| Malaysia | 30 March 2016 | Asia Samachar |
Eight-member Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations (CMSO) has elected Dr Kerpal Singh Pannu from the Malaysian Sikh Union (MSU) as its chairman for the 2016/17 term.
He takes over from Bhag Singh Sandhu, the immediate past-president of the Khalsa Diwan Malaysia (KDM).
Sukhdev Singh from Malaysian Sikh Education Aid Fund (MSEAF) takes on the role of deputy chairman.
The coalition has reelected Autar Singh as its secretary general for a new two-year term of 2015-2017 at its annual general meeting on 19 March 2016 at Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya.
Autar has been holding the position since CMSO was set up with eight members in 2012.
At the same meeting, the coalition also appointed a team to explore the setting up of a Sikh welfare home in the Klang Valley.
“This is not an old folks home, but a welfare home,” Autar tells Asia Samachar.
SEE ALSO: MSSSC retains Dr Kerpal as president, Gurjeet made deputy
Sikh Welfare Society Malaysia (SWSM) President Dr Jaspall Singh Malhi has been appointed it head the sub-committee.
When asked on the main concerns of the coalition, Autar said it include employment to entrepreneurship and career progression through internships and referrals.
In the recent months, CMSO had been actively encouraging Sikh non-government organisations (NGOs) to tap Federal funding.
In September 2015, CMSO had also organised a half-day seminar to discuss a research, conducted by a group of academics, on the socio-economic status and social issues of the Sikh Malaysian community.
SEE ALSO: Malaysian Sikh NGOs urged to tap Federal Govt funding, deadline 11 April
SEE ALSO: Sikh NGOs to attend Putrajaya funding briefing
The new chairman Dr Kerpal was re-elected in October 2015 as the president for the second term of the Malaysia Singapore Sikh Sports Council (MSSSC).
He was also embroiled in a controversy when he attended a function to honour the maiden visit of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Malaysia in November 2015.
The other membes of the CMSO are Guru Kalgidhar Diwan Malaysia (GKDM), Guru Nanak Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GNGGSF), Malaysian Sikh Women’s Awareness Network Society (SWAN) and Sant Sohan Singh Ji Melaka Memorial Society Malaysia (SSSJMMSM).
The coalition was founded on 2 April 2011 and registered with the Malaysian authorities on 2 May 2012.
Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC) and Sikh Naujawan Sabha Malaysia (SNSM), two major national Sikh organisations in Malaysia, are not members of the coalition.
COALITION BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2016/2017:
Chairman: MSU Dr Kerpal Singh
Dep Chairman: MSEAF Sukhdev Singh
Vice Chairman 1: SWAN Satwant Kaur
Vice Chairman 2: SSSJMMSM Bhag Singh
Vice Chairman 3: GKDM Baldev Singh
Secretary General: Autar Singh
Treasurer: SWSM Tarlochan Singh
Ast Secretary: GNGGSF Awtar Singh Terry
Ast Treasurer: KDM Diljit Singh
ORDINARY MEMBERS:
1. MSU Harcharan Singh
2. SWAN Mrs Jagjeet Singh
3. SSSJMMSM Jagjit Singh
4. SWSM Dr Jaspall Singh
5. MSEAF Minohar Singh
6. KDM – Piara Singh
MAIN AREAS OF CONCERN:
1. Employment to Entrepreneurship
2. Career progression through internships and referrals
3. English Enrichment Programme
4. Talent – discovering, nurturing and promoting
5. Sikh Leadership Development
6. Sikh Heritage
7. Programmes to focus on the 5 focus areas identified by our Research Report on the Socioeconomic Status and Social Issues of the Sikh community.
CMSO CHAIRS SINCE FORMATION
Protem Chairman Harbans Singh Gill 2012-2013
Harbans Singh Gill 2013-2014
Awtar Singh Terry 2014-2015
Bhag Singh 2015-2016
Dr Kerpal Singh 2016-2017
[ASIA SAMACHAR is an online newspaper for Sikhs in Southeast Asia and surrounding countries. We have a Facebook page, do give it a LIKE. Follow us on Twitter. Visit our website: www.asiasamachar.com]
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There are three not two, who could not care a toss, about Panthic UNITY they now call for.All pleading in the name of unity that THEY all, being hypocrites, broke themselves for photo opportunity.
However, there is also now a SINGH sahib rubbing shoulders with Modi lovers.Surprisingly, a KHALISTANI [AS]proponent also joins them, to get WELFARE home for Sikhs.
Truly amazing,how money changes these people and their panthic allegiance-Yes the word Hypocrisy and Hypocrites comes to mind!
It is a surprise to note that for the first time since so long most of the Sikh organisations got together to take a common stand … boycott Modi’s visit to Malaysia in Nov 2015. Before that there was a memorandum signed by 30 Sikh organisations and 125 Gurdwara Sahibs, with regards to the desecration of the Sikh scriptures in India
Dr Kerpal Singh was one of the only two dissenting “persons”. Does this mean that there would be more chances of societies not to follow the “Panthic” decision?
How can Coalition of Malaysian Sikh Organisations call for unity when its newly elected president’s track record shows otherwise … hypocrisy!
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