaysia from becoming a country Jews from across the world are happy to visit and work in.

A Jewish Friend of Malaysia
Shumen
Bulgaria

Source: The Sun – December 24, 2010