Assistant Minister, State Assemblyman under investigation by MACC for alleged abuse of power and corruption

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, May 13, 2015 - A Sarawak assistant minister  and a State Assemblyman are under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for possible abuse of power and corruption.

The Assistant Minister  is being investigated for alleged corruption and abuse of power in a RM250 million construction of Baitulmakmur 11 project in Petra Jaya, here while the State Assemblyman is being investigated for alleged involvement in illegal logging and illegal timber trade.

Several banks accounts belonging to the assistant minister,  totalling RM4 million, have been frozen.

Discrepancies on Betong voter electoral roll found

Comment by Vernon Aji Kedit

1. PKR Betong Division did a Voter Verification Exercise last weekend, May 1 to May 3, at Betong. The exercise was to help voters check and verify their voting status. Volunteers from KL and Kuching came along and set up counters in the town areas to assist voters to check their status.

 

Manufacturer of Australian product makes false accusation against Sarawak, says Masing

 By Jonathan Jong

KUCHING, May 12, 2015 -A supermarket here has been asked not to sell a floor cleaner liquid imported from Australia because its manufacturer was making false accusation against the oil palm industry and Sarawak.

Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing said "Wooden Floor Cleaner" contains false information against oil palm industry and the manufacturer of the product have falsely claimed that Sarawak has destroyed its orangutan sanctuaries for oil palm plantation.

Deforestation is severe in Borneo, says WWF

KOTA KINABALU, May 9, 2015 -   According to the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) recent 2015 Living Forests Report, deforestation is severe in Borneo, one of the 11 places in the world projected to have the most deforestation in the next 15 years. 

The report projected that in a no-intervention scenario, up to 170 million ha of forests could be lost between 2010 and 2030 in the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest and Gran Chaco, Borneo, the Cerrado, Choco-Darien, the Congo Basin, East Africa, Eastern Australia, Greater Mekong, New Guinea and Sumatra.

WWF-Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer  Dionysius Sharma announced that tangible actions are being taken to address deforestation, particularly in Sarawak and Sabah. He said that both state governments have been very cooperative and supportive towards these initiatives which generated positive results in the recent years.

Sidi: Dayak NGOs must keep up the pressure on the government until it recognises our rights

By Doris Theresa Yoong

KUCHING, May 9, 2015  - Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA) president Sidi Munan said Dayak NGOs must keep up the pressure on the State government until it recognises the natives as the indigenous people as having rights over lands, territories, and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied and acquired.

"There will be no end to the quest until the State government gives legal recognition and protection to these lands, these territories, these resources which in Iban are called pemakai menoa and pulau galau as they have done to temuda.

"There will be no end to the exercise until such recognition is concluded with due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure system of the natives landowners concerned," he said when closing a NCR Land Forum here today.