Tee Keat unveils manifesto that tackles community issues

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has outlined seven areas of concern in his election manifesto which tackles issues affecting the community.

The seven areas are in business, community, education, youth, healthcare, transparency and social cohesion.

In business, Tee Keat had established a one-stop centre in collaboration with SMI Malaysia to enable businessmen seek professional advice, skills training and funding.

Financial assistance, such as micro-credit, would give that extra edge to small and medium-scale enterprises, he said.

Words of encouragement: Tee Keat (left) receiving a Chinese calligraphy entitled ‘25 words poem’ from MCA Pekan Baru honorary secretary Teoh Keng Guan in Sungai Petani yesterday.

Through initiatives such as TRAIN, Tee Keat had enabled small and medium businesses to continuously upgrade the skills of their staff and recruit work-ready manpower to drive the economy.

As for helping the underprivileged, the 1Malaysia Community Alliance (1MCA) Foundation had been established, alongside other programmes including the providing of shelter, legal advice and community childcare.

In education, amongst other things, Tee Keat had championed the cause of Chinese education by raising up issues with the Govern-ment, such as usage of vernacular language (without compromise to the usage of English) in the teaching curriculum.

The Transport Minister also successfully increased the number of Chinese students eligible for Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships and had pushed for greater meritocracy in the award of government scholarships.

As for the 1,150 students unable to obtain places in public universities, Tee Keat established the HOPE programme for them to study in private institutions of higher learning.

These students pay fees comparable to public universities with government loans available for them.

He also planned for school-leavers who are not academically-inclined. Through the TRAIN programme, some 3,000 students are pursuing vocational training courses recognised worldwide.

In the area of transparency and good governance especially regarding the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) financial fiasco, Tee Keat had initiated several measures to recover money to the tune of RM1.64bil, including the independent audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services – which had led to the court case against several key persons involved in the project.

On social cohesion, Ong had reached out to the Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in its rebuilding efforts.

On behalf of MCA, Tee Keat also coordinated a series of round-table discussions to promote inter-faith understanding.