Elucidation on the word "paraiyars"

Another take on this issue, albeit from an academician. I agree with him that we should approach this from a scholarly point of view rather than putting emotions first. 10 centuries of privileged position is a long time.

It would be interesting to see how Interlok will evolve when this saga is over.

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Who are ‘Paraiyars’, really?

WHILE in India recently, I bought a translation of Moeurs, institutions et cérémonies des peuples de l’Inde (Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies: The Classic First-Hand Account of India in the Early Nineteenth Century) by Abbé Dubois. What interested me was the proximity of the year the book was first published — 1905 — to the period that is narrated by National Laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain in his book Interlok. The index pages showed an entry of the word “pariah”, which in Malaysia has been reduced to a mere letter for some reason. The book throws new light on the subject.

Contrary to stereotypical beliefs, for about 10 centuries, the Paraiyar “enjoyed a privileged position in the society of the Sangam period” from 3BCE to 3CE, the earliest period in the history of south India. Read more at www.nst.com.my

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Another PKFZ in the making?

Call in PAC and MACC. Find out who's the culprit this time. I smell rat here ...

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Fresh tender to complete Shah Alam Hospital

This picture, taken in November last year, shows the slow progress on the new RM482 million Shah Alam Hospital.

The Works Ministry has put out a tender to find a "white knight" contractor to complete the stalled RM482 million Shah Alam Hospital project.

Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the tender advertisement was put up last Friday and would close on Dec 17. "The Public Works Department is presently calling for a new tender to appoint a 'white knight' contractor through a limited tender procurement to proceed with the remainder of the abandoned project. Read more at www.nst.com.my

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M'sian CSI careless?

The CSI guy only came back for the other slugs two days later. And he further admit he was careless. This guy should be "fired". Excuse the pun.

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Shots fired were meant to stop car, says inspector

SHAH ALAM: The gunshot marks on the car teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah was driving the night he was shot dead showed that it was an attempt by the police to stop the vehicle.

Chief Inspector Mazli Jusoh @ Che Kob told the Sessions Court yesterday his finding was based on the pattern of the gunshot marks, which were found at the bottom of the white Proton Iswara Aeroback with registration number BET 5023. "I examined the car the night of the incident on April 26 and found that most of the gunshot marks were at the bottom of the vehicle," he said when questioned by counsel M. Athimulan.

"The only one found in the upper part of the car was a shot entering the rear window and through the driver seat's head rest."

Mazli said he only collected one bullet cartridge the night he first visited the crime scene. The other 18 cartridges and slugs were recovered two days later. He admitted this was because of his carelessness and also said there could have been more bullet slugs or cartridges at the crime scene which were not recovered.Read more at www.nst.com.my

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Botched ATM heist

Police should also investigate where did they get the explosives. Alarm didn't go off? Could be inside job.

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Attempt to blow up ATM fails

PETALING JAYA: A failed attempt to blow open an automated teller machine (ATM) at the Giant hypermarket in Kelana Jaya, here, early this morning, left four robbers empty-handed.

In the 4am incident, the robbers broke into the premises through the front entrance and bored into a wall to remove the ATM before using explosives to break it.

He said the hypermarket had two alarm systems but both failed to go off when the robbers broke in. "Both alarms didn't react even when the robbers cut the wires. This should not have happened and we are investigating," he said. Arjunaidi said their investigation revealed that the robbery attempt was committed by a skilled gang who knew their way around the premises. Read more at www.nst.com.my

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Raya ad that backfired

TV3 should learn from this. They have very popular Islamic themed program before and they had resorted to this type of ad; why?

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TV3 fined RM50,000 over Raya ad

Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum told Parliament yesterday that MCMC had completed investigations into the complaints under Section 206 (3) of the Communication and Multimedia Act 1998. MCMC decided to fine TV3 a maximum of RM50,000, he said, when answering a question from Zulkifli Noordin (Independent-Kulim Bandar Baru). Read more at www.nst.com.my

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