BN-friendly party for Sarawak?

 

KUCHING (Aug 17, 2011): A group of non-partisan politicians has submitted an application to register Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) with the Registrar of Societies (ROS), it is revealed today.

ROS Sarawak director Ken Leben, when contacted, confirmed receiving PBK’s application, but decline to give details and the names of protem committee members.

“All I can say is that the application to register PBK was received last year, and I have forwarded it to our Kuala Lumpur headquarters for a decision,” he said.

He said there was no problem with the documentation submitted to register PBK.

He said PBK is formed by a group of Dayaks and Chinese politicians, believed to be friendly to the Barisan Nasional (BN).

“As far as I can recall, there is no Malay in the protem committee,” Leben said, adding that he received applications to register three other political parties last year.

The three parties are Peace Party, Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) Baru and Parti Ekonomi Rakyat Sarawak Bersatu (PERSB).

A group of Malay businessmen and former politicians are believed to be behind the formation of Peace Party while PBDS Baru was formed by former supporters of the defunct PBDS while PERSB is formed by a group of jatropha farmers and businessmen.

PBDS was deregistered by the ROS on Oct 21, 2004 following prolong leadership crisis.

Leben said he had also forwarded the applications by the three parties to Kuala Lumpur for a decision.

“There were no problems with their documentations submitted to ROS,” he said.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Masing, when asked, suspected that a businessman is involved in the PBK’s formation.

However, efforts to contact the businessman through his mobile cell were unsuccessful.

Talk is that PBK, although claiming itself to be Barisan Nasional-friendly, is eyeing 10 parliamentary seats currently held by PRS and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP), both component parties of the state BN, in the coming general elections.

PBK is hoping to be registered before the general elections so it can put up candidates in the Dayak-majority seats.

SPDP deputy secretary-general Paul Igai, when asked, said he does not know why the new party wants to contests in seats held by the BN component parties when it claims itself to be Barisan-friendly.

Eventful year 2011, with increasing number of allegations against Taib Mahmud

The  2011 was an eventful year for Sarawak, with politics continuing to hog the limelight.
Topping the list is the April 16 state election in which the Opposition gave a better show.
For Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), it was better for its leaders and members to forget the year, hopefully expecting 2012 to be a better year.
Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) continued with its internal squabble which started after the 2009 triennial delegates conference.
Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Sarawak (PBB) and Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) continue to remain stable, but for how long?
Factions have been formed in PBB, now that its chief Abdul Taib Mahmud, wanted to step down midway of his current term. Factional leaders are consolidating their position, with their eyes on party presidency and the chief minister's post.
In the April 16 state election, PBB maintained a 100 per cent record when all its 35 candidates scored victories, out of the 71 seats in the State Legislative Assembly.
But not so for SUPP, the second biggest Barisan Nasional (BN) component party in Sarawak. The party was ousted in 13 out of of the 19 seats it contested.
Among the casualties were party president George Chan (Piasau), treasurer David Teng (Repok), Sibu Municipal Council chairman Tiong Thai King (Dudong) and Youth chief Sih Hua Tong (Batu Lintang).
Dr Chan, claiming full responsibility for his party's poor show, stepped down as the party president at the triennial general meeting early December.
The Opposition DAP won 12 seats, PKR three and an Independent, one.
Sarawak National Party and Parti Cinta Malaysia both suffered humilating defeats.
Things do not look good for SUPP, even after the TGM.
The Wong Soon Koh faction boycotted the TGM, claiming irregularities in the branch elections. The WSK faction had lodged reports with the Registrar of Societies on the alleged irregularities.
Peter Chin Fah Kui, the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, is the new party of SUPP, replacing Dr Chan.
Chin promised to transform and rejuvenate SUPP into a political force it once was.
Almost all the party top guns are behind Chin.
The internal squabble in SPDP was highlighted with the sacking of its former secretary-general Sylvester Entrie Muran, and the stripping of party posts of four other senior party members.
Entrie, a one-time tipped to be the next party president after William Mawan Ikom, was sacked for gross indiscipline while Dr Tiki Lafe, Peter Nansian, Rosey Yunus and Paulus Gumbang, were stripped of their positions in the party for failing to attend the party's supreme council meeting since 2009.
Other major issues highlighting 2011 were an increasing number of allegations of corruption against Taib Mahmud and his family members and the native customary rights (NCR) land.
Taib Mahmud, chief minister since 1981, was forced to issue a personal statement in the June sitting of the State Assembly to deny that he had a personal bank accounts in Switzerland.
Bruno Manser Fund has been compaigning relentlessly against Taib Mahmud and his family members for allegedly abusing his power to enrich him and his family members.
The campaign have been held in Germany, Switzerland, Canada and United Kingdom, asking these governments to conduct investigations into properties held by Taib Mahmud and his family members.
Sarawak Report, a whistleblower website, has written numerous articles on Taib Mahmud and his family members.
So far Taib Mahmud or members of his State Cabinet have been quiet on the series of allegations.
Taib Mahmud was furious when a reporter with a mainstream paper asked him to comment on a call by 17 non-governmental organisations from many countries, including Malaysia, for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), Attorney-General's Chambers and the police, to arrest him and 13 members of his family.
We expect the allegations against Taib and his family members to continue in the incoming year and beyond.
As in the previous years, the year 2011 saw more NCR landowners bringing their cases to court in their effort to stop plantation companies from encroaching into their property.
The NCR landowners, mostly through lawyers Baru Bian and See Chee How, have been filing cases with the court. And in the cases that have been settled and decided in the High Court, the landowners have scored victories against the plantation companies, Pelita and state government.
A total of about 200 cases have been filed in court, not just through Baru Bian and See Chee How, but also other lawyers.
So, we should see more NCR land cases to be heard in court next year and more cases to be filed as well, since the state goverment is intent in opening up more land for oil palm plantations.
We see 2012 to remain as exciting as the year 2011.- Sematong Express

Irresponsible Jabu comes under fire

Kuching (Dec 27, 2011): Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang came under fire today for being irresponsible for not updating the people of Sarawak on the flood situation.

"Where  is Jabu, who took over from Tan Sri Dr George Chan as chairman of the state disaster and relief management committee, now?

"I hope he will be more responsible, at least giving a daily briefing to the press so that they, in turn, will inform the general public on the current flood situation," Sarawak PKR vice chairman See Chee How told reporters today.

"Let the people know, especially the travelling public, on the areas affected by the floods," he said.

"If Jabu is on leave now, he must recall himself and go and visit the flooded areas," See, the Batu Lintang state assemblyman, said.

He said he had not heard of Jabu visiting the flooded areas or flood victims.

He charged that Jabu, by not giving a daily briefing, was deliberately keeping the public in the dark.

“The travelling public wants to know which areas or roads are flooded so that they would not go there or postponed their trip. But without such information, they are not able to know,” he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 2825 victims from 726 families from Kuching district were at nine relief centres as at 11.45am today.

He said 1,435 victims from 288 families from Kampung Simpok were taking shelter at SK St Peter while 458 victims from 115 families from Kampung Beradek were staying at SK Beradek.

“A total of 294 victims from 252 families from Kampung Semilang are sheltered at Masjid/Tadika Kemas at the village,” he said after being briefed by Deputy Resident of Kuching Division, Zamahari Saidi.

The other evacuees are 138 from 31 families from Kampung Tupong Jaya sheltered at Dewan Kampung Tupong, 47 from nine families from Kampung Sungai Maong at Masjid Darul Istiqah, 95 from 19 families from Kampung Sungai Laru at Balairaya Kampung Sungai Laru and 38 from nine families from Kampung Semariang Teruntum at Dewan Baru Semariang Batu.

See said that two relief centres at SK Tupong and Tadika Kemas of Kampung Gita, which houses 10 families from Kampung Tupong and Kampung Gita Lama and Laut, had been closed since it was safe for them to return home.

He said he was informed that all the evacuees were expected to return home by tomorrow if the weather continued to improve.

He said Kuching Division, covering the administrative districts of Bau, Lundu and Kuching, was the worst affected by the floods in Sarawak.

See questioned the effectiveness of the RM148m phase one of the flood mitigation canal in minimising the flood situation in Kuching and Bau districts.

“It was supposed to drain away excess rain water from Sarawak Kiri River to Salak River, passing through Santubong and into the sea.

“But instead, the excess rain water from the catchment continues to flow through Sarawak Kiri River, thus causing floods in Petra Jaya, Semariang and Tupong,” he said.

He said it was supposed to reduce incidence of flooding in Upper Padawan area, but it did not.

“Kampung Simpok in Padawan is one of the worst affected areas in Kuching district,” he said.

He said the reply he received from Assistant Minister of Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh was that the phase one, involving the construction of a diversion canal, was sufficient to reduce floodings in Petra Jaya, Tupong and Semariang.

“So, I am quite puzzled as to the effectiveness of the flood mitigation canal,” he said, adding that whole flood mitigation project was estimated to cost RM2 billion.

ends

Baru's Christmas and New Year message

Christmas and New Year message from YB Baru Bian, State Assemblyman for Ba'Kelalan

and Sarawak PKR chief

A Time to Give

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’

                                                                                      John 3:16

As we take time out from our busy schedules to celebrate the birth of Christ, I would like to reflect on the essence of Christmas and what it means to Christians who give thanks for the gift of Christ from God our Father. The biblical quotation above captures perfectly the message of Christmas – it is about giving. Just as God gave his Son to us, we too, out of love for our neighbours and friends, should think about, and practise giving to our family and friends, and our brothers and sisters in this State, and even in the country.

But what is it that we can give to our fellow citizens? It is well-known that Sarawak is one of the poorest states in Malaysia. Many of her citizens eke out an existence on very little earnings per household. The rate of poverty in the state has increased from 4.2% in 2007 to 5.3% in 2009; there are 28,505 people registered as poor including 2993 classified as hard-core poor. The government acknowledges that this figure is expected to increase over the next few years. These are the official figures from the authorities but due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the interior, for every person registered, there are many more who are not.

In showing our love and compassion for those people who are less fortunate than us, it is commendable that we share what we have with them this Christmas season by giving material goods, money and food to the poor and needy. God gave us all in life without any conditions, and so should we give in the same spirit of all-encompassing love for our fellow citizens. I truly commend and applaud the kindness of Sarawakians who give generously each year in cash and in kind, and in giving their time to visit the old, the sick and the abandoned in homes during the festive season. Indeed Christmas is a time when we find joy in giving.

Many of us make our yearly donations and tell ourselves that we have paid our dues to society for the year, and we hang up our donor hats until next Christmas rolls along. Is this ‘giving’ in the true sense of the word as God gave to us? It is not. A yearly charitable contribution, while noble and good, is not sufficient to pull our less fortunate brothers and sisters out of the morass of poverty in which they find themselves through no fault of their own.

There is much more that the people of this state and country need. Besides food, clothing and shelter, we need to live in a society that is free and fair, to be governed by people who put our interests first and make decisions that are beneficial to the state, without fear or favour. We need a government that is righteous, that will protect and help those who are unable to help themselves, that will eschew corruption, nepotism and cronyism. We need a government made up of people who will not plunder our heritage and birthright to enrich themselves, while the poor are made to suffer more as a result of the plunder. We need good governance.

We cannot turn a blind eye anymore to the abuses of the current government and the resulting impoverishment to the people affected. Many people in the cities and towns who have stable jobs and earn a good wage have no appreciable comprehension of the very real issues of survival faced by those living in the rural areas. We are blessed in that our country is rich in natural resources and we are free from natural disasters – unlike our neighbouring countries such as Thailand and the Philippines, which have been hit by massive flooding in the recent months. However, we must open our eyes to the misdeeds of the very people to whom we entrust the administration of the state. Our native brothers and sisters are losing their livelihood while those in government and their cronies get richer by the continuing rampant abuse of power. It is especially galling and offensive that our downtrodden brothers and sisters are exhorted by those who steal from them to be grateful for a government that ‘cares for them’.

This Christmas season, I urge everyone to reflect on the meaning of giving to those who need our help the most. Thankfully, we are not called upon to give up our lives as Christ did, but we can show our love and concern for our fellow citizens by giving them the best chance of regaining their livelihood and to improve the lot of those who are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. We can give to them and indeed, to ourselves the opportunity of change by exercising our right to vote in the coming General Elections and by exercising our right prudently. This would be a gift of a lifeline, not only for us today but also for the generations to come. And the time for the giving is NOW! It is time for justice and righteousness to prevail and we have the power to bring about the change. It is my prayer that our Fair Land Sarawak will come into her own and for her and her proud people to once again be free and to prosper. I give thanks to God that He has blessed Sarawak with abundant resources and that there are many who have a deep love for and a strong connection with the land. Let us vote for a Government that will be a Government FOR the people so that all Sarawakians may reap and enjoy what rightfully belongs to all her citizens. In such a way, we can say ‘we have given’ in the spirit of Christmas. And in so giving, we will all receive the gift of a new beginning for our beloved Sarawak.

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

Christmas greetings to all

The family of Sematong Express wishes to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Sarawakians.