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Malaysian Swan Song in Sarawak By-Election

Written by Mariam Mokhtar   
Friday, 14 May 2010

?National ruling coalition appears to be coasting to a win on pork delivery

The Sibu by-election in Sarawak on 16 May is a test on several fronts. A win for the Barisan Nasional, which appears likely, would put the Barisan within striking range of taking back its two-thirds majority in the national parliament.

Beyond that is the old rivalry between two sworn enemies – the Sarawak United Political Party for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and the Democratic Action Party for the opposition Pakatan Rakyat banner. As with all of the by-elections that have occurred since the national elections of March 2008, it is being hard fought, even harder perhaps.
Continue reading “Malaysian Swan Song in Sarawak By-Election”

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Latest QS Asian University Rankings 2010 a sorry tale of unchecked drop/decline of the standards/international standing of Malaysian public universities.

The country’s premier institution of higher education, Universiti Malaya, has dropped two places to 41 this year from 39 last year, while Universiti Sains Malaysia which was granted Apex status in 2008 only managed to maintain its ranking at 69 – just like Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at 82.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, however, took a tumble from 51 to be placed 58, with Universiti Putra Malaysia improving its ranking from 90 to 77.

The continued drop of ranking of Malaysian Universities in Asia is part of the larger disease of Malaysia becoming the “sick man of South-East Asia” – resulting in a decade of economic stagnation and national decline in all aspects of national life, whether educational excellence, good governance, institutional professionalism, human rights or environmental protection.

This is why the New Economic Model (NEM) crafted by a panel of local and foreign experts have sound the warning: “We must act now before our position deteriorates any further”. Continue reading “Latest QS Asian University Rankings 2010 a sorry tale of unchecked drop/decline of the standards/international standing of Malaysian public universities.”

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SUPP (SOAP) OPERA IN SIBU!

By Martin Jalleh

The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Sarawak’s oldest political party, knows that it would be in real political hot “supp” (soup) if it loses in the coming by-election in Sibu.

The PM who recently received a slap in the face by the Chinese community in Hulu Selangor will have to turn the other cheek if the Chinese who are the majority in the Sibu constituency fail to support SUPP.

This helps to explain why the second coming of Najib (to Sibu) which just took place was so necessary. The PM descended on Sibu like a savior determined to deliver its citizens from the evil Opposition by offering the Chinese a slew of expensive gifts.

You do not need to make an educated guess why Najib presented the Chinese educationists and others allocations totaling RM18 million.

Though it was not a very educated thought, many outside Sibu could not help but wish that the days of their own MPs on earth would be few so that they too can enjoy the PM’s saving grace.
Continue reading “SUPP (SOAP) OPERA IN SIBU!”

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Sibu by-election nomination tweets

#Sibu #P212 Nomination then Battle of Century 4Sibu/Swak/Msia begins At stake triple future of Sibu/Swak/Msia Vote 4Sibu/ Swak/Mysia 16 May
Saturday, May 08, 2010 7:58 AM

All PR national/state leaders DAP PKR PAS SNAP arr @ Sibu MP Hall 4nomination Historic show of new Msian political force 4change 4new Msia
Saturday, May 08, 2010 8:39 AM

#Sibu Unprecedented in Swak – all excitement expectation even bn4 9am Nomination illustrating d critical importance of dis byelection #P212
Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:12 AM

1st met SUPP PeterChin TiongThyeKing going over 2BN camp Byelection banter Told Peter 2ask Najib 2come Sibu daily n bring a lot of ang paus
Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:17 AM

All BN big guns oredi @BN camp Went over w KuiLun TonyPua 2say hello 2DPMM’din CMTaib ShafieApdal GeorgeChan TsuKoon More banter #Sibu #P212
Saturday, May 08, 2010 9:22 AM
Continue reading “Sibu by-election nomination tweets”

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Tajem’s message to the Ibans

The Broken Shield

SERIAN: An adviser to PKR and former deputy chief minister Datuk Daniel Tajem (pic below)warns the Iban community that they will lose their native customary rights lands if they continue to elect the State Barisan Nasional coalition in the coming State election.

“Many Ibans in other parts of Sarawak have already lost their lands and we will continue to loose our land, if the State Barisan continues to govern Sarawak.

“In Balai Ringin we are about to lose our lands, when four companies linked to Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud have been given provisional lease (PL) to plant oil palm in our lands.

“A total of 741,000 hectares of our NCR lands have been earmarked for this purpose,” he said, adding that the land owners had protested, but to no avail.

In fact, he said, he and the land owners have written to UMNO to intervene and stop the State government from taking away people’s lands.
Continue reading “Tajem’s message to the Ibans”

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DAP fully supports PAS proposal for a suit to be filed against the federal government for ceding away the oil-rich offshore Blocks L and M in South China Sea

DAP fully supports the PAS proposal for a suit to be filed against the Federal Government for ceding away the oil-rich offshore Blocks L and M in South China Sea to protect the rights of future generations of Sarawakians, Sabahans and Malaysians.

Kelantan state councillor Husam Musa yesterday proposed a legal suit against the federal government for ceding away the oil-rich maritime boundary areas to Brunei.

DAP endorses Husam’s demands and calls on the Prime Minister to issue a White Paper pertaining to all the following issues:

• Reveal to the public all communiques between Putrajaya, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and national oil company Petronas pursuant to the ceding of the boundary areas.

• Report all decisions made by the cabinet about the matter.

• Convene a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the issue. Continue reading “DAP fully supports PAS proposal for a suit to be filed against the federal government for ceding away the oil-rich offshore Blocks L and M in South China Sea”

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Oil sovereignty: Why Sarawak not consulted?

Malaysia Mirror | Wednesday, 05 May 2010

KUCHING – The question of sovereignty concerning the state of Sarawak and the oil-rich Blocks L and M, which were signed away to Brunei, was raised by DAP state assemblyman for Bukit Assek Wong Ho Leng on Tuesday.

In a media statement, Wong, who is DAP Sarawak chairperson, questioned the role of the Sarawak government on this issue and why the Federal government did not consult the state government.

Wong called for a detailed explanation from the state government as to whether it was aware of such “trades” involving Limbang and Blocks L and M.

He said the state government needs to clarify immediately whether it has neglected the interest of Sarawakians by giving up the jurisdiction on the two disputed oil-rich blocks to the Federal government.
Continue reading “Oil sovereignty: Why Sarawak not consulted?”

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Sabah State Assembly next month should pass special resolution to support RCI on 50 years of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia

The Sabah State Assembly, when it meets next month, should pass a special resolution supporting the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry on how the dreams and aspirations of Sabahans and Sarawakians in forming Malaysia had been fulfilled or betrayed in the past five decades.

However, even before the Sabah State Assembly meets starting on April 15, I hope that the Sabah and Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs would speak up in Parliament in the current parliamentary debate on the royal address to endorse my call in Parliament on Thursdays for such a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

2013 in three years’ time mark Sabah’s 50th anniversary in the formation of Malaysia. It is appropriate in preparing for the occasion to seriously assess whether the dreams of Sabahans and Sarawakians in 1963 to form Malaysia had been fulfilled or betrayed.

Have the people of Sabah been granted their full citizenship rights as Malaysians in the past five decades?

Let the debate and soul-searching begin as to how one of the richest states in Sabah had been reduced in five decades to become the poorest state in the federation.
Continue reading “Sabah State Assembly next month should pass special resolution to support RCI on 50 years of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysia”

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Call for Royal Commission of Inquiry on how the dreams and aspirations of Sabahans and Sarawakians in forming Malaysia had been fulfilled or betrayed in the past five decades

Last month, together with DAP MPs Hiew King Cheu (Kota Kinabalu), Teo Nie Ching (Serdang) and Lim Lip Eng (Segambut), I visited Kota Belud and Tuaran, which left us with one abiding impression – how the dreams of Sabahans in forming Malaysia had been betrayed in the past five decades.

In Kota Belud, 800 students and 54 teachers of SMK Tambulion have been suffering daily from the worst and most disgraceful 8km road which covered them in dust, turning them into orang putih, an ordeal which will last another year or two.

But this was not the only outrage in Kota Belud, for we visited Camp Paradise military complex meant to house 1,800 personnel. What we saw were impressive high-rise quarters which were virtually empty. Camp Paradise is now Ghostland Paradise with only some 35 personnel in a complex for 1,800 people – what a gross waste of public funds.

Will the Defence Ministry decide that no new army complexes would be built in the country until Camp Paradise is fully utilised?
Continue reading “Call for Royal Commission of Inquiry on how the dreams and aspirations of Sabahans and Sarawakians in forming Malaysia had been fulfilled or betrayed in the past five decades”

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Barisan talks up chances ahead of Sarawak polls

by Leslie Lau, Executive Editor | The Malaysian Insider

KUCHING, March 13 — Sarawak’s Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri George Chan (picture) is confident of a near clean-sweep for the state’s Barisan Nasional (BN) amid growing talk of impending state elections, as the ruling coalition seeks a major boost ahead of the next general elections.

He told The Malaysian Insider earlier this week that national Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the DAP’s Lim Kit Siang have little traction in the state.

“Even at Anwar’s height Pakatan lost Batang Ai to BN in big numbers,” he said in reference to the by-election last year won easily by BN.

State elections must be called by May 2011, but speculation is rife that it will be held this year in what could be a barometer of how voters in the state will swing in national elections.

With voter support in peninsular Malaysia still appearing to be evenly split between BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR), Sarawak, and Sabah have become strategic states in the fight for federal power.
Continue reading “Barisan talks up chances ahead of Sarawak polls”

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Target of Pakatan Rakyat in Sarawak in the forthcoming state general elections must be to form the next State Government or deny BN 2/3 majority

I feel great satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment at today’s opening of the RM800,000 Kuching DAP premises as it is the culmination of the blood, sweat and tears of DAP leaders, members and supporters in Sarawak in the past 32 years since 1978 when Sarawak DAP was first formed.

We pay tribute to the Chairman of the Building Committee Sdr. Chong Siew Chiang, the founding Sarawak DAP Chairman who had planted the DAP flag in Sarawak in 1978 with a handful of Sarawakian visionaries. Another such visionary, who is with us today, is Sdr. Ling Sie Ming, the “dragon slayer” in the 1982 general elections when Sarawak DAP made the parliamentary breakthrough winning two parliamentary seats.

But the DAP struggle in Sarawak was a very arduous and testing one, as we were unable to make a breakthrough in the Sarawak state general elections for 18 years until 1996 when we first sent the Rocket to the Sarawak state assembly with the election of three Sarawak DAP State Assemblymen.

The May 2006 Sarawak state general election saw another historic breakthrough when DAP Sarawak sent six representatives to the Sarawak state assembly out of a total of nine successful Opposition candidates – a prelude to the March 8 political tsunami of the 2008 general elections in Malaysia.
Continue reading “Target of Pakatan Rakyat in Sarawak in the forthcoming state general elections must be to form the next State Government or deny BN 2/3 majority”

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Call on all Ministers from Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and from Sabah and Sarawak to declare their stand on Nazri’s proposal that the word “Allah” is allowed to be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah but not in Peninsular Malaysia

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has come out with a most illogical and ridiculous solution to the “Allah” controversy – that the word “Allah” is allowed to be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah but not in Peninsular Malaysia.

When the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was reported as saying at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCFIS) in the United Kingdom two days ago that the “Allah” controversy arising from the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims would not be allowed to recur in the future, many were asking what he really meant.

Was Muhyiddin implying that no Home Minister would in future be so irresponsible and insensitive like Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as saying that the government did not prohibit the people from demonstrating over sensitive religious issues, when he should know fully well that it would be regarded as official “green-light” for such demonstrations which could easily get out-of-hand?

Was Muhyiddin implying that no Prime Minister would in future act so irresponsibly and insensitively like Datuk Seri Najib Razak as to endorse any such insensitive and irresponsible statement by a Home Minister as had been made by Hishammuddin, resulting in the spate of arson and vandalism against churches and places of worship which have not stopped after more than a week?
Continue reading “Call on all Ministers from Umno, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and from Sabah and Sarawak to declare their stand on Nazri’s proposal that the word “Allah” is allowed to be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah but not in Peninsular Malaysia”

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‘Allah’ allowed in East M’sia

by Phyllis Wong and Francis Chan | Borneo Post
January 15, 2010, Friday

Nazri says govt recognises two states’ traditional usage of word

KUALA LUMPUR: The word ‘Allah’ is allowed to be used by Christians in Sarawak and Sabah because the government accepts that the natives in these two states have traditionally been using it in their prayers and religious services and the Muslims there are accustomed to this practice.

This was stated by Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, in an exclusive interview with the KTS stable of dailies The Borneo Post, Oriental Daily and Utusan Borneo at his office here yesterday.

“Christians in Sarawak and Sabah need not worry over this issue because it is a common tradition there. I have been to an Iban church service and I heard the word ‘Allah’ used there,” he said.
Continue reading “‘Allah’ allowed in East M’sia”

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Miri the Oil City

Letters
by Sara

We’re really proud with Miri as The Oil City.

After the government made a decision to switch more to RON95, it’s funny for me to say that it’s very difficult to get RON97 at Petronas Station around Miri City.

Only 2-3 Petronas station sell RON97. If you go to this station, always stated that “MINYAK RON97 SUDAH HABIS”.

This is Oil City, but difficult to get RON97 comparing to KL.

Oil City…. haaaa.

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Marina, you’re no bumi

Friday, 30 October 2009 02:02

KUCHING – For 17 years, Marina Undau lived a life of a child growing into a young adult.

School, her family and friends were a central part of her existence. She dreamt of doing her parents proud by furthering her education in a university and eventually getting a good job.

SPM came and went, and the 18-year-old science stream student of SMK Simanggang did well, scoring 9As and 1B last year.

But then she had a rude shock.

Not eligible

The education system said she was not eligible to enroll in a matriculation course, a prelude to varsity and a degree. The reason? She was, it seemed, not a bumiputra.
Continue reading “Marina, you’re no bumi”

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There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration

For the 46th year today, Malaysia Day is commemorated in national disunity rather than national unity.

This should not be the case as five months ago, when Datuk Seri Najib Razak become the sixth Prime Minister, he had proclaimed the new motto of “1Malaysia. People First. Performance Now”.

Najib had the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past 45 years with the people of Sabah and Sarawak marginalized from the mainstream of national development although it was the support of the people of Sabah and Sarawak in the political tsunami of the March 8, 2008 general elections which had kept the Barisan Nasional Federal Government afloat.

In the general elections last year Barisan Nasional won 140 Parliamentary seats as against the Pakatan Rakyat’s 82, but 54 of the BN parliamentary seats came from Sabah and Sarawak (Sabah 24 and Sarawak 30).

Without these 54 parliamentary seats from Sabah and Sarawak, BN would be reduced to 86 seats out of 222 MPs in Parliament, evicting the BN from Putrajaya into the Opposition and Najib today would have been Parliamentary Opposition Leader instead of Prime Minister.
Continue reading “There can be no meaningful 1Malaysia when Malaysia Day Sept. 16 is regarded as a Sabah and Sarawak event rather than as a national celebration”

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Penans – Last of our Mohicans?

By Hussein Hamid

In September 2008 The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) media release said in essence that:

“Penan women from the Middle Baram area of Sarawak are launching a cry of alarm to the international community over cases of sexual abuse by logging company workers in the East Malaysian state’s rainforests.

The Penan are accusing workers from Interhill and Samling, two Malaysian logging companies, of harassing and raping Penan women, including schoolgirls. They come on an almost weekly basis, but the situation is worst during the school holidays when they know the students are in the villages.

In other cases, school transports operated by company vehicles had been arranged in such a way that schoolgirls had to stay overnight at a logging camp, where they were abused.

Continue reading “Penans – Last of our Mohicans?”

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Malaysia in past weeks suffered unprecedented battery of adverse world media coverage which gravely undermine our international competitiveness and goal to become developed high-income country

In the past weeks, Malaysia suffered from an unprecedented battery of adverse world media coverage which gravely undermine our international competitiveness by frightening off intending foreign investors and highly detrimental to the national goal to become a developed high-income country.

The latest incident which has put Malaysia in a very bad light internationally is the global media coverage of yesterday’s Shah Alam cow-head sacrilege in a protest against the construction of a Hindu temple, something which had not happened in 52 years of Malaysian nation building and raising the grave question whether the country is moving towards greater religious intolerance and polarization – and what this means to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia slogan.

Other adverse international media coverage of Malaysia in the past weeks include:

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JOAS condemns arrest of Committee Member, reiterates call for moratorium on development projects

JOAS condemns arrest of Committee Member, reiterates call for moratorium on development projects
13 August 2009

JOAS condemns the arrest of Matek anak Geram early this morning by the police for the crime of allegedly restraining the workers of an oil palm plantation. He was taken into custody by ten fully-armed police personnel at 8.45am and detained for two hours at the Mukah Police Station and charged for allegedly wrongfully restraining the workers of an oil palm plantation company, Saradu Plantations Sdn Bhd. under section 341 of the Penal Code before being released on bail.

Matek, an Iban farmer, a member of TAHABAS (Sarawak Native Customary Rights Network) and Committee Member of JOAS was unarmed when he was arrested by the fully-armed police. For over a year, Matek and his immediate family have been guarding their property against Saradu Plantations who have been encroaching on their native lands. In individual shifts, they have blocked an access road built on their land. JOAS questions the heavy use of force and intimidation against one unarmed man and calls for neutrality of the state infrastructure in this legal dispute between the private company and indigenous peoples.
Continue reading “JOAS condemns arrest of Committee Member, reiterates call for moratorium on development projects”

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Terrible haze in Miri

by Curtin University of Technoloy Sarawak student

I am currently student of Curtin University of Technology Sarawak Campus.

Over the past 2 days, the haze is getting worse and worse.

Time now is 4.19 am. Our students here cannot sleep at all due to the thick haze. We event cannot look out, which make our eyes in pain.

We dont have any channel to complain regarding this issue. Even we call the Fire Department, they say they are trying their best. Continue reading “Terrible haze in Miri”