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MIC chief Samy Vellu says he won’t retire before 2012

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 19 (ANI): Rejecting former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s demand to immediately step down as the Malaysian Indian Congress Chief, S. Samy Vellu has said that he would stick to his original plan and resign in 2012.

“He (Prime Minister Najib Razak) is aware of my retirement plan. I will keep to my word to the prime minister and I will not change (my plan),” the New Strait Times Online quoted him, as saying.
Earlier, Dr Mohamad had warned that Samy Vellu would become a liability to the Barisan Nasional in the next general election since his leadership has failed.
Mohamad suggested that Samy Vellu should step down and take responsibility for the party’s failure in the last general election.
Reacting to Dr Mohamad’s statement, Samy Vellu said the former prime minister who is now calling him a liability had labelled him an asset “when we were winning.”
“His comments are like telling a young wife that she is beautiful and an asset, but when she becomes old, she is branded a liability,” he said.

“I am not at all surprised. But I think he refuses to understand that the BN losses in the last general election were not because of me. An experienced man (politician) like him should understand that,” he added.
MIC vice-president Dr S. Subramaniam said the leadership of any political party was decided by its members, and it should be respected by the other BN component parties.
“The members decide whether to give or withdraw the mandate and if a decision is made by the members, it should be respected by the other BN component parties.

It will be better if all BN leaders avoided commenting about other parties,” said Subramaniam. (ANI)

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Now, unwed Malaysian couple to be whipped for trying to have car sex

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Shah Alam (Malaysia), Sep. 18 (ANI): Following the whipping episode of the Malaysian model who was sentenced for drinking beer, an unmarried couple is now being subjected to the controversial canning sentence under the country’s Sharia law for trying to have sex.

Mohammad Shahrin Abd Majid, 29, and his lover Nadiah Najat Hussin, 24, pleaded guilty to attempting to have sex in a car, were fined 5,000 ringgits or 12 months’ jail and ordered to be caned six times each, the New Strait Times Online reports.

Both Shahrin and Nadiah have paid the fine. On Wednesday, the Sharia High Court of Shah Alam granted a stay on the caning pending an appeal following an application by the couple’s counsel.

The Court has also advised both accused to marry as soon as possible.

The couple had claimed that they were to be engaged soon, and scheduled to be married in February next year.

“You are still young… after Hari Raya seek consent from both your parents to marry,” he said.

Shahrin and Nadiah would be sent to prison in order to receive the caning if their appeal gets dismissed.

Earlier, former Malaysian model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno hogged the international headlines when she was sentenced for canning under Sharia law for drinking beer at a nightclub. (ANI)

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Six charged with sedition in Malaysia’s ‘cow-head protest’ case

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Shah Alam (Malaysia), Sep. 9 (ANI): A Sessions Court in Malaysia has charged six persons with sedition in connection with last month’s cow head protest.

On August 28, nearly 50 protesters gathered at State Secretariat building’s gate carrying a cow’s decapitated head. They were protesting against a temple relocation proposal in Shah Alam city.

The accused arrived at the court at 8.40am and were greeted by scores of supporters in a packed courtroom, the New Strait Times reports.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar asked for bail to be set at 15,000 ringgits each. Bail was later reduced to 4,000 ringgits each.

The case is up for mention again on October 21.

The accused were later taken to a Magistrate’s court for charges of illegal assembly (ANI)

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Malaysian Indian Congress working committee has two Punjabis candidates

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Sep. 7 (ANI): In an unprecedented move, the Malaysian Indian Congress has kept two Punjabi hopefuls on the preferred list of candidates for the party’s central working committee (CWC).

MIC President S. Samy Vellu has endorsed J. Randhir Singh from Johor and G. Jaspal Singh from Selangor among 27 candidates, who will be part of party’s decision making body.

According to a part source, one of the two was being groomed by Samy Vellu to fill the vacancy left by former vice president K.S. Nijhar.

“But it will be an uphill task since both are newcomers and are going for the same allocation. And there are only a few north Indian delegates,” the New Strait Times quoted him, as saying.

“There are many candidates vying for the 23 CWC seats and these two are newcomers. They have so little time and the delegates want to get to know them more. They will have to work hard in whatever little time they have,” said another source.

Though popular in their own states, the two candidates are relatively unknown at the national level.

But Randhir is not letting that hamper his chances. He is leveraging on his father Jasbir Singh’s popularity, who has been the Pontian division chairman for the past 45 years.

“I am using the picture with my father because many people recognise my father for his long service to the party. I want to tell them that I am the second generation who will continue what he has been doing for the community,” Randhir said of an appeal in newspapers which shows him along with his father.

Being a non-Tamil speaking candidate in a predominantly Tamil speaking party is a non-issue, as far as he is concerned.

“My father doesn’t speak Tamil as well and he has been division chairman for 45 years. Language is not a barrier. What is important is your ability and willingness to work for the betterment of the community,” he said.

Being on Samy Vellu’s list of endorsed candidates showed that the president recognises the work of non-governmental organisations, he said. (ANI)

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Malaysian Indian Congress working committee has two Punjabis candidates

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

MIC President S. Samy Vellu has endorsed J. Randhir Singh from Johor and G. Jaspal Singh from Selangor among 27 candidates, who will be part of party’s decision making body.

According to a part source, one of the two was being groomed by Samy Vellu to fill the vacancy left by former vice president K.S. Nijhar.

“But it will be an uphill task since both are newcomers and are going for the same allocation. And there are only a few north Indian delegates,” the New Strait Times quoted him, as saying.

Though popular in their own states, the two candidates are relatively unknown at the national level.

But Randhir is not letting that hamper his chances. He is leveraging on his father Jasbir Singh’s popularity, who has been the Pontian division chairman for the past 45 years.

Being a non-Tamil speaking candidate in a predominantly Tamil speaking party is a non-issue, as far as he is concerned.

“My father doesn’t speak Tamil as well and he has been division chairman for 45 years.

Language is not a barrier. What is important is your ability and willingness to work for the betterment of the community,” he said.

Being on Samy Vellu’s list of endorsed candidates showed that the president recognises the work of non-governmental organisations, he said. (ANI)

MIC urges Universiti Malaya to maintain its Indian Studies dept’s name

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Aug. 29 (ANI): Malaysian Indian Congress chief S. Samy Vellu has urged Universiti Malaya’s vice-chancellor Ghauth Jasmon not to change the name of university’s Indian Studies Department.

“He has to listen to the views of the Indian community. Tamil is our life,” he said when asked to comment on Ghauth’s statement over renaming the department to Indian and South Asian Studies department.
Ghauth had reportedly said that although the name of the department would be changed, its programmes would be maintained.
“We will not accept any changes to the Indian Studies Department because it was the Indians who contributed to the department’s existence and it is also our pride,” the New Strait Times quoted Samy Vellu, as saying.
He said he was informed by Human Resources Minister Dr. S. Subramaniam that the cabinet has agreed to maintain the during a recent Cabinet meeting.
“It has been agreed by the Cabinet. So, there must not be any change in the name,” Samy Vellu said.
He noted that the ISD was created from money collected from Indian estate workers in the early 1950s under the “Save Tamil Fund.”
“The department has many historical values for the Indian community. Changing its name would mean showing disrespect to the Indian community,” he added. (ANI)

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Indian actress Shobana to display artistic talents at musical in Malaysia

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Aug 29 (ANI): Award-winning Indian actress Shobana Chandrakumar is all set to showcase her performing talents in Malaysia in the musical Maya Ravan, to be staged at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.

Hailed as one of the most beautiful actresses of India, Shobana combines her three loves-cinema, Bharata Natyam and theatre-in this production.

The actress won the hearts of Malaysian fans after she played the love interest of superstar Rajinikanth in the blockbuster movie ‘Thalapathi’.

An accomplished Bharata Natyam dancer, Shobana is the grand-daughter of late classical dancer/actress Padmini.

And now fans of the brilliant actress will marvel at her talents in conceiving, interpreting, and choreographing the unique Maya Ravan production.

Shobana, who plays Ravana in Maya Ravan, and the students from her dance school, Kalarpana, have scored major successes having staged more than 50 shows in a two-and-half years’ worldwide tour.

She said that her main objective in producing Maya Ravan was to widen the appeal for the Ramayana epic among world audiences.

“To achieve this, the musical score is made up of a fusion of world music and Indian film music,” the New Strait Times quoted her as saying.

“The narration is in English rendered by Indian film artistes, namely Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff, Milind Soman, Suhasini Maniratnam, Revathy, Rohini, Tabu, Sameer Sony and Mohanlal,” she added.

The Maya Ravan musical, presented in Malaysia by Nishchal Creations, starts today at the KLCC Plenary Hall.

Proceeds of the show will be donated to the Malaysian Association for the Blind. (ANI)

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Hindu board dismisses allegations of financial impropriety against Malay temple

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Georgetown (Malaysia), Aug.27 (ANI): The Hindu Endowment Board in Penang has dismissed allegations of impropriety over money raised by the Sri Ramar Temple here last year.

Board chairman A. Tana-sekharan said the money collected by the temple at Solok York last year only amounted to RM 66,589.49, after payments and expenses were deducted, and not RM83,000 as claimed by its former committee members.

He said the temple had raised almost RM 110,000 in February last year before the deductions.

“The temple gave us the first RM 60,000 in April and the rest in July. The money is in the temple’s account, which is governed by the board,” the New Strait Times quoted him as saying at a press conference at the temple yesterday.

Tanasekharan was responding to the temple’s former committee members’ demand to know what had happened to the RM 83,000 they had given to the board for the temple’s consecration ceremony and also to carry out programmes for single mothers and poor students.

He said the amount collected during the fundraiser was smaller and explained that the event was approved by the board to collect donations.

The money was to clear its deficits, which totalled over RM 96,000 as at April 2008. (ANI)

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Malaysian Sikh community lauded for their contribution in national development

August 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ipoh (Malaysia), Aug 13 (ANI): Malaysia’s Sikh community may be small in number, but its contributions to the development of Perak and the nation as a whole have been invaluable.

Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the community should continue with its contributions and remain united to face local and global challenges, as well as work with the government to improve its lot.

“The state government would like to record its appreciation to the community for enriching the heritage, culture and social fabric of our country, especially Perak,” he said at a dinner organised by Union of Perak Sikh Organisations (UPSO) on Tuesday.

“I hope Sikh organisations will work together to maintain their cohesiveness, strength and identity,” The New Strait Times quoted him, as saying.

Eight Sikh organisations and 38 Gurdwara Sahibs make up UPSO. There are about 28,000 Sikhs in Perak.

Some 1,500 members of the community attended the dinner.

“The state government intends to form a solid, long-term and fruitful relationship with the community through UPSO. We will try to address the problems raised by the community promptly,” said Zambry. (ANI)

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Underprivileged Malay-Indian students to get educational aid

July 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ipoh (Malaysia), July 4 (ANI): In a bid to provide study assistance to underprivileged Malay Indian students, the Parek government in Malaysia has decided to include three private colleges in their list of colleges and universities, which are eligible for educational aid.

Earlier, a large number of Malay-Indian students could not afford to study in the three institutes of higher learning-Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST), and TAFE College-as they were deprived of assistance from the state government.

“The three colleges were not included in the list and as such, the students from the community faced financial difficulties to enrol in courses,” the New Strait Times quoted Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir, as saying.

“We do not discriminate. The students can be from any race but they would receive the aid if they meet all the conditions, including their family financial background,” he said after a meeting with Perak MIC officials here yesterday.

The educational aid was among several issues discussed during the meeting.

“We asked the state government to include TAFE and AIMST as a large number of Indian students applied to study in the two colleges,” Perak MIC chairman G. Rajoo said.

“We are happy that Zambry has considered the plight of the poor Indian students and happy that the state government has agreed to give out the aid to students to enrol in the three colleges which would lessen the financial burden of the families,” he added. (ANI)

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Malay women queuing for refreshing spa and salon services in jail

June 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, June 22 (ANI): Women are increasingly queuing up to go to the Kajang Prison (women’s wing) in Malaysia, which has opened spa and salon services.

Since it opened its doors to the public last December, scores of women have been regular visitors to the Kajang Prison spa and salon, especially on weekends when it becomes very difficult to get an appointment.

The spa authorities say that the purpose behind starting the spa was to teach skills to women prisoners, some of them foreigners, who were ironically thrown behind bars for working illegally in beauty and massage parlours.

Warder Corporal Rahmah Zawawi, who has been attached with the prison for the past 22 years, revealed that watching the success of the spa and salon training, some private beauty parlour owners even inquired whether they could hire the prisoners. But we had to turn them down as they are only allowed to work within the prison premises,” New Strait-Times Online quoted Rahmah as saying.

According to Rahmah, most of the women working at the prison spa and salon were those serving jail terms of six months or less.

“Currently, seven girls are working in the salon and all of them are Indonesians. They are in jail because they did not have valid travel or work documents. We don’t allow those with dangerous criminal records to work here,” Rahmah said.

She further said that apart from the quality of services provided at the spa, its cheaper rates also attracted women.

“Tell me where can you get a sauna, scrub and facial for only RM85?” she asked.

The services are only open to women clients.

“All they have to do is inform the guard that they have an appointment with us and drive straight in,” Rahmah said of her women clients.

The prisoners are trained by warders who have substantial knowledge in the beauty business.

The training is a continuous affair because it is provided only to short-term prisoners, and the “staff” turnover is high.

“We don’t mind that we keep training and training prisoners all the time. This gives the women a chance to start a new life when they get out,” Rahmah said. (ANI)

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Illiterate Indians lured into slavery in Malaysia

May 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mallaca (Malaysia), May 30 (ANI): Thousands of illiterate Indians are falling prey to promises of a good life in Malaysia. Trapped between wanting a better life for their families and their eagerness to escape poverty, they fall victims to scams, managed by syndicates.

“They are like thugs, and they exert force to instil fear in us so that we dare not go against them,” M Nadarajah, a victim said.

“Bala (Nadarajah’s captor) and his brother would use demoralising and abusive words, slap, kick and even hit me with a stick if they were not happy with my work,” he added after showing the scars on his back.

Insufficient food and rest make many of these illegal Indians ill, as they are made to work hard on estates in the region.

Some are tortured quite severely, reports the Strait Times.

People like Nadarajah are often threatened by their captors. Captors even threaten to sell their children to prevent them from escaping. (ANI)

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Booming Malay sex sector requires no stimulus package

May 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, May 25 (ANI): While most industrialists can be seen craving for more and more stimulus packages amid the ongoing recession, solicited sex in Malaysia is one sector that seems far from going into a tailspin.

Sources in the local prostitution scene say that solicited sex is going through a boom.

They have revealed that they raked in more than RM3.2 billion last year, which is just the earnings of sex workers, not including those of pimps and other spin-offs.

Statistics from the international non-governmental organisation, Coalition Against the Trafficking of Women, suggest that there are about 150,000 prostitutes working in Malaysia, with over 10,000 in the Klang Valley.

According to information from the women rescued by local women’s aid NGO Tenaganita, a prostitute usually works a seven-day week, charging RM150 an hour.

“Serving an average of eight clients a day, she ends up making RM1,200 daily and possibly RM36,000 a month,” the New Strait Times quoted Aegile Fernandez, anti-human trafficking coordinator of the NGO who has had experience making women escape the sex industry for more than 20 years, as saying.

“But that is just full-time sex workers who enter the trade willingly. If the girls are forced into the trade via human trafficking, she gets nothing except a traumatic experience,” Aegile added.

The syndicate running the brothels is said to usually have up to 100 girls under them, meaning that they could rake in about RM120,000 a day and a whopping RM3.6 million a month.

Information from pimps operating in the country suggests that Malaysia has hundreds of such syndicates, each operating several brothels in their designated areas. Many brothels in Malaysia double as “health centres” offering massage services.

JJ, a pimp for more than 10 years, says that clients are willing to pay from RM60 to RM100 for an hour of massage, followed by an additional RM150 for sex.

“Prostitutes who double as massage ladies also get a fee from their handlers for massage services, usually about RM20 per customer,” JJ says.

So, in addition to as much as RM36,000 monthly from sex alone, a prostitute can add on another RM9,000 for offering “half services”, bringing her monthly untaxed income to a whopping RM45,000.

“Don’t forget their RM200 a day wages for massaging an average of 10 customers. That’s a legitimate RM5,200 a month or RM62,400 a year. They can choose to pay tax on that, but most don’t,” says JJ.

He has also revealed that each sex worker pays RM3,000 a month to pimps “as tax or rent for using our centres to do business and for protection from aggressive customers.”

According to him, prostitution is a recession-proof business.

“Things didn’t slow down for us during the 1997 Asian financial crisis or any of the recessions before that. Sex, like food, is a necessity,” he said. (ANI)

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Hindraf leaders no longer a threat to Malaysia: Minister

May 21, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Putrajaya, May 21 (ANI): Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz has said Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders are no longer deemed a threat to Malaysia.

The Hindraf, which is a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia, was declared an illegal organisation last year.

Mentioning the now-defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), which remained outlawed despite its former members being freed, Nazri said: “In the case of CPM, its former members sat down with the government and pledged to abandon their ideologies. But CPM remains a banned party. It does not mean that since Hindraf leaders were released, the ban on their organisation has been lifted.”

All five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act were recently released, New Strait Times reports. peaking about the formation of the Malaysian Makkal Sakthi Party by several key Hindraf members, Nazri said they had the right to do so.

Its pro-tem secretary-general, Kannan Ramasamy, had said since Hindraf was outlawed, it was timely that the movement and its support base found an alternative conduit to champion the Indian cause.

He said the new party would remain neutral and work with whichever coalition that was willing to support Hindraf’s 18-point demand. (ANI)

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HINDRAF leaders among 13 ISA detainees to be freed

May 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Putrajaya (Malaysia), May 8 (ANI): Banned Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) leaders, P.Uthayakumar, M.Manoharan and K.Vasantha will be among 13 ISA detainees to be released soon, Malaysia’s Home Minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein announced in Putrajaya today.

According to the New Strait Times and The Star, the three remaining leaders are being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and will be released soon.

Hussein said he would sign the documents on Friday.

The 13 ISA detainees include six Malaysians, two Indonesians and five Filipinos.

The other three Malaysians are Zulkepli Marzuki, Jeknal Adil and Adzmi Pindatun while the Indonesians are Zainun Rasyhid and Aboud Ghafar Shahril. The Filipinos as Sufian Salih, Hasim Talib, Abdul Jamal Azahari, Yusof Mohd Salam and Husin Alih.

Hussain added the release of the three Hindraf leaders was not politically motivated.

When he became Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak ordered the release of 13 ISA detainees, including HINDRAF leaders V. Ganabatirau and R. Kengadharan. (ANI)

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Malaysian Indian Congress presidents to have limited terms

May 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, May 6 (ANI): The Malaysian Indian Congress has decided to limit the terms of its president, deputy president and vice-presidents, who are likely to serve only three terms of three years each.

Changes in the party constitution have been proposed to limit the number of years served by the top office-bearers of the Barisan Nasional component party, the New Strait Times reports.

The proposals are part of efforts to rebrand and revamp the party to improve its political fortunes.

According to the sources, the next MIC President, deputy president and three vice-presidents will to have their terms limited, while the divisional leaders are also expected to have their time in office capped.

However, central working committee members are not bound by such limits.

If a candidate has served three consecutive terms, he will have to sit it out for at least one term before offering himself again for election.

“This was discussed at last month’s central working committee meeting. A party constitutional amendments committee has been appointed to look into the proposals,” a source said.

The committee is expected to submit its findings at the party CWC meeting next Thursday.

Appointed posts such as those of the secretary-general, treasurer-general and information chief are not included in the proposals.

The changes will have to be endorsed by two-thirds of the 1,500 delegates attending the annual general meeting. (ANI)

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Indian held with huge amount of ketamine in Malaysia

May 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuching, May 6 (ANI): The Malaysian Custom Department has detained an Indian who was trying to smuggling ketamine worth 382,655 ringgits through the Kuching International Airport.

The 32-year-old, who flew in from New Delhi, was held when he was behaving suspiciously. The man has been remanded for four days.

His two bags contained nine stainless-steel milk boilers rigged to smuggle ketamine into the state.

State Customs director Rusmani Abdul Sukur said the department was tightening surveillance at all entry points due to the number of ketamine seizures this year.

“This the second largest haul this year,” the New Strait Times quoted Sukur, as saying.

Two months back, another Indian national was held with seven Kilograms of ketamine worth 245,000 ringgits at the same airport.

Ketamine is available on the streets for 300 ringgits per five grams.

The drug supply in Sarawak has dwindled after several top players were arrested over the past two years.

Narcotics police seized 4 million ringgits worth of assets belonging to drug dealers in the state. (ANI)

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Malaysian Indian Congress calls for a Malaysian Hindu Religious Department

May 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, May. 4 (ANI): The Malaysian Indian Congress has petitioned the government to set-up a Malaysian Hindu Religious Department to deal with temple and conversions issues.

“After setting up such a department, there will be a government body to handle these matters and look into the implementation of government policies and decisions,” the New Strait Times online quoted MIC’s Youth wing adviser S. Vell Paari, as saying.

Currently, there are only non-governmental organisations like Malaysia Hindu Sangam and Malaysia Hindu Youth Council handling such issues.

The MIC said the implementation of government policies and decisions has always been a problem. Recently, rules were tightened for hiring priests from India, and the move was reverted after much protest.

“Even then, we still face problems whenever we bring in priests. It will be much easier when a government agency works with another government agency,” Vell Paari said.

The party claims that establishment of such rules and guidelines could be drawn up to deal with matters of temple demolitions.

There are an estimated 23,000 legal and illegal temples in the country.

On the issue of conversions, he said with the existence of the department, a Hindu who wanted to convert could be made to notify it for the families concerned to be informed.

“This can avoid such allegations as body snatching,” he said, adding that the department should be placed under the Prime Minister’s Department.

The department could also look into social ills like crimes, gangsterism and alcohol abuse, and organise religious classes, Vell Paari said.

The proposal would be discussed by the party’s central working committee before being submitted to party secretary-general Dr S. Subramaniam to raise before the cabinet. (ANI)

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‘Ghost’ pays second visit to spooked Malay schoolgirls

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 29 (ANI): It was certainly a case of spooky return when a ghostly apparition that scared the wits out of some 50 schoolgirls in Langgar, Malaysia on April 26, made a second appearance in the premises yesterday.

Another girls from Forms One to Four of SMK Langgar became frantic after they claimed they saw the apparition in the school canteen at 9.30am.

In an immediate reaction, State Education director Shahidan Abdul Rahman advised those affected by the incidents to stay home.

“We are still investigating the matter and I advise those still disturbed by the incidents to stay home,” The New Strait Times Online quoted him as saying.

Nasroh Abdul Rahim, 14, one of the students, who claimed to have seen the ghost, said she fainted after seeing the apparition of a longhaired woman in a flowing white gown hovering in the canteen.

“I screamed and then blacked out after seeing the figure,” she said when met at the school.

Nasroh was also one of the 50 girls who became hysterical when the “ghost” appeared the first time.

It was when she, along with other students and a few teachers, were reciting the yassin in the school surau when the “ghost” reappeared.

And her screams made even others to become hysterical.

A bomoh, who was called in by the school to help check the problem, claimed that he had caught a blurred image of the “ghost” on his handphone. (ANI)

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Meet the ‘sari-tying’ Indian expert

April 26, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 25 (ANI): While most ladies take their time in tying their saris, Indian man Rakesh Nair has mastered the task of doing in it in a jiffy.

For Nair, 40, who has become a specialist at the task, tying a sari was something he learned during his stint in the movie industry in Chennai, at the AVM Studios, back in the 1990s.

“I was impressed with how the men at the studios dressed the actresses. They could tie saris in a jiffy,” the New Strait Times Online quoted him as saying.

“I learnt how to tie saris and often did it for the starlets, while the old studio hands were responsible for getting the leading ladies ready for the shoot,” he said.

Women are required to stand before him in their choli (blouse) and pavvadai (long slip) before he starts draping them with five metres of beautiful saris.

Though his job as a logistics manager keeps him busy in his office from Monday through Friday, he still ties saris at the weekend, and he is even booked for weddings, engagements, beauty pageants and dinners.

Most women go to him whenever they want to look their best, as he says if the sari is not tied properly, they end up looking clumsy.

Nair ties at least five or six saris for women each weekend and if he is working on a beauty pageant, the number can easily reach a dozen.

“The South Indian traditional style, the ones you see in Tamil movies, is favoured by many women here,” he said.

“Increasingly though, the younger ones prefer the Bollywood, Gujarati or even Bengali style,” he added. (ANI)

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