Richard Lee, 22, found safe, but in weak condition, six days after he was reported missing

KANOWIT, March 12 2026: A 22-year old youth, who was reported missing six days ago from his home at Rumah Ricky Umar Jalani longhouse, has been found safe, but in weak condition by a search and rescue party late this morning. 

Caption: A fireman piggybacks Richard Lee anak Apang, who was found safe, but in weak condition, in the bushes - Photo by Bomba

Kanowit Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba0 station, in a statement, said Richard Lee anak Apang was found among the bushes, about 1km from the search party’s control post at about 11.55am.

“The search operation ended with the victim handed over to the Civil Defence Force ambulance to be sent to the Kanowit Hospital for further examination,” the station said.

It said that on March 8, it received a call about 11.04am, asking for an assistance to look for Richard Lee who had been missing from Rumah Ricky Umar Jalani longhouse, Sungai Penyulau.

It was reported that at about 4pm on March 7, the victim’s brother noticed that his younger brother had left the house without the knowledge of the family members.

A report was the lodged at the Kanowit police station.

The residents of the longhouse have made efforts to search for the victim in the forest area behind the longhouse but failed to find the victim.

The complainant informed that the victim left the house without bringing any identification documents or mobile phone.

A search and rescue operation was then initiated by the villagers, firemen, police and Civil Defence Force personnel.

PKR vice president Roland Engan expresses personal support to the 17 new additional seats of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly

MIRI, March 11 2026: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice president Roland Engan has expressed his personal support to the 17 additional new state seats because it is important to ensure that more areas, especially the interior and communities in Sarawak receive fairer representation in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (SLA).

 

 Roland says whatever it is, he hopes that all the processes will be implemented transparently so that the delineation exercise of areas can produce 17 fair seats and reflect the voices of the people of Sarawak. 

"We need to be fair in this matter, seen from various aspects. The issue now is the schedule. The process is long, (but) it has been approved, no problem. (But) now it is at the federal government and Election Commission (EC) levels,” he said in a video broadcast posted on Keadilan P220 Baram Facebook.

"Is the time period enough or not for these 17 seats to be legally prepared to be contested in the PRN17 (in 2027)? Where is the problem? Why does this matter seem to be slow even though it has been approved in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (SLA)? he asked.

"In my personal view, perhaps there is no engagement between the Sarawak and federal governments before the 17-seat proposal is brought to the State Assembly and approved.

"Try if (the matter) is brought to the Caucus earlier. So both parties (can) set a schedule. After it is approved in the Sarawak State Assembly, then (at the) Parliament and EC levels. Everything will go smoothly," he said in a video broadcast.

Roland said that, whatever it is, he hopes that all the processes will be implemented transparently so that the delineation exercisde of areas can produce 17 fair seats and reflect the voices of the people of Sarawak.

He said that his hope was expressed so that the 17 new seats truly represent the voices of the people whose voices may not have been represented in the existing 82 seats.

"With the new seats, there will be new voices from minorities or rural areas," he added.

 

 

Fatimah meets Juliet during a visit to SGH's Clinical Research Centre

KUCHING, March 11 2026: Minister for Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Fatimah Abdullah paid a visit to the Clinical Research Centre (CRC) at the Sarawak General Hospital to oversee clinical research efforts and engage with breast cancer patients as part of an initiative to raise women's health awareness. 

Caption: Fatimah Abdullah (centre) having a conversation with Juliet Lau at SGH's Clinical Rsearch Centre - Photo by Ukas

During the visit, she had the opportunity to meet Juliet Lau, 41, a triple-negative breast cancer patient currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Juliet’s struggle highlights the importance of increasing breast cancer awareness, particularly regarding early detection and equitable access to treatment, especially among young women and rural communities.

In a show of solidarity and effort to raise public awareness, breast cancer awareness advocate Dr Melissa Lim, who is also a member of the Sarawak Breast Cancer Support Group, has pledged to shave her head alongside Juliet in a fundraising campaign.

The campaign aims to raise RM30,000 to support breast cancer health education programmes, which will be expanded to rural areas, underserved health communities, and marginalised groups throughout Sarawak.

Through this campaign, it is hoped that more women will be able to recognise the early signs of breast cancer and seek medical treatment at an early stage.

 Fatimah stated that her meeting with Juliet was a deeply meaningful experience that inspires efforts to strengthen public awareness of the disease.

"Juliet is a young woman facing breast cancer with extraordinary strength and resilience.

"Her story reminds us that breast cancer can affect women of any age, and early awareness and timely medical action are vital," she said on Wednesday.

She emphasised that the Sarawak Government is committed to further strengthening support for women and families affected by cancer and ensuring that access to healthcare can be enjoyed by all, regardless of location, whether in urban or rural areas.

Fatimah also praised the role of community support groups, such as the Sarawak Breast Cancer Support Group, which are active in helping to raise awareness and providing support to patients throughout their treatment journey.

"When the community, healthcare providers, and policymakers work together, we are able to bridge the gap in cancer care and provide every woman the opportunity for early detection and the hope for recovery," she remarked.

Among the primary functions of the CRC are conducting clinical research, supporting the implementation of medical studies, providing modern research facilities, conducting training and capacity building, as well as strengthening international cooperation in health research.

These efforts prove the hospital's commitment to producing new knowledge that benefits not only the people of Sarawak but also Malaysians as a whole.

The Minister is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the 13th Asia Pacific Organisation for Cancer Prevention (APOCP) General Assembly and Scientific Conference 2026, which will take place in Kuching.

Juliet's story of courage reflects the broader goal of the conference: ensuring that no woman is left behind in obtaining opportunities for early detection and proper treatment. \\

Bank's excuse not to refund a scam victim of its former employee in full is most ridiculous, Chong claims

KUCHING, March 11 2026: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen said he finds it most ridiculous for a bank not to refund a customer, a scam victim of its former employee, in full.

Caption: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen says Ms Jee seek his assistance to claim full refund from the bank

He said it cannot be over-emphasised that it is the bank’s legal obligation to reimburse its customers for the fraud committed by its officers in the course of the bank’s business.

He said the bank’s business is independent from and unrelated to the source of fund of the customers.  

“Even if the source of fund is suspicious, it is the task of the police to investigate the depositors on their source of fund and not for the bank to claim suspicious source of fund as a reason to exonerate it from its legal obligation to reimburse the victims of the fraud committed by its officers,” Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP chairman, said in a statement.

He urged the bank not to further penalise the victims of its employee’s fraud by refusing to refund them their money on such unjustifiable ground.

He said a customer, whom he identified as Ms Jee, came to seek assistance from him to recover her loss when the bank only refunded her RM10,000 out of the RM15,000 she invested in the bank’s investment.

“Sometime in June, 2025, Ms. Jee invested RM25,000 with the bank’s then employee (now terminated) at its branch at Jalan Tun Jugah where she handed over cash of RM25,000 to the former employee who then issued an investment receipt acknowledging the receipt of the RM25,0000.  

“When the investment scandal was exposed by me in early December last year, she  proceeded to enquire and found out that the whole of her RM25,000 investment money was misappropriated by the same employee.

“She then proceeded to claim for the refund of her misappropriated RM25,000.

“Last month, the bank only refunded her RM10,000, claiming that the remaining RM15,000 was suspicious source of fund because she did not show any record of cash withdrawal of the said RM15,000 from any bank account,” Chong said.

Chong explained that the RM15,000 came from Ms Jee’s small small sundry shop business in the outskirt of Kuching and most of her customers pay her in cash.  

“It is thus not uncommon for her to have in her possession cash money in that amount,” he said.

He claimed that the bank has arbitrarily and unfairly imposed upon its customers that in order to qualify for non-suspicious source of fund to be entitled to the refund, the victim must prove to its satisfaction that the money was withdrawn from a bank account within one month before the date the money was misappropriated.

“If the cash money was not withdrawn from a bank account within 30 days before the date of the misappropriation, then BSN would consider the money as “suspicious” and treated it as “illegal”, thus the bank will not refund the money thus misappropriated.

“Such excuse by the bank to deny refund to the scam victims is most ridiculous,”he said.