At 11.30 am this morning, DAP National Treasurer Fong Kui Lun (MP for Bukit Bintang) accompanied by DAP National Organising Secretary Tan Kok Wai (MP for Cheras) and DAP Selangor State Chairman Ean Yong Hian Wah (Exco member and SA for Seri Kembangan) presented a cheque for RM20,000 to the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on behalf of DAP MPs and Assembly members as humanitarian aid to the victims of the massive earthquak disaster in Sichuan, China.
Fong, who heads the DAP Donation Drive for China and Burma Disaster Victims, announced a week-long nation-wide humanitarian aid collection drive by DAP State committees . Public donation drives would be launched in Ipoh Timor and Ipoh Barat tonight.
Public can hand their donations to DAP MPs, SAs and the respective DAP State Offices. Receipts would be issued on request.
(Media Statement by DAP Headquarters on 16.5.05)
#1 by pkrisnin on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 4:00 pm
For China don’t see an issue but for Burma, will the Military junta allow foreign aid work to delivery the aid, how do we know the Donation gets to the people who need it. And will our honest gov. be handling the Donations because http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/596983
#2 by year of snake on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 6:12 pm
prisnin! please don’t talk through your a.e. if everybody thinks like your axxhole there will not be donations for disasters everywhere. There are numerous NGOs all over to see that monies and essentials reach the people concerned and don’t take Burma as an example. Sorry for the language but I am really piss off by the first reply to this subject. Thousands are dead, dying and suffering and this bugger are talking cxxk.
#3 by kingkenny on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 6:40 pm
YB Kit,
will be going to SA Seri Kembangan and do my part tomorrow. :)
#4 by limkamput on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 7:36 pm
Why so fast gave money to China but nothing for Burma? I think the filthy greedy rich of China must learn how to give to their fellow country men.
#5 by katdog on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 9:22 pm
Friend. Many of those effected in China are not filthy rich. Many villages are almost entirely demolished. Sze Chuan is not a filthy rich area. Shanghai and Beijing on the other side of China are filthy rich.
We donate out of compassion to do what little we can to help. We shouldn’t wait for the rich to donate ‘because i not enough money, let rich people donate’. I have many colleagues in Cheng Du and i feel disappointed that someone would utter such a thing.
#6 by katdog on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 10:53 pm
interesting question, but irrelevant. You probably can guess the answer already anyway.
Anyway, Burma ain’t any better then China. The military Junta pushing forward its political referendum instead of focusing on helping its own people?
And i know many people from China and some of them are the most nicest and unassuming people i ever met. Nicer than some Malaysians. Mercantilist and self centred they were definitely not. I’ll tell you people that i have met that are Mercantilist and self centred: Singaporeans.
But i digress. Let us all donate willingly. If we don’t wish to donate fine.
#7 by limkamput on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 11:20 pm
i did not say Burma is any better. I only said China is capable of helping herself and therefore should rightly do so. Burma is bad, but Burmese can’t help themselves and therefore we should do more for the people there.
ok, no point argue further. We do what we think is right.
#8 by pkrisnin on Friday, 16 May 2008 - 11:24 pm
[deleted], I can ask any question I want. what you want to enact sedition act in the website is it. Many people have the same question about Burma. Many just give the money and feel that’s it, they’ve have done their duty as a human. How about thinking before giving money , think where will it end up or at least make sure it doesn’t go though our gov. Will DAP give the donation to a trusted NGO. Like I said I don’t have issue giving to China but Burma is question mark, it doesn’t mean I won’t donate but it would be nice to have more info. Emotional prick understand what people are writing before reacting. People like you make so angry, try using your brain more.
#9 by BaronV on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 4:21 am
I do not want to sound cruel or disrespectful, but in my opinion china does not need aid. The chinese government is fully capable of handling the catastrophe in SzeChuan (at least financially). So we should donate to causes where our money is more effective / needed.
As for Burma it is a very big question mark I for one do not want to be supporting the evil junta and their big fat rats by donating only to have them grab it for themselves (which they have already done). Nonetheless money and resources is very badly needed there, so if donations should be made it should be sent directly to credible relief organizatinos that would say..air-drop relief supplies or sumthing.
Simply throwing money at disasters is useless beyond the point of making yourself feel better that you have “helped a worthy cause”. Nonetheless any good and sincere humanitarian goodwill and effort should be commended.
Howabout other worthy causes like the environment, maltreated animals, impoverished children, etc?
Cheers
#10 by Anak_Penang on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 10:54 am
I met a Muslim guy who is from Myanmar yesterday. His name is Baser, quite good looking :). He looks like a Malay and I saw him reading The Stars, focused on the International section, on Cyclone Nargis which ripped apart villages in Myanmar. His eyes told me that he was really worry about his family in his homeland.
Baser came to Malaysia as a refugee through UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), and was issued an ID card. He came here because the military government is treating Christian and Muslim on a double standard basis. According to Baser, life is really tough back home, it’s hard to earn a living to feed his family. In order to improve the condition, he came to Malaysia as a refugee.
He works as a parking attendant from 9am-10pm, 13 hours a day, every single day, sometimes being bullied by locals. He earns an income which is just enough to feed himself and barely manage to send home some money for his wife and children. To my surprise, he spoke perfect English. In addition, he is a bachelor degree holder and half way through his master program, his field of study is Agriculture. His only hope now is to earn enough money so that he can continue his study in a Malaysian university, even though the process of accumulate the money might take many many years.
After talking to Baser for about 30 minutes, I really feel that we Malaysian are really really lucky. We can still choose where to go for our dinner, while there are people in our neighboring countries who are still struggling to get a bowl of rice for their meal.
sonofpenang.blogspot
#11 by k1980 on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 11:32 am
Burma and the Phillipines were economically way ahead of Malaysia in the 1960s, but due to corrupt and inefficient leaders, they have been left behind. South Korea was far behind Malaysia in the 1960s, but today it is one of the richest countries in Asia.
#12 by lopez on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 12:22 pm
Chinese Malaysian as always slow to take lead , but thanks to C A and CCTV9, now everyone knows how to pass the donations.
Well done overseas chinese people.
The tung bao ties are stronger each day, thank you Deng S P.
Descendants of the dragon people awakens to be reckon with.
my Condolences to the families of the wrath of mother nature.
#13 by lopez on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 12:40 pm
Act of donating allows us to relate show of sympathy, pity, kindness, compassion. Some take it as form of returning the evil and wrongs one had done to others. But we all know he is lying to himself, on the other hand the reciever dont bloody care.
But some people use it to their benefit, donating and then wants to announce to everybody. even the media loves giving their time and resources too .
What kind people are these, see them for yourself of course in the papers lah.
Self praise is never a praise but a reflection of what a crook you are…on the cynical sense.
Iroically
I dont see donations when a needy arises at our backyard but always and outflow. What is it for those guys who can afford to donate or wants to donate. And if you do, others will respect your reason to do so….oh what a compassionate person your are, oh how kind…bull shit if you are waiting for those statements.
Dont just donate because peer pressure and everybody else does, and if you dont donate people will respect your position too.
The sickness is when donating becomes selective, donate to some and not to another…..if you can afford to doante and being selective it is understood what and where you stand on any issue, it yours for keeping , no need explained, just pay lah.
#14 by limkamput on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 12:41 pm
lopez, what you said is so implicitly racist. How can we behave this way and expect other races especially Malays to treat us fairly. By all means, fight for our rights, but don’t be a racist. I hope Bakri Musa’s piece on “UMNO politicians are the ‘desecrators’ not defenders of Malay honour” will provide some lesson for us to criticise our own race if there are good reasons for it. So you think China will die for overseas Chinese? The last time check, we are mere statistics to them, ok.
#15 by kanasai on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 5:05 pm
Everyone can play a significant part by donating eventhough a tiny amount as a gesture of helpfulness to suffering mankind and thankfulness and gratefulness to whatever we have in home country compared to the rest of the world. Malaysia should be already the ‘best to reside’ nation like Sweden by now if not due to those greedy, ungrateful and craze for power, muka tembok & pampered, spoilt dealers who still need Government NEP assistance even after so many years! May god bless the grateful fellow people and damn the greedy one!
#16 by cg on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 7:25 pm
I’m currently working in China and can feel the great unity amongs the Chinese people in facing this catastrophe. The secretary general and president has personally been there to give rescue instructions and encourage people who are helping out on the rescue works. Great sympathy seen from every single human regardless of their social status, everyone lend a helping hand and donate whatever amount they are affordable to donate. In companies(large or small), we have donation organized with the support of company’s management.
Also, from news, I’ve seen condolences sent from president of Russia, helping hands being sent from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and etc.
I’m just curious whether there’s any effort done in Malaysia to help our our neighbour in such disaster and am glad to see uncle Kit’s blog and the effort being initiated to help. I hope this effort can be extended to the whole Pakatan Rakyat and the whole Malaysia. I believe Chinese would appreciate it and do the same when Malaysia need it.
-A Malaysian in China
#17 by DG on Saturday, 17 May 2008 - 7:26 pm
My condolences for the victims of the recent China and Burma natural disasters! Its sad to see so many death, in particular towards so many children and women! Hope that the international arena can do better than just sending the money and necessities but also to help out in the rebuilding of the disaster area! Maybe bring in more investment in the future the the disaster area in terms of tourism as a start and eventually skills jobs to those people to feed and earn themselves a living!
#18 by Ramesh Laxman on Monday, 19 May 2008 - 9:59 pm
Instead of sending money Asean which is meeting in Singapore tody should get leaders in Myanmar to change their ways. Asean has a policy of non interference in the internal affairs of members. That is a good policy if as the economist says ‘ other things remaing equal. In the case of Myanmar other things are not remaing equal.
Look at what is happening in Southern Africa. The South African president was appointed by SADEC to mediate in the Zimbabwe crisis. He concluded that there was no crisis in Zimbabwe and therefore there was nothing to mediate.
To day there are over one million Zimbabwean refugees in South Africa. Initially, the south Africans thought that it was good because most of the people leaving Zimbabwe were professionals who could meet shortages in the medical and teaching professions.
The South African man-on-the-street thinks otherwise. They are here to tale our jobs.They have now embarked on a preotest which has been violent at times, to get rid of the Zimbabweans and other refugees from other failed African states.
If Myanma is left to its ways Asean leaders should be prepared to receive Myanmar refugees in the near future.