Muhyiddin is easily the worst Education Minister, charges Chee How

KUCHING , Dec 28, 2012: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin  has been branded as easily the worst performing Education Minister since the formation of Malaysia in 1963 by Sarawak PKR vice head See Chee How today.

“Should Datuk Seri Najib Razak step down as Prime Minister after the upcoming general election in the event that the Barisan Nasional wins with a slim majority, calls within Umno will be heard for him to step down and Muhyiddin, being the Deputy Prime Minister, will take over.

“With this kind guy taking over as Prime Minister, what kind of future for the country will be like? There will be lack of direction, flip-flops and inconsistent policies,” See said at a press conference.

 He cited the Education Ministry, under Muhyiddin, as being inconsistent in the formulation and implementation of the education policies, regulations, guidelines and instructions.

“The inconsistency has affected thousands of schools in Sarawak which have opted to continue the teaching of Mathematics and Science subjects in English,” See, who is also the State Assemblyman, said.

“These schools are in a quandary and the students are in a lurch, “ he added.

“With a few more days to the opening of the new school year, it is discovered that schools in Sarawak have not received their English textbooks and workbooks, but only the Bahasa Malaysia versions were distributed to all students.

“This is despite the fact that these schools have filled in and submitted a designated form distributed by the Education Department asking them to decide and indicate whether their primary school students choose to continue to use English or Bahasa Malaysia or both,” he said.

He added that these schools have expressly opted for English Language for their students now, from Standard 4 to Standard 6.

See said it was Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Deputy Prime Minister, who had revealed last year that 5 % from the total classes in 7,495 primary schools and 9 % out of 2,192 secondary schools chose to fully use English for Mathematics and Science.

“He is fully aware of the needs and extent of schools requiring textbooks and workbooks in English for the batch of students still under PPSMI policy, yet these textbooks and workbooks are not being printed and distributed,” he said.

See said the schools and parents have expressed doubtful whether these textbooks and workbooks are going to be distributed.

“There are even doubts whether the Education Department has the syllabus and contents of the textbooks and workbooks prepared and whether the department is printing them,” he said.

He said the non-printing of these books will add substantial workload and pressure on the teachers as they have to translate the syllabus and contents, according to their own understanding and perception of the Bahasa Malaysia texts.

He said that a lot of time and efforts will be saved if the ministry have a proper planning in the formulation and implementation policies and plans.

“I call upon the Education Ministry to immediately post the syllabus and contents of the English textbooks and workbooks on the Internet or on the Education Ministry and Education Department’s websites to allow schools and teachers to download and print them, for their teaching of Mathematics and Science in English,” he said.

See also reminded the Education Ministry and Muhyiddin that English, apart from Bahasa Malaysia, is still the official language in Sarawak.

“The special rights to use English is cherished and dear to Sarawakians,”  he added.

Bruno Manser Fund's next target is to stop the Annual Congress of the International Hydropower Association in Sarawak next year

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,

As an eventful year is coming to its end, the BMF team would like to thank you for your interest in our work and your invaluable support.

In cooperation with our valued partners in Malaysia and from around the world, the Bruno Manser Fund's campaigns and projects have had considerable success. In particular, we are happy to see that the Taib government's plans for twelve new dams in Sarawak are increasingly being challenged by local opinion leaders and by the international community. The withdrawal of Rio Tinto and Hydro Tasmania from Taib's selfish plans is proof that international investors can be forced to withdraw from projects that are neither transparent, necessary nor sustainable. In the new year, we will increase public pressure on the remaining foreign players, particularly Sarawak Energy's Norwegian CEO, Torstein Sjøtveit, and the International Hydropower Association that is planning to hold its annual 2013 congress in Kuching. - If you haven't written to Mr. Sjøtveit yet, there is still time to do it (under tds@sarawakenergy.com). It is a sign of his nervousness that he personally rebuts all critical e-mails sent to him while refusing to acknowledge that he is just Taib's highly-paid helper.

In Switzerland, our criminal complaint against UBS over the laundering of over 90 million USD of timber corruption funds from Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has prompted the Attorney General to open a crimnial investigation, which is currently under way. We have no doubt that UBS will be heavily fined and hope that the case will cause them to overhaul their due diligence procedures for customers form the timber and plantation sector.

We are also proud that the last year has seen improvements for our Penan partners at the community level which we are happy to continue supporting. We would like to wish you all the best and salute you with a picture message from Long Benali, a community that has successfully kept Samling's loggers at bay and sends regards from their well-preserved primary rainforests across the world.

We wish you wholeheartedly a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year.

Your BMF team

Rejoice, the rays of light have penetrated through the darkness in Sarawak, says Baru Bian in his Christmas message

BARU BIAN’S CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE 2012

HOPE

The prophets of old prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ years before it came to pass. It came when the nation of Israel was going through difficult times spiritually, socially and politically. Therefore, such prophecy was of great comfort to the people of Israel then, as it gave them hope that one day things would change through the coming of a “Light” giving hope to those living in darkness.

From reading the gospel of John we learn that Jesus is that “Light”, when he said: “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” [John 12: 46]. The Bible talks about a man we all know now as John the Baptist who came as a witness to the coming of the Light, when the Bible said: “There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” [John 1:6-9].

This Christmas season, I am compelled to share with you, my friends, a message of hope akin to the time and era when the prophecy of the birth of Jesus the Messiah was first uttered.

The people of Sarawak and Malaysia have, for the past decades, been subject to oppression by political forces in ways both subtle and harsh. The judicial crisis in 1988 paved the way for suppression and control of our liberties and our well-being in every way imaginable, affecting us in all aspects of our lives – our civil liberties, freedom of association and beliefs, our economic opportunities and social interactions.

We have embarrassingly acquired the reputation of being the top country for corruption according to Transparency International, and the 3rd in the world for illicit capital flight according to Global Financial Integrity.

In Sarawak, the people have progressed little, having been governed by those who have no understanding of the plight of those who are sidelined and marginalized. Numerous Sarawakians are mired in poverty, many have lost their lands and livelihood to timber companies, plantation tycoons, dam builders and their political masters. A large proportion of the rural population have poor access to basic amenities such as water and electricity, healthcare and education, and the benefits of development. Sarawak, in spite of being rich in resources has the ignominy of being the 2nd poorest state in the country.

Poor our people may be in material wealth, but we are rich in hope and faith. With hearts filled with hope in the promise of better times to come, we have been praying faithfully that we may be led out of the darkness and the tyranny of corruption, oppression and suppression.

Sarawak entered her Jubilee year on 16 September 2012. For the Christians in Sarawak, this Jubilee year holds great significance, for the Jubilee addresses land and property rights. To the indigenous people of Sarawak, the land is their life. Many lives have been disrupted and destroyed with each timber licence issued, each plantation established and each dam built.

This Jubilee year, we look for the fulfillment of the promise of release and restoration, of emancipation and social justice. Equality for those who are disenfranchised and marginalised will see God’s Providence for all, so the goods of the land are the common property of the people.

In the face of the many challenges that confront us, we have reason to rejoice, for rays of light have penetrated through the darkness. We have seen wrongdoings of the ruling elite exposed by the work of friends such as Radio Free Sarawak and various NGOs. We have witnessed the awakening of the people to the abuses and excesses of those who purport to care for them. We have walked with those who have dared to stand up for their rights against the government that would bully them.

Today, I rejoice with my Christian brothers and sisters as we celebrate this holy day. I am filled with a quiet joy and confident anticipation of the triumph to come in the New Year. The breakthrough promised by God is imminent; God is faithful to those who believe.  

I wish all Sarawakians and all our friends throughout Malaysia and around the world a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Baru Bian

State Assemblyman

N70 Ba’ Kelalan/

Chairman, PKR Sarawak

Busy days for Peter Kallang and James Nyurang Usang in Australia, meeting Australian MPs

After a successful series of events and meetings in Melbourne, Peter Kallang, Chairman of the SAVE Rivers network, and James Nyurang Usang, headman from the Baram, are currently preparing for the last leg of their Australia tour in Tasmania.

In Melbourne, Peter and James were hosted at the Parliament House by Greg Barber MP and Sue Pennicuik MP, two Victorian Greens Members of Parliament. They give interviews to local radio stations and met with a number of church and NGO representatives from Uniting Church, Friends of the Earth, the Australian Conservation Foundation and others who are all very sympathetic with the Sarawak indigenous peoples' struggle for their lands, rivers and forests.

Green campaigners in Australia have meanwhile identified a powerful leverage to target Hydro Tasmania by asking Australian consumers to pressure Momentum Energy, a Hydro Tasmania subsidiary, which is selling certified "green" power in Victoria in a highly competitive electricity market. Momentum Energy are currently expanding into New South Wales (and later Queensland) and are very sensitive to brand damage that Hydro's controversial involvement in Sarawak might bring about. http://www.momentumenergy.com.au/about-us

The showdown will take place in Tasmania

On Sunday, Peter and James will meet the former Senator and Australian Greens leader Bob Brown, the champion of the Franklin River, which was saved from being dammed and later declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. On Sunday evening, a public event will be held with Tasmanian Greens MP Kim Booth, who has been following the Sarawak dams campaign with great interest and commitment.

Coming Monday, 3 December, the Sarawak campaigners will meet with Hydro Tasmania CEO, Roy Adair, in Launceston, Tasmania, at 8 a.m. for a one-hour meeting. Adair will be pressured to disclose full information on Hydro Tasmania's involvement in Sarawak and to commit to a staff withdrawal and to severing ties with Sarawak Energy and the Taib government's dam plans.

A press conference is scheduled to be held in Hobart at 1 p.m. on Monday, 3rd December.

On Monday afternoon, the Sarawak delegation will be received by Tasmania's deputy premier, Bryan Green MP, in order to discuss Hydro Tasmania's involvement in Sarawak and the role of the Tasmanian government

On Tuesday, more meetings with Tasmanian politicians will be followed by a public event in Hobart. The tour will conclude with the Tasmanian government being grilled over Hydro Tasmania's activities in Tasmanian parliament on the occasion of Government Business Enterprise (GBE) hearings on Wednesday at noon.

Tour coordinators Adam Burling and Jenny Weber can be reached under info@savesarawakrivers.com
or by phone under 0457192507 and 0427 366 929. (Country code Australia: +61)

Hydro Tasmania in the defensive

Interestingly, Hydro Tasmania have started playing down their involvement in the Sarawak dams scheme and clearly appear to be worried about the media fallout of the "Hydro Tasmania - out of Sarawak" campaign. In a media release, Hydro Tasmania said on Wednesday that the company was "not involved in flooding rivers and displacing indigenous peoples" and that they are "not providing consultancy services on the Baram dam project". However, Hydro Tasmania acknowledge that they have "five of our people on secondment" in Sarawak. Source:
http://www.hydro.com.au/about-us/news/2012-11/hydro-tasmania-rejects-national-campaign

Research by the Bruno Manser Fund has shown that Hydro Tasmania, along with other Australian companies, are up to their necks in the Sarawak dam plans, in which they play a key role. The following Australian nationals are strongly involved in the Sarawak hydropower plans:

- Andrew Pattle, secondee from Hydro Tasmania, Project Director for the Murum Dam and Senior Project Manager for the proposed Baram and Baleh dams
- Miles Smith, Vice President and Head of Planning and Strategy at Sarawak Energy
- Graeme Maher, Senior Manager Hydropower Development at Sarawak Energy
- James Hannon, Senior Manager Contracts at Sarawak Energy
- Nick Wright, the former Senior Advisor to Tasmania's Energy Minister, now holds the position of Vice President with Sarawak Energy

Entura, Hydro Tasmania's subsidiary and consultancy branch, conducted feasibility studies on the proposed Belaga, Pelagus and Metjawah dams. During the investigation, Entura identified another potential dam site, Punan Bah, which is currently undergoing a feasibility study. Entura also advised Sarawak Energy repeatedly on matters concerning the Murum Dam, which is currently under construction

Other Australian companies involved in the Taib government's dams program include SMEC (Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) and engineering conglomerateGHD.

The Bruno Manser Fund is calling on the Australian and the Tasmanian governments to terminate Hydro Tasmania's involvement in Sarawak with immediate effect and to inform all Australian nationals and companies involved in the Sarawak dam projects on the human rights and environmental concerns over these projects.

Your BMF team


PS: More than 1200 people have already sent e-mails to Hydro Tasmania CEO Roy Adair. Support Sarawak's indigenous peoples now and sign on under: http://savesarawakrivers.good.do/save-sarawak-rivers/hydro-tasmania-out-of-sarawak