Penang Tamil schools bodek only Putrajaya?

We are all creatures of our upbringing (family and family values, brought up in wealth or poverty, etc) and/or environment (place brought up, friends/social contacts, etc) and/or culture and/or religious beliefs and/or history and/or education (influence and value system of our teachers), thus we develop and have our own values, likes, prejudices and expectations.

One day I'll talk about this, our conditioning and indoctrination, where we Malaysians - Malays, Indians, Chinese, Sarawakian and Sabahan natives, Eurasians, Thais, etc - aren't all that different, yet having said that, we have to admit we still do have some differences.

Suffice at this stage to say Dr Ramasamy, DCM II of Penang, is a well-educated and also a conservative Indian gentleman who, in my opinion, places much store on pride and face, a social-personal disposition shared by many Malays and Chinese of his peerage.

For more, see my May 2012 post titled
DAP's comedy (or tragedy) of errors with Tunku Aziz in which I wrote (extracts):

Tunku is not unlike Dr Rama where both want respect due to their elderly and senior status, though of course their problems with the DAP leadership were caused by different issues. If you recall, Dr Rama had also threatened to resign rather than apologize for whatever he was accused of, seeing in the whole affair as a lack of respect for him.

If Dr Rama's social-personal disposition is no different from those of a Malay or Chinese of his peerage then why am I highlighting this, his character and the associated values he treasures?

That's because of the story I am about to discuss with you.

FMT reported Dr Rama lamenting that certain Tamil vernacular schools authorities were not giving due recognition to the efforts of the Penang (Pakatan) State government in supporting the development of Tamil vernacular schools in terms of land and annual financial funding.

I have to say that on this, Dr Rama has been working extraordinarily hard to serve the Indian community, especially on Tamil schooling and Hindu religious affairs.

He seemed dismayed that the management of some Tamil school only pander (read this word to mean 'bodek', wakakaka) to Putrajaya in their hope for uninterrupted federal funding while taking the Penang State government's efforts and annual funding for granted.

Those Tamil school authorities even snubbed the state ministers.

In fact, he said this to reporters while Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and him donated RM260,000 to the state's Tamil primary schools and kindergartens; and Punjabi schools.

FMT reported on how Dr Rama was snubbed:

Ramasamy related his experience attending the groundbreaking ceremony for a Tamil school in Permatang Tinggi, near Kepala Batas, he was invited to last week.

He said he was under the impression that he was there to open the school, since he was the deputy chief minister.

“When I went there, there was a big banner with the prime minister’s picture. Alright, that is fine, he is the PM after all.

“But what is wrong in perhaps a picture of the chief minister (Lim Guan Eng). Is he not handsome enough?”

Ramasamy said the programme began with a speech by a BN-linked NGO president, despite him being the only representative from the state government.

“Next moment you know, in the programme, there was no opportunity for me to give a speech on behalf of the state government. I politely bowed out and left.

“This is unfortunate as we have been fighting for Chinese and Tamil schools all this while.

“We have given land with fast approval and I am certain no other state government has assisted Tamil schools like Penang.”

There is no denying that Dr Rama is a very proud and conservative Indian gentleman who is also aware of his public status as a state minister of some standing in society. And he is acutely aware of what the Penang State government has been and still is doing for Tamil schools. Thus we can hardly blame him for being hurt by that ridiculous snubbing.

As I mentioned above, years ago when Dr Rama was instructed by the late Karpal Singh, the latter in his capacity as DAP Chairperson, to apologize for an issue that Bhai had difficulty accepting, Dr Rama threatened to resign rather than apologize for whatever he was accused of, seeing in the whole affair as a lack of respect for him when he was (still is) the DCM II of Penang.

My poor Bhai unfortunately was way too undiplomatic in publicly telling Dr Rama to do so (apologize). It was just too much for Dr Rama to swallow that public chiding of him as if he was a budak kecil, though of course Bhai did that to demonstrate the DAP was a Spartan-like political party in its discipline, wakakaka.

Yes it was just too much Spartan for an Athenian like Dr Rama, wakakaka.

But nonetheless it indicated the value system and pride of a patrician like Dr Rama or in another sad case, Tunku Aziz.

Anyway, we cannot but help asking just what would be the point of the Tamil school authority in inviting the state's DCM II to the opening of a school when he was sidelined in the opening ceremony in favour of a BN-linked NGO president?

The word 'snub' is 100% spot on. It seems Dr Rama was invited there for only 2 possible reasons, namely:

(a) perhaps grudgingly to only secure some more Penang State funding through his presence, or

(b) perhaps even to humiliate him in front of a NGO president, probably a member of MIC (or an Tamil-speaking UMNO member, wakakaka).

I am sure Dr Rama brought up the photo of CM Lim Guan Eng as a frustrated jab at the BN bodek-ing school authorities rather than a serious comment , the "Is he [Lim GE] not handsome enough?" quip being a giveaway.

Personally the only photographs to be hung up on school classroom walls should only be HM the Agong and Permaisuri Agong, and in sultanate states, HRH the Sultan and Sultanate, or in non-sultanate states like Penang, Yang Berbahagia the Yang Di Pertuan Negeri and I'm not sure whether this is necessary, his consort.

There should not be any photos of the PM, ministers, MB or CM. These are politicians whom we have elected as our rep. There is no need to idolize, iconize or apotheosize them.