Malaysia's Sedition Act - A Repressive Law

Someone has been threatening Sarawak Headhunter through the Comments section of this blog with arrest for sedition, presumably under the Malaysian Sedition Act and even under the ISA ("Internal Security Act"), both repressive laws normally resorted to by a government which has lost its legitimate right to govern.

This is not medicine which Sarawak Headhunter can be forced to swallow.

Sarawak Headhunter is as stubborn as RPK and will not bow to such threats. There is a limit to which human rights may be violated and we must never allow any government to ride rough-shod over its people under the guise of implementing such repressive laws.

It is the people who decide what their government is, not the government that decides what to do to the people. Governments cannot play God with their people. If they think that by doing so they can subdue the truth, they are sadly mistaken.

Any government which ignores this deserves to be overthrown and will be overthrown, preferably at the ballot.

The following is an extract from the Human Rights Watch website under the topic "Repressive Laws" (of Malaysia):

"The Sedition Act

The Sedition Act, originally enacted by British colonial authorities, limits free expression by broadly criminalizing any speech that is judged to have a "seditious tendency," including speech which tends to "bring into hatred or contempt or to excite disaffection against" the government, promote "feelings of ill-will and hostility between different races," or question constitutional preferences in business, education, and government employment opportunities given to Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak. The speaker's intent and the statements' veracity are irrelevant. A violation of the act is punishable by up to three years in prison, a 5,000 ringgit fine (about U.S. $1,315), or both. The act's vague language invites selective application against political opponents for any kind of criticism. Indeed, it was used in January 2000, shortly after the national elections, against opposition figures who criticized the government. Such expression is a basic right guaranteed by internationally recognized human rights standards. In addition, although numerous police reports alleging acts of sedition were filed against ruling party officials and allies during the same period, only opposition figures were arrested. Human Rights Watch calls on the Malaysian government to ensure that the law is not used for politically motivated proceedings against activists, attorneys, journalists, and opposition leaders. Those who peacefully express critical views should not be subject to arrest."

Sarawak Headhunter cannot put it quite as well as the master himself:

It is clear that the Sedition Act can solve all our problems. The Sedition Act, properly and seriously implemented, would result in the entire world sharing just one religion. There would not be so many religions, which, today, are the source of most of the world’s problems.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There is an old law which many Malaysians do not realise still exists in this country. This law is called the Sedition Act. How old is this law, you may ask. Trust me, it is very, very old.

The Sedition Act was already around 3,000 or 3,500 years ago during the time of the Egyptian Pharaohs. At that time a man called Musa -- namesake of Musa Hitam, Musa Aman and Musa Hassan; who are all the exact opposite of the Musa of old Egypt -- received a message from God. And the message is that the Pharaoh is not God, as he believed he was, and Musa was to go tell him so.

Of course Musa was scared because he was aware of the Sedition Act and anyone who disputes that the Ruler of Egypt is God will be dealt with severely. So Musa asked God for permission to bring his brother along since his brother had the gift of the gab and was able to ‘spin’ just like the Bloggers of modern days. Knowing that a lot of spinning would be required to counter Pharaoh’s claim of divinity, God agreed and Musa and his brother then went and confronted the Pharaoh.

The Pharaoh asked Musa what are the credentials to become God. Musa then replied that God gives life and God takes life. The Pharaoh then sentenced Musa to death thereby ‘taking his life’. The Pharaoh then commuted the death sentence thereby ‘giving back’ Musa his life.

“So I have just taken life and given life,” argued the Pharaoh. “That means I am God.”

See the rest at Malaysia-Today.

Kapit's Disappointment

Tuesday, September 2

From The Broken Shield

Why Kapit is neglected?

An aerial view of Kapit town

While road communications in other divisions in Sarawak have improved by leaps and bounds, transportation in the Kapit Division has remained traditional, i.e. by rivers, even after becoming independent through the formation of Malaysia until this day – 45 years later.

The construction of road from Kanowit to Song and to Kapit and eventually to Belaga has been the dreams of Kapit leaders as it will not only link Kapit with other divisions, but will also pass through thousands of longhouses and huge tracts of land which can be opened up for agricultural development. The opening up of these tracts of land will be able to help eradicate poverty among the Ibans in the area, who are among the poorest in the country.

Kapit’s members of parliament and assemblymen have complained about the lack of road communications since the early days of Malaysia. I remember an incident in Kapit some time in 1967 when Tun Temenggong Jugah complained to Tun Abdul Razak, then deputy prime minister regarding the lack of development in Kapit especially the road construction. He said that Rahman Yakub and Taib Mahmud had neglected the Iban community in implementing development projects and accused them of practising a double standard. I remember he said: “Bisi niki pinang bisi niki nibong”. He threatened to pull off support for the federation of Malaysia. However, he kept quiet after he was offered the post of Minister for Sarawak affairs.

But his successors for the Ulu Rejang seat such as Miut Sibat, Justine Jinggut, and Billy Abit Jo and MPs for Kapit including Penghulu Abit, James Jimbun and Alex Nanta Linggi, the grandson of Jugah and State assemblymen like Jonathan Sabai, Philimon Nuing, Peter Gani, Stephen Ngelambong, Felix Bantin and Ambrose Blikau and Dr. James Masing have tried their best in requesting for road development for Kapit.

All their requests have been ignored. Now all development funds are to be focused towards realising Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE) where 13 major companies have signed MoU with companies connected to Taib’s families and cronies. The SCORE will be developed along the coastal areas.

No wonder, the people of Kapit are very angry when they see no funds for road construction have been set aside for Kapit in the 2009 budget. Kapit has been missing several buses of economic development – to be exact nine buses (nine five-year Malaysia Development Plans.)

Why is Kapit in the doldrums of economic development? Firstly, certain people who walk along the corridor of power strongly object to the construction of the road as it will deprive the business of the express boat operators as well as ensuring the mighty Rajang River remains the mainstay of transportation for the benefit eco-tourism. Secondly and silently certain powers-that-be do not want Ibans to be “developed”. Ibans having reasonable incomes will be a threat in that they will not “kow-tow” to anyone. And being too poor will be equally dangerous to the powers-that-be. The policy is not to make “Ibans rich nor to make them really poor” as both are detrimental to the existing powers-that-be.

Now to cut the story short, Masing has got the power. The question is whether he dares to use it. Like Jugah who was the president of Parti Pesaka threatening to pull out of Malaysia, Masing as the president of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) with six MPs and seven State Assemblymen can adopt the same tactic. Although Masing cannot pull out of Malaysia, he certainly can pull out of Barisan Nasional as it (BN) has not cared much for the people of Kapit. Only certain Dayak leaders like Alfred Jabu, Douglas Ugah and their cronies really benefit, some of them are given government contracts and lands for oil palm plantations.

So why remain in BN when Anwar Ibrahim is offering a window of opportunity to join Pakatan Rakyat. Perhaps with earnest negotiations with Anwar Ibrahim, who knows, PRS will not only become a greater and stronger voice for the people of Kapit, but also standing tall for the Dayak community in the new alliance.

Recent news about Kapit published in the local newspapers:-

• SCORE will bring roads to Kapit, says Sng
• No money for Kapit road; local leaders upset
• Kapit Folks Unhappy Sibu-Kapit Road Project Not In Budget 2009

By Jetty

Unfair Distribution of Infrastructural Development in Sarawak

Monday, September 8

From The Broken Shield

Bulk of RM3.3 billion goes to PBB constituencies

When the prime minister announced RM3.3 billion for infrastructural development in Sarawak in his 2009 budget speech on 29 August, initial response from Sarawakians including people from Kapit was of that excitement and joy. But when full details are revealed, the people living in coastal areas, Mukah and Betong are really the beneficiaries as the bulk of the money will be expended in their areas.

The projects mentioned include roads linking Sarawak new federal administrative centre, Jalai Nanga Buai to Ulu Spak in Betong, Jalai Tanjong Assam to Saribas, Betong, Jalai Awat-Awat to Kuala Lawas, Bengoh dam in Kuching and integrated wastewater management system in Kuching. And all these areas happen to be in constituencies held by elected representatives from Parti Bersatu Bumiputra (PBB).

It is natural for the people of Kapit to be angry with the government when they find out that Kapit Division is not mentioned in the budget. After all, they have not only been loyal BN supporters, but have also been waiting for 45 years for roads to be constructed linking Kapit with other towns in the State. And they have expected something to be given to them as rewards for their loyalty. Thus, Kapit has created a record of sorts that can be included in the Malaysian Book of Records or even the Guinness Book of Records as the only town in Malaysia having no road links with other towns in the State and in Malaysia. Even Pulau Pinang has a bridge linking it with other parts of West Malaysia. (In fact the second bridge has been proposed.)

But a SUPP leader asks the people of Kapit to wait patiently and for how long? Another 45 years? And the statement from YB Yong Khoon Seng, deputy federal Minister of Works makes the people of Kapit even angrier, when he said: “The project will come, don’t worry. Just don’t jump to conclusion regarding this matter because we have already planned for the road to be constructed. But it may take some time”.

The road, he said, might be constructed (I stress the word “might”) between Kapit and Song or Kapit and Sibu, pointing out that it would be a State road with funds might (again the word “might”) come from the federal government directly or indirectly. The word “might” indicates uncertainty. Between Yong and James Masing, Masing being the State Minister should know better if there is a plan for the State to build the road to be funded by federal funds.

Considering the importance of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and the construction of 12 dams in the State, it is likely that the federal funds will be concentrated on the development of SCORE infrastructures along the coastal areas from Bintulu to Tanjung Manis and as well as infrastructures leading to the proposed 12 dams. The possibility of Kapit being excluded in the 2010 budget and in the 10th Malaysia Plan or even the 11th Malaysia Plan is very real unless and when drastic changes take place in the country such as the formation of PR government.

By Jetty.

3 Kanowit Longhouses Burned

26 FAMILIES FROM THREE LONGHOUSES IN KANOWIT RENDERED HOMELESS IN FIRE

Bernama - Monday, September 29

KANOWIT, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Twenty-six families from three longhouses built closely together in Ranan, about 15 minutes drive from here, were rendered homeless in a fire last night.

Douglas Graji, the officer-in-charge of the Fire and Rescue Department here, said the longhouses were Rh.Akat with 10 family units, Rh.Jipon with eight and Rh.Kudi with 13, of which five units were saved.

He said 18 firemen were sent to the scene after receiving a call 8.24pm and took about 35 minutes to bring the fire under control.

The fire was believed to have started from a room on the first floor of Rh.Akat., he told Bernama today.

The cause of the fire and losses have yet to be ascertained.

-- BERNAMA

Strange Birds These Sarawakians!

Friday, September 19, 2008

From The Middle Ground

How well do we know our hornbills?

The are 57 living species of Hornbills (family Bucerotidae). Of these 57 species, 10 of these species can be found in Malaysia (according to Malaysia Nature Society) and especially in Sarawak to the point that Sarawak is known as 'Bumi Kenyalang' or 'Land of the Hornbills'.

We recently talked of Malaysia Day on 16 September and its significance given the current political climate of the country. But do we non-Sarawakian Malaysians even know anything about our Malaysian brothers and sisters from across the South China Sea?

If you are anything like me, then I would venture to say that "no unfortunately we do not know much about Sarawak and Sarawakians, hence our surprise that they delivered 30 of 31 parliamentary seats to the BN."

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a talk by Mr Dunstan Chan, laywyer, columnist and public speaker from Sarawak at the weekly Gerakan Teh Tarik Forum. Boy did I learn a lot!

I won't go into the history of Malaysia's formation when The Federated States of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo (Sabah now) and Sarawak decided to come together to form a new country in 1963.

Instead I will like to highlight the many pertinent points brought up by the speaker.

Sarawak DID NOT join Malaysia. Sarawak together with others FORMED Malaysia with an 18 point safeguard for their autonomy.

Needless to say over time some of the safeguards have time elapsed and some have been eroded by Putrajaya to the point it is forgotten today.

I wonder how many people know that whilst Sarawak recognize Bahasa Malaysia as the official language of the country, the Sarawak legislative assembly still uses English?

That the state of Sarawak has no official religion even though it recognizes Islam as the official religion of Malaysia?

I wonder how many people know that the BN in Sarawak is a totally different creature from the BN we peninsular Malaysians know? The BN in Sarawak comprises of PBB, SUPP, SPDP and SPP. There is no UMNO, MCA, Gerakan or MIC in Sarawak! Not even a single branch of these national parties exists on Sarawakian soil!

And the largest of these parties, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) is helmed by Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud, a Melanau Muslim and not a Malay.

In fact I wonder if any of my readers are aware of the racial breakdown of Sarawak?

According to Wikipedia, the breakdown is a s follows :

Ibans - 30%, Chinese - 26%, Malays - 21%, Melanau - unknown, Bidayuh - 10% and the other sub-groups classified under Orang Ulu - 5.5%. By inference Melanau should be 7.5%.

It is no wonder that Sarawak didn't swing on 8 March like the rest of penninsular Malaysia did. They never felt threatened by the UMNO ruling elite so long as CM Taib Mahmud could keep the racial politics of UMNO, MCA & MIC out of Sarawak!

That CM Taib Mahmud is not exactly an angel is beside the point. Sarawakians felt that it is a lesser of 2 evils so long as the lesser evil can keep the greater evil away from their shores!

So the bigger question is now that we have a weakened BN on the peninsular, will these 4 Sarawak BN parties put some distance between themselves by renaming themselves and restate their politics in the national sense? Note that I did not say withdrawing since they have been independent all these while.

I hope they do for they have nothing to gain by providing the peninsular BN 30 votes in parliament and perpetuating an unjust federal government. Sarawakians are now presented with a chance to help us peninsular Malaysians free ourselves from suffering under the yoke of racial politics.

I hope that they will listen to the pleas for help from across the South China Sea and help us undeserving (for ignoring them) West Malaysians break free from our yoke.

If I may be allowed, and I'm only speaking for myself, I would like to apologize to all Sarawakians for our arrogance in thinking that Malaysia revolves around KL.

I would like to appeal to my readers to to do likewise through comments if they feel the same way I do. More than anything else, if I have any Sarawakian readers here, I would dearly love to hear your comments.

To the Pakatan Rakyat people reading this blog, do not think of crossovers yet (much as it may be needed to topple UMNO/BN) until you understand the psyche of our brothers and sisters from the Land of the Hornbills and learn to appreciate them!

Correction : It was pointed out to me by Borneo Warrior that I had failed to mention Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) as another member of Sarawak BN. He is absolutely right and it also shows how much I know of Sarawak and its politics. Again my apologies to my Sarawakian readers. Many of us on the peninsular needs to reducate ourselves if we aspire to bring change to the WHOLE country.

By Romerz

Blasphemy & Sedition

"Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State)." George Bernard Shaw

Sarawak Headhunter's Reply To James Anak Bond's Open Letter To Cyber Headhunters

See below the original Open Letter and Sarawak Headhunter's reply in red.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Letter to headhunters

First draft September 25, 2008;

Open Letter to cyber headhunters

http://knightadventure.blogspot.com/2008/09/letter-to-headhunters.html

By James anak Bond

25th September. Kuala Lumpur

Open letter to blogger Al Tugauw and his contingent of headhunters.

From within the shooting range of James anak Bond.

A headhunter & Borneo assassin

Anwar Ibrahim & you-know-who

First and foremost, I must say You rock!

Thank you for the compliment, even if rather backhanded. I note that you have also called me an assassin. I would prefer if the people of Sarawak rock, i.e. rock and sink Taib's boat.

That I would offer if I were aide to Anwar Ibrahim. From Taib Mahmud’s balcony across the Sarawak River, I would screech you suck! Personally, I’m proud of you. As one of few Sarawak bloggers who can highlight socio-political issues and attract fans and critics alike, you have all the good stuff in you. Keep it rolling. If going up is hard, try going down sometime.

I gather you’re a practical person and that you meant well in your articles. Your interesting views over matters related with politics and Sarawak may not always tow the same line with some people, I included, but who are we to dictate your line of thought in this area. Far be it I make the exception today, but can word ‘compromise’ appeal to you?

Yes, I believe I am a practical person and I do mean well for the poor people of Sarawak generally. But let's make one thing clear from the start. There are certain things I can compromise on of course, but certainly not corruption and abuse of position in government.

Before you’re left struggling as to figure the rationale of this letter I better take the cat out of the bag. NO, friend, I don’t come to pick a fight with you. YES, friend, we can fight if it should come to that – we are headhunters in any case. So is Anwar Ibrahim a headhunter. But as far as Anwar is concerned and when that Anwar Factor is framed in the context of Sarawak, I invite you and the rest of headhunters to suspect a thing or two about this Deputy Prime Minister, I mean former Deputy. I mean, we to have some reservation about his intention, trustworthiness and integrity before we should confirm our alliance with him. Not everything that glitters is gold.

My friend, fellow Sarawakian and headhunter, I am far from enamoured with Anwar or any other Malayan for that matter. I have more than some reservations about him and I certainly agree with you that not everything that glitters is gold - for I have seen gold turn into shit and shit turn into gold.

.

That is our talking point in this letter.

Try I will to remain impartial to everyone.

… but to err is man.

Anwar is armed to the teeth to win not only Permatang Pauh but also the entire country, if he has his way. Our hope is he would take over the country’s helm by fair play, not by means of crook or dishonesty.

I think you are not so naive to believe that anything is fair in politics. How do you play fair against opponents who are crooked and dishonest? We can try of course and try we must, but let us not be naive to believe that Anwar will play fair. Dare we hope that he has changed from his days with UMNO?

Assuming the good fortune is moving in Anwar’s direction the anxiety is mine that he would become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia – I hate to backtrack in my blog and this letter. Assuming the worst, Anwar can blow up his chances and will be kept dreaming – My contention hit home. Therefore, I suppose I should exercise some modesty in my haranguing Anwar, in case he is not a double agent as I have imagined and that I have been wrong about him. I suppose the rest of the headhunters also can have some reserve about speaking too highly of Anwar, in case he is indeed a double agent and that many will be forced to recover themselves afterward.

No comment.

The keyword I propose is “Wait”, hold the fire, guys.

My fellow headhunters from the land of the hornbills, if I may share with you my superficial observation, we cannot say we want Pakatan Rakyat not Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar and Ibrahim are one; Pakatan Rakyat and Anwar are one. Anwar must be spoken in the same breathe with Pakatan. Pakatan Rakyat is actually born out of the struggles in KeAdilan; KeAdilan is born out of the struggles in Anwar Ibrahim.

Do we want or even need Pakatan Rakyat? We may have to seek a strategic alliance with Pakatan Rakyat for the short term gain of change (for better or for worse), but in the long term I believe Sarawakians should go it on their own without any interference from the Malayans. We can and we should.

No doubt Pakatan Rakyat have other prominent leaders banded together with Anwar in the fold. That is because they need Anwar more than Anwar would need them, because they cannot match Anwar’s popularity among the rakyat; because in order for them to achieve their ultimate goal they need someone in the person of Anwar Ibrahim to even out the odds and lubricate the feat to victory. Now fully fledged, Anwar has grown into some kind of a cult icon overnight that eclipsed all other names and meanings. He must remains atop the pyramid of power to keep everyone united in the movement. In worse case scenario, take out Anwar from the structure and everyone around him will fall to pieces. After that happened we are returned to the same old days when DAP is made in Taiwan and PAS is made in Mecca.

Popularity, though to some extent (some may even say a great extent) necessary, cannot be made a yardstick for performance. We have seen how the BN and Taib can still remain "popular" even without any real performance. Yes, Anwar and his charisma make a good lubricant to ease the way to victory, but only because the BN refuses to learn its lessons and listen to the voices of the people.

Becoming a "cult icon" as you put it also has its disadvantages, especially when people realise that Anwar is only human. But I wouldn't say that taking Anwar out of the scenario would return things to the same old days. Malaysia would be drastically changed by such an event, and people who rise against the tyranny of the BN will also learn not to depend only on Anwar for change. Change for the better will only take place when people take that change into their own hands and not depend on others to effect it for them.

Many reasons why Anwar is gaining supports throughout the country like a singer Mila gaining SMS votes in Akademi Fantasia last two seasons, and not necessarily we know all of the reasons. If politics can be understood as we can a Reality Show, life in Malaysia should be extravagantly joyous and fun filled. But the fun in politics is only exclusive to those who are in the driving seats. To the rest of the people, such as us, we only enjoy the different between Anwar and Anwar-Not.

Time to put the rakyat in the driving seat. To paraphrase a popular airline slogan, "Now Everyone Can Politic".

.

Why Anwar is a favourite among Malaysians? Because Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is not the favourite. Why Abdullah is not the favourite? Because Anwar Ibrahim is the favourite. One appears timid because the other appears gregarious. Their approaches to political challenges are similar any which way you look at it. If Anwar think he can solve the fuel price crisis Abdullah also think he can. It is also this easy last time when the choice was between Anwar and Mahathir. Yes, there were several reasons to that but for the rest of people like us we only see Anwar is gregarious but Mahathir is smarter.

The only reason why Anwar has become a favourite is because Abdullah is stupid. That only shows that in politics you can still succeed at least initially even if you are stupid, because the rest of the people are stupider than you. But do not assume that this will last forever, people learn and they become smarter and when they become smarter than their stupid leaders care to acknowledge, then a spectacular failure is in plain sight, except that in their stupidity they will fail to realise it.

Even Mahathir was not really smart - he just took advantage of other peoples' weaknesses. Some may see that as evidence of smartness, but again it does not take smartness to be exploitative, just a complete lack of conscience. If that is the kind of leader that people want then they will get the leader they deserve.

Pakatan Rakyat appears righteous when many of us suspect UMNO is host to arrogant bastards. One appears good because the other one appears bad. Are they not the same one thing – political party? When UMNO Baru and Semangat 46 (splinter group from UMNO) locked horns 20 years ago, I guess the choice was between Not Good and Not Bad.

This is true to some extent. Political parties are nothing more than organized vested interests. As John Jay Chapman said, "A political organization is a transferable commodity. You could not find a better way of killing virtue than by packing it into one of these contraptions which some gang of thieves is sure to find useful."

Madam Chiang Kai Shek stated it quite well when she spoke, inadvertently or otherwise, of herself and her cronies, "Every clique is a refuge for incompetence. It fosters corruption and disloyalty, it begets cowardice, and consequently is a burden upon and a drawback to the progress of the country. Its instincts and actions are those of the pack."

Along the same lines, as John Arbuthnot put it even more succintly, "All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies," a fate I believe which is swiftly befalling the BN.

And of course Miss Fong appears innocent when put to stand beside Bung Mokhtar. When you put black man Barrack Obama to contest with white American McCain sure the issue of race can come into play. But they are actually two of a kind – American politician who believes he can do better for the Americans. On Malaysian soil, how much can Anwar offer that Abdullah cannot offer?

Unfortunately you are wrong here, Anwar can offer much more that Abdullah is unwilling to or cannot offer, the only difference being that Anwar is probably smart enough to know what he can get away with and Abdullah is again too stupid to realise that he can't get away with any more.

The greatest tragedy in Malaysia politics can happen when Anwar win but he repeats exactly the same wrongs Abdullah did during his time in office. Have we not seen this kind of ‘dejavu’ taking place in many countries already?

Only if the people allow him to and Anwar is as stupid as Abdullah was.

The second worse tragedy is when Abdullah outmatch Anwar but later drawn to his incompetent self and go back on many of his words.

Are the people that stupid?

Either one, we are the bigger loser.

Again I repeat, are we that stupid? Or do we think that we are merely unfortunate? Remember, collectively, we get the leaders we deserve.

To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, "The two real political parties in Malaysia are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Barisan Nasional and the Pakatan Rakyat, instead."

The third worse tragedy is when we dump a girlfriend and marry her sister only to find out too late the wife is even bigger a liar than the girlfriend.

To avoid such a tragedy, we can do no better than to dump them both! It is never too late.

The fourth worse tragedy is when we shoot the wrong girl.

Which one?

So, WAIT, hold the fire, guys. We only die twice.

Only in the James anak Bond movies.

You may want to ask:

So what choice do we have beside Anwar Ibrahim?

I don’t know. Keep looking.

We won’t sell ourselves cheap to anyone, would we?

Why sell ourselves at all?

As to bring my letter to a close, I invite Al Tugauw and his contingent of headhunters to give Abdullah the benefits of the doubt. Even if he should go down, let him walk out gracefully. After all, his days are numbered. Come June 2010 he’ll be gone from Putrajaya. Even if he should be replaced by someone prior to his dateline nothing much the new guy can do, other than bracing up for the next election. Which Prime Minister would want to lose face during general election without having even completed one term?

How is it possible to give the benefit of the doubt to someone like Abdullah who has proven time and again "cakap tidak serupa bikin"? He does not deserve a more graceful exit than a quick boot to his backside. Why wait and prolong the agony of the rakyat? What matters more, the rakyat or Abdullah's or Najib's loss of face?

The second part of this agreement deal with our fair treatment to Anwar Ibrahim. Let us play hard to get with Anwar. Let Sarawak not sell herself cheap to him. Even if he can promise to give us the whole of the country bundled together nicely with oil and gas royalty in total sum of 45 years, even if he can do exactly that, let him present it to us on a silver platter before we must hail him as a messiah.

I have no problem with playing hard to get so long as Taib Mahmud does not continue to get his way. Why should Sarawak sell herself cheap to Anwar or any other Malayan? Just because Taib did it (sold Sarawak cheap to the Malayans) doesn't mean we should continue to do so.

If you would agree, we fear the repeat of 1963. Sarawak don’t want to be a prostitute again, you know what I mean. If you would agree, this prostitute cannot be fooled twice.

I don't agree that Sarawak is or has ever been a prostitute, even if some of its leaders have been pimps.

Until Anwar strut his stuff, Sarawak must remain clothed.

I don't think I like the sound of that and I certainly would not like to see Anwar strut his stuff. Sarawak must always preserve its sanctity and its leaders must always ensure that they do so.

Thank you
- OO7

I hope I have made myself clear.

Thank you too.
Al Tugauw
Sarawak Headhunter

It's Taib's Land and he has the Power to do what he likes with it

And that Power was given to him by the people of Sarawak as a Trust which he has abused wholesale.

AMBIS MENOA KITAI......... (GONE IS OUR LAND)

From From Sarawak

Soon, the Ibans will be squatters in their own land...........

FS

P/s Dini bala ketuai kitai enda memunyi? Kada enda udah dibeli magang.........(Where are our Iban leaders? Maybe all of them have been bought over.......)

Sarawak Headhunter's comment: Actually, under the Sarawak Land Code, the majority of Ibans and other natives of Sarawak are not just squatters already on the land on which they and their forefathers have toiled for generations, but trespassers on State land and that is how they are treated by Taib and his towkay cronies, unless they can prove that they had practised their Native Customary Rights ("NCR") over the particular land prior to 1st January 1958 continuously up to the present time.

Even the Kedayans are now being threatened, as have most native communities, including ironically the Melanaus in Taib's own constituency.

The problem is that movements of people take place and the land on which new settlements are established after 1st January 1958 do not qualify under the law as NCR land.

It is obvious that this law dates back to post-Brooke colonial times (even the Brookes were more enlightened than this and had not only allowed but protected the establishment of claims to land through NCR practices).

It should have been up to the independent state government of Sarawak to redress a clear injustice against its own native population by amending the State Land Code after 16th September 1963 to provide for the recognition of NCR claims without any such artificial time limit.

BUT the temptation to line their own pockets and those of their businessmen friends, cronies and families at the expense of an already deprived, downtrodden and oppressed native population without adequate legal protection has proven too lucrative especially for the BN state government under Taib Mahmud to ignore.

THIS EXPLOITATION WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE MAJORITY OF SARAWAKIANS, BOTH NATIVES AND NON-NATIVES, OVERTHROW TAIB MAHMUD AND THE BN GOVERNMENT AT THE NEXT STATE ELECTIONS DUE IN LESS THAN 3 YEARS TIME.

Ibans fight for communal forests
Tony Thien Sep 27, 08 1:55pm

The Iban community in Rumah Sengok, about 80km up the Kemena River in Bintulu are fighting a losing battle to protect their communal forests or pulau, considered their most valuable assets, from loggers. And they are not the only ones having to face such a problem - the same loggers are said to be moving to other villages in the upper reaches of the river and likely to encroach into their communal forests too, Jok Jau, Marudi-based co-ordinator of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) told Malaysiakini today.

“The loggers claim they have a permit to extract the timber and are ignoring the rights of the 26-door Sengok longhouse over their communal forests of about 300 to 400 hectares, taking away valuable timber species from the pulau,” he said. Once they have finished work there, the loggers are expected to move to neighbouring areas to continue with timber harvesting, Jok Jau said, adding that at least 10 other Iban longhouses in the upper reaches of the Kemena River would be affected.

According him, the Ibans are not demanding for money but to preserve their rights which are recognised by law to the communal forests which supply their daily needs. Jok Jau said a government-backed consortium Grand Perfect comprising three large local timber companies are managing and implementing a forest plantation project covering an area of more than 500,000 hectares extending from Bintulu right up to Balingian under a Forest Department licence.

Encroachment started in April.

The licence was originally awarded to a pulp and paper company. The consortium has their contractors to clear the area for the plantation and the process involves the harvesting of timber. Rumah Sengok residents are complaining that these loggers have been encroaching into their pulau which is considered as part of what is known as native customary rights (NCR) land since April this year.

Jok Jau said the affected natives are rather helpless as their pleas have fallen on deaf ears with the loggers insisting that they have been given clearance by the authorities to clear and remove the timber. He alluded to some threats being used against the natives as well. In the first round of tree harvesting from the Rumah Sengok communal forests, an estimated 500 tonnes of timber - hill species such as meranti, kapor and keruing - have been taken out.

The company originally offered to pay the longhouse people RM6 per tonne of timber extracted but headman Sengok ak Sabang and his longhouse residents disagreed “because it is not money they want but the right to keep their communal forests which is important to their livelihood,” said the local SAM leader.

Present timber prices are high with growing overseas demand to increase stockpiles in log importing countries. “I have been to Rumah Sengok and now I hear the logging company is going into other villages and this is most worrying,” Jok Jau said, adding that the state government should look into the rights of the natives over their NCR lands and communal forests.

Source : Malaysiakini

Taib's Hari Raya Gift For The Kedayans

10,000 villagers to be evicted by Miri Land and Survey Department

From Digest On Malaysian News

Posted by MD at 1:09 AM A private developer in Miri is encroaching into a century-old settlement, with Miri Land and Survey Department giving their consent.

Village folk from 13 Kedayan-Malay kampungs in northern Sarawak, who are descendants of the Brunei Malays, are in dire straits after the entire population of 10,000 people from the 13 villages were issued an ultimatum to move out by Monday.

Miri Land and Survey Department claimed that those land are on provisional or temporary leases.On September 15, those villagers were served a letter to inform them to move out 14 days after the letter. Thus, if no one is helping the villagers by September 29, 2008 the bulldozers from the private developer will roll into the villagers and destroy their kampongs!

Sound your grouses to Miri Land and Survey Department, below:

Superintendent of Land and Survey Miri,
Wisma Pelita Tunku, Jalan Puchong,
98000 Miri, Sarawak.

Tel: 085-435000
Fax: 085-418191

From The Star

Sarawak villagers being evicted from ancestral land

By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Village folk from 13 Kedayan-Malay kampungs in northern Sarawak are up in arms over a move by the Sarawak Land and Survey Department and a private developer to evict them from their century-old settlement.

These Kedayan-Malays, who are descendants of the Brunei Malays, are in dire straits after the entire population of 10,000 people from the 13 villages were issued an ultimatum to move out by Monday.

They have received eviction notices from the department, and a letter from the lawyer of the company that will be taking over the land, to vacate their homes by Monday. The affected villages are located some 40km south of Miri City, along the Sarawak Second Coastal Highway near the Miri-Bintulu divisional boundary.

On Saturday, dozens of these affected villagers staged a demonstration at the roadside of the highway starting at 8am to get the attention of passing motorists towards their plight. They unfurled banners and placards denouncing their eviction. The crowd grew as passers-by joined in the protest.

Two elderly Kedayan chieftains, Penghulu Sahar Pusha and Bengkil Bangkol, also joined the demonstration.

They showed The Star the lawyer letters they had received dated Sept 15, this year. The letter states that the villagers must vacate their homes within 14 days from Sept 15. Sahar said the 13 villages affected by the eviction are Kampung Batu Satu Beraya, Kampung Kejapi, Kampung Keluru Jaya, Kampung Orak, Kampung Beraya, Kampung Butir, Kampung Keluru Tengah, Kampung Subok, Kampung Sapaou, Kampung Sebayau, Kampung Tusan, Kampung Uban and Kampung Telud.

“This move to evict us is a huge shock to all of us. We have been living in these villages since 1910. Recently, the State Land and Survey Department and the private developer sent us letters informing us that the land we are living on had been taken over for development purposes.

“We were told that they have plans to develop sawmill and oil-palm plantations. We were informed that 1,800 hectares of our land had already been allocated to a sawmill.

“All the 13 kampungs have a total of 5,500 hectares of land. The total population is about 10,000. This sudden move to evict us is shocking indeed. Where are we to go? This is our ancestral home. We have been here for almost 100 years,” he said when interviewed at the site.

Bengkil said the private developer had already bulldozed four cemeteries in its effort to clear the land to build an access road. The desecrated cemeteries are Kubur Kejapil, Kubur Batir, Kubur Sungai Jalil and Kubur Sungai Payau, he said.

“We have sought urgent meetings with the relevant authorities to help us. We have recently met with the Miri Land and Survey Department officials but they told us we have no rights over the land because we only have provisional leases.

“We protested saying that we have native customary rights because our ancestors have been there since 1910. However, they refuse to withdraw the eviction directives,” said Bengkil.

The affected villagers are now appealing to Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to intervene and stop the eviction.

Sarawak Natives' Rights?

Do we, the natives of Sarawak, have any rights in Malaysia?

Posted by Uchu Keling on 26th September 2008 in Life Journal, News Extract

New Sunday Times, 14 Sept. 2008

On 13th September, 2008 about 150 members of Indigenous People Networks of Malaysia or Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) marched to Istana Negara to deliver a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. The march was stopped by the Police even though the Police had earlier given the permit for the march. As a result the march did not reach the Istana.

Indigenous people or Orang Asal from eight states participated in the march. They were from Johor, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak. The majority of the participants were Orang Asli from Semenanjung Malaysia with a few from Sabah and Sarawak. It is reliably learnt that the representatives from Sarawak were members of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA).

Why were they making a petition to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong? The petition was to ask the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to protect their constitutional rights which they claimed have been eroded by the government. The memorandum which they intended to hand over to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was to urge the government to honour the United Nation Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People (DRIP) to which Malaysia is a signatory.

Amongst other things JOAS demanded an end to the government’s practice of leasing native customary rights land without consulting the native communities. The organisers of the march said the handing over of the memorandum to the Agong was to be a symbolic gesture. In fact a petition to the Agong for protection of rights is a constitutional right vested in the indigenous people in this country.

Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which Umnoputra boasted as a “social contract” or “special Malay rights” (hak istemewa orang Melayu) provides for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong a responsibility to protect the interest of not only the Malays but everybody else.

Article 153(1) provides “ It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to safeguard the special position of the Malays and the natives of any states of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.” (emphasis mine). Thus, it is obvious that the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are also conferred with the special position like the Malays. But why is it that the leaders from Semenanjung have never include us whenever they mention Article 153. The Orang Asli, unfortunately, are not given that special position and therefore, must fall into the category of “other communities” referred to in Article 153(1) since they are not natives of Sabah or Sarawak.

Do we, the natives of Sarawak have rights such as, for example, rights to property? Article 13 of the Federal Constitution is about rights to property. Clause (1) of Article 13 provides “No person shall be deprive of property save in accordance with law.” Although the rights to property are given, those rights can be removed if there is a law made to take those rights away. Laws have always been the instruments used by the government to curtail or take away the rights and this is seen in clause (2) of Article 13 where it says “No law shall provide for the compulsory acquisition or use of property without adequate compensation.” yet Section 48 of the Land Code (cap 81) authorised the government to acquire people’s land (property) by compulsory acquisition even though compensation is given. The adequacy of the compensation is always the issue in dispute resulting in many cases of land acquisition compensation dispute still pending resolution in Court.

The natives of Sarawak have rights, right to property, position in the public service, scholarship, special training, business etc., under Article 153. Article 161A provides that the state constitution of Sabah and Sarawak may make provision corresponding (with necessary modifications) to Article 153. Yes, Section 39 of the Constitution of the State of Sarawak has provisions similar to that found in Article 153. It is very comforting to look at what is written in the constitution but in reality, very often we see a different picture. That is why JOAS sent the memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to request for His Majesty’s assistance to urge the government to honour the rights spelt out in DRIP and in the constitution to ensure development for indigenous people in the country in accordance with their rights.

Taib's Faithful Iban Dog - Afraid Jabu - Key Instrument In Divide & Rule

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu - to split the Dayak!

by Dr John Brian Anthony

Who says that Jabu is NOT an important man in Dayak politics?

The most powerful Dayak politician is Tan Sri Jabu and we need to appreciate and understand his role in modern Dayak politics. I will leave it to the readers to make their judgment on his performance. To me, the “yang dikasihi” originator is the most successful Dayak politician in modern era Sarawak.

He is a parallel to Taib in many ways - even though some of his achievements are not easily appreciated, Jabu's footprint among the Dayak is “large” and sometimes destructive.

How many Dayak ADUNs / MPs in PBB?

The REAL reason for the Dayak in PBB is to weaken Dayaks politically in Sarawak and uphold Taib/Muslim leadership in Sarawak. Jabu will never become the Chief Minister - otherwise why does PBB discuss about Adenan, Salleh, Abang Jo, Suleiman as possible successors? Why?

The Ibans in PBB have ONLY 5 DUN seats - Jabu, Robert, Gramong, Blikau and Rundi and MPs are Uggah and Alex. Taib will look after these Ibans, to ensure that overall the Dayak are weaker in their political voice and direction. None of the PBB Dayaks mentioned above have any real voice or opinion. But ALL of them are eager to reprimand and suppress the Dayak people over radio and at meet the people sessions.

Who stands-in mostly for Taib in his absence?

It is common knowledge that George Chan chairs cabinet meetings in the absence of Taib. That relegates the Dayak to 3rd level position in their own land (*Sarawak Headhunter's comment: This seems to say that Sarawak belongs only to the Dayak, which is of course not true, and is a misconception which must be corrected by the Dayaks themselves if they wish to be respected among their own race and by the other races of Sarawak). Many people would not like this observation unless you are willing to listen and understand the truth about the true picture in the power structure of Sarawak.

What is Jabu’s role?

Most CIVIL SERVANTS are scared of Jabu. If any Dayak civil servants are known or wrongly accused of supporting the opposition Jabu will make sure that his opinion is made known and it is not uncommon for undesired transfers to be affected.

Jabu is also in control of Dayak community leader approval, disapproval, dismissal etc. He is the boss as he wants to play the role of the “Paramount Chief” for the Dayaks. Being a political “nut case” he has successfully politicized the “community leader system”. Our Penghulu /Pemanca / Temenggong therefore cannot represent the thinking and voice of the Dayak. Any community leader who steps out of the line will face the negative consequence of not being reappointed again to the post.

Jabu has effectively shut the voice of grass root Dayaks from the Community leaders category.

Jabu and Dayak YBs

Dayak YBs usually refer to Jabu for his opinion. And Jabu has also made it known that he wants to give his opinion in most cases - to keep the Dayaks “in-line”. How much Masing listens to Jabu is anybody's guess but still Jabu's influence would be difficult for Masing to just brush aside.

Jabu is known to have a big influence in selecting Dayak BN candidates. It is common knowledge that the new MPs from Lubok Antu, Nyalau and Mesir are his “manok sabong”. Dr. Johnichol Rayong is another Jabu man now, even though he is asking to join SUPP. Why?

The more Dayak or Iban YBs are under Jabu, politically it makes Jabu an important asset to Taib and Jabu would ensure lesser problems from the Dayak YBs. It is a well known fact that Jabu does give out money to support certain Dayak candidates who would later maintain a “servant and master” relationship with Jabu.

Jabu's Political Philosophy: “Segulai sejalai”

You must be aware of Jabu's political philosophy for the Dayaks. That is, to keep them quiet and talk things over and behind closed doors, do not touch on the sensitivities of others, do not display your ambition, work within the system, we do not need to lead but can be effective and find your opportunity to equip yourself with enough personal finances and the Opposition just talk only and they can do nothing to help you.

Do you ever wonder who is helping those in Penang, Perak, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan now? It is just a matter of who wins the election and not the meaning of politic as provided by Jabu.

You just need to listen to PBB Dayak members and grass root leaders, all these whose value systems have already been pushed down. Many Dayaks, even the educated ones, cannot differentiate between the State and the political party in their thinking: eg. you cannot fight the government because they have the money, if you do not vote for the government you would have no schools and roads, only the government can give you minor rural projects - (you see BN is made to be the same as the State of Sarawak). This is not true and we have Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor that is paving and improving roads etc. all the time.

The implication

Why is it important to understand this Jabu's political approach? In order to win, the opposition would have to formulate strategy to counter these Jabu thoughts. These thoughts are embedded in the Dayak community leadership principles and are easily accepted by Dayaks. These thoughts are reasonable to Dayaks to accept but what have the Dayaks achieved by following this approach:

1. Total submission to BN: whatever BN does is correct and is good for the rakyat.
2. Total submission to Taib: Jabu blocks any one's ambition to go up as Taib is his best master.
   
3. Total submission to Jabu: "I am the Paramount Chief, listen to me and to me only. I work for the benefit of the Dayaks".

If Dayaks were to move out of PBB

Should the Dayak YBs move out of PBB, the minority hold to political leadership in Sarawak would be hollow. the 5 + 2 Dayak Ibans in PBB are causing all the Dayaks loss of political power and effectiveness. Taib uses them as a weapon to weaken the Dayaks. Taib uses the Dayak YBs to make his position legitimate as the leader of all bumiputeras. For all these, the PBB Dayak YBs have more “economic” cakes to eat without problem.

PRS and SPDP merger

Hopefully Mawan and Masing are not playing a “wayang kulit” show so that this does not happen in reality. If they are, then there is no reason to blame the Dayaks for supporting PKR in Sarawak. Masing and Mawan might have made some serious mistakes in their leadership, but by bringing the two Dayak based parties together, we can forgive their sins. It would be timely for PRS and SPDP to merge before the next state election, otherwise this opportunity to see Dayak unity would be lost yet again.

Conclusion

It is better for us to see and understand “political facts” even though they are difficult to accept. For Jabu he should review his political approach as the young Dayak generation holds on to the perception that JABU is the stumbling block to Dayak progress.

For Masing, he sinned by causing PBDS to be deregistered, he must make the correction to strengthen Dayak unity through merging with SPDP.

For Mawan, it is time that he should consider stepping down in the near future, his capability and capacity is already reaching its limit. To grow, we need effective and leaders with high personal integrity. Politiking is good but most of the time it is not sustainable. Mawan is good in politiking because it is so “blur and sweeping” in approach as long as you are a great risk taker. But then things are not so stable when one single factor / leader fails in the politiking calculation.

September 26, 2008 · From Dayak Baru Weblog Filed Under General

Sarawak's Sacrifices Go Unheeded

September 24, 2008

How much does Sarawak need to Sacrifice for Malaysia?

By Dr John Brian Anthony

How does Federal Gov’t budget for Sarawak?

The call for Sarawak to pull out of Malaysia continues among the younger generation as they see injustice through their education and observation of the slow progress made by Sarawak compared to the West Malaysian states. How does the Federal Government approach development in Sarawak?

1. By giving budget based on population or
2. Giving allocation based on land size.

There are other ways of approaching the allocation

• on needs basis, to close the developmental gap
• based on Sarawak's financial contribution to the national coffers

Sarawak Wealth

If you look at roads system for rural sarawak, take Kapit, Belaga and Upper Baram as examples - the amount of money that the government earned from timber royalty and sales duties would amount to many billions. This money could be used to build high priority roads in the following areas:

1. Kanowit-Song-Kapit Road
2. Bakun-Belaga road
3. Miri-Marudi Road

Where does this money go to? These rural folks can only see the natural riches but are not enjoying it. Traveling through timber roads is really a life risking effort and we should not accept those poor road conditions as part of our overall misery because our natural resource riches should be used to improve our living.

Oil and Gas

We must not continue to accept the 5% royalty given to Sarawak as oil and gas resources are depleting fast. In the first place, the state government of Sarawak needs to share with us how did the government spend the 5% royalty money which averages about $1 billion a year? Hopefully it is not used to fill some politicians' pockets or used to pay for development to meet the Chief Minister's ego - Kota Semarahan and Mukah as examples. An annual $1 billion ringgit is substantial but we do not seem to see the result of the money spent.

This money should really be used to build Sarawak's future through better educational support - improving the level of education across our Sarawak society. Many people from poor families are still not able to further their studies or receive enough direct educational training/ learning effort from the government.

Land Premium

Looking at the land premium collected by state government in the Auditor General's 2007 report much improvement could be made from this source of income. Such improvement could be from raising the premium of land itself. The premium paid by plantation and tree replanting companies are still on the low side no matter the reason used to substantiate current rates.

Energy

Electricity from the Bakun dam is for West Malaysia to keep them competitive in the manufacturing and services centre. In Sarawak, there is very little development now and therefore the Government is banking on a dirty industry like aluminium smelting to spur the economy on. The government is also banking on SCORE to improve the long term economy of Sarawak through coal mining which is not sustainable. If we talk about renewable energy then we should talk about solar energy, and are we talking about that? This SCORE is designed to further enrich well connected companies. For Christ's sake, can’t the super rich politicians for once not think about their personal benefit and concentrate on improving the lives of ordinary Sarawakians?

Our decision to “give away” our share to the Federal government is really bad and has had long term side effects. We know that Sarawak is trying to get back some share, but how and why did this happen in the first place? Is there at any point in time we own “assets” that are produced in West Malaysia? After all that, we talk about building more dams - destroying our forest and ecological system - unnecessarily and far ahead of time.

Politics

The Federal government owes it position now to rule Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak providing BN with a comfortable majority. In response the Federal government did not even bother to act on Sabah and Sarawak's request on issues important to them, leading SAPP to pull out of Barisan Nasional. The Dayak representation in the Federal cabinet is a sore point till now. The BN government sees it fit to demand for Sabah and Sarawak's support but does not see that it is their responsibility to ensure that the vast gap in socio-economic development is rectified as soon as possible.

Allocations to improve Dayaks in the economic field is maybe non-existent, unless DCCI receives such allocation for revolving capital for Dayak businessman to expand their business. I am not sure whether the provision of money to be given to those rural folk with outboard engines and generators has actually been given out. Tan Sri Jabu should give an update on this progress as the money should have been given to Sarawak as he was the one who seemed to be in charge of the distribution of the fuel subsidy.

Welfare support for old age

Dr Yen Yen announced that every eligible person should get it. This is not true either. From my place in Sebauh and those long houses I have visited recently, nothing much has changed. The Welfare Department continues to say they cannot approve new application as they do not have the money. The people cannot be bluffing or telling lies but the government should enlighten the people on the status of this scheme to help old and disabled folk.

UMNO has no interest to bring progress to the Dayak

UMNO is still not interested to assist the Dayak and expects the Dayak MPs to be loyal to BN. UMNO really cannot depend on Dayak loyalty without question for too long. Patience is wearing thin for Sarawak Dayak and we have sacrificed a lot without reciprocal benefits. The rich UMNOputras are crying out for more contracts and money and the Dayak are a non entity to them.

BN Federal

The BN Federal has been given many opportunities to improve the state of affairs in Malaysia but they have not done it. The Law Minister has even resigned out of frustration as UMNO people themselves do not want to see change.

The BN leadership also change the rules ever too often that we Malaysians do not know whether we have a “rule of law” or of a few politician's whim and fancies, example Syed Hamid and his ISA (to protect the safety of the reporter Tan). Did he think in the first place that Malaysians have no brains?

$1 billion bonus after PJU12

Many in Sarawak are wondering what has happened to the $1 billion that was promised to Sarawak. It was explained that it is going to be managed by the Prime Minister’s office. Hopefully, the Prime Minister has time to do some work for Sarawak instead of trying to keep his position.

The Federal government and State government need to be transparent and explain where all this money goes to as it is pretty easy to say that $1 billion is given but it does not actually take place. When that happens, then we want to know that the government has actually delivered on its promise.

BN - is it relevant?

This question is left to BN and particularly UMNO to answer. If the present trend of “denial”, “rejection of the voice/feedback” from the people continues BN would be heading towards an early exit.

For a start, many people feel that “frogs” jumping to PR is not the right way of doing things. When the country is in such a bad shape economically and politically, the government should go back to the people through another election as soon as possible to determine the future of Malaysia.

The power transition in UMNO is not following the normal process as the TGA is the only platform for that. This is another example of “changing the rules” by the UMNO leadership. If “frogs” jump, that is also changing the rules but look who started all this “rule breaking” first?

BN cannot remain relevant when its leaders refused to make the necessary changes. In the process there will be chaos in the country and the population will get very confused with the direction Malaysia is taking. All this is happening due to weak leadership and lacking the will to change by the leadership.

Conclusion

Are we going to allow that this country go to the dogs because of personal interest in the top leadership of the country? Is it acceptable by us that a weak leader is trying to stay in power to fill his personal ego and pockets? Can we be proud of the governance of this country when the “rule of law” is changed to suit the personal convenience of its leaders?

From Dayak Baru Weblog

Video On The Nor Nyawai NCR Land Case

Monday, September 1, 2008

Taib and his cronies, Jabu, Mawan, Masing ..... have sold out Sarawakians! All the other MPs should listen to the people and join Pakatan Rakyat!

http://www.youtube.com/v/g1C418sYa5w Watch this video and see how Taib has betrayed the people of Sarawak!

From Malaysia Freedom

Hitler & the BN

See the Video at YouTube - No wonder the BN is in trouble.

Sarawak In The Clutches Of A Melanau Beast Or A Malayan Beast Or Both?

Saturday, September 6, 2008 Magick River

People of Sarawak, Free Yourself from the Clutches of The Beast!

Taib Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak since 1981, owns rapacious corporations like Naim Cendera and Cahya Mata Sarawak. Taib refuses to answer questions thrown at him regarding his wealth. His long reign as "Robber Baron of Sarawak" has become synonymous with ecocide and ethnocide on a massive scale.

From the Malaysian History blog, 30 July 2007:

WINNING OVER SABAH AND SARAWAK

INITIALLY the leaders of Sabah (then British North Borneo) and Sarawak were opposed to Malaysia or at best gave it a lukewarm welcome after it was proposed by Tunku Abdul Rahman on May 27, 1961 at the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore.

“Let us become independent first and then we will decide whether to join Malaysia or not,” said Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui, the Kuching mayor and leader of the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), formed in 1959.

Other prominent Sarawak leaders like Datu Abang Haji Openg – later the first local governor – and Abang Mustapha Abang Haji Abdul Gapor who are also members of the Council Negeri, considered the oldest legislature in the country, were unanimous in their opposition to the Tunku’s plan.

In Sabah, Tun Fuad Stephens (then Donald Stephens), a newspaper publisher, a member of the State Council and Huguan Siou (paramount leader) of the Kadazan/Dusun people, shared the same view as Ong. “We must not be seen as changing colonial masters,” was the response of the United National Kadazan Organisation (Unko), a party Fuad formed with Keningau community leader GS Sundang.

They contacted leaders from the other territories to see whether they should revive the idea of a federation of Borneo states of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei instead.

Many of the leaders believed that Malaysia’s formation was not really meant to benefit the people of the two territories but more to provide a solution to solve the problems of Britain, Malaya and Singapore.

Britain needed to withdraw from the East but it could not just up and go without ensuring its former colonies’ survival. Malaya wanted to increase the number of bumiputras to ensure that their numbers were bigger than the others. Singapore, threatened by communists, wanted security.

The leaders opposed the plan because they feared their people would be at the mercy of the commercially superior Chinese whose numbers would increase with Malaysia, and they also feared that they would eventually be sidelined by the more politically sophisticated Malays.

They also worried that their culture and polity would be gradually eroded. Thus, discussions were held on such issues as religion, education and finance where early assurances on these matters were made. Most of the discussions centred on the Sabah All-party 20-point memorandum and the Sarawak 18-point memorandum containing matters the two territories wanted to safeguard. But mostly the focus was on religion, constitutional safeguards, immigration, special position of the indigenous people, language, education and fiscal arrangements.

But even while discussions were still at the early stages, more and more leaders and their people gradually began to voice support for the plan.

[Read the rest here.]

Power To The People

"Power is given to us not to lord it over others, not to improve our standing nor to enrich ourselves. Power must be used for the good and well-being of the people at all times. Power must always be used for the benefit of the people." Hussein Onn

Penan Women Sexually Abused By Loggers

Penan women denounce sexual abuse by loggers

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. "I want to make it known that we are being sexually abused by the timber company workers on a regular basis", a Penan woman from Sarawak's Middle Baram region said to the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

According to research undertaken by BMF, the perpetrators are frequenting several Penan settlements in the Middle Baram, looking for women. The company workers are based in logging camps in the region and are usually drunk when they arrive at the villages. "When we hear their off-road vehicles coming, we just leave everything as it is and flee into the forest", the Penan source said. "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.

The Penan communities are reporting several cases of pregnancy as a consequence of abuse by company workers. They also accuse the loggers of using armed "gangsters" to intimidate them and of handing out alcohol to the young Penan. Complaints by the Penan to those in charge of the logging camps and to the Police have so far had no effect.

The Bruno Manser Fund is asking the Malaysian government to start a formal enquiry into these serious criminal offences. In particular, the government is being asked to ensure that the victims are protected and that the harassment of Penan women by company workers is brought to an end immediately.

(15 September 2008)

Contacts for e-mail protests (please send a copy to info@bmf.ch):


1) Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations Office at Geneva,
Her Excellency Ambassador Dato’ Hsu King Bee:
kingbee@kln.gov.my

2) Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi:
ppm@pmo.gov.my

3) Royal Malaysian Police Headquarters:
rmp@rmp.gov.my

4) Miri Resident (Representative of the Sarawak Chief Minister in the Miri Division),
Mr. Ose Murang:
osem@sarawaknet.gov.my

5) Interhill Enterprise Sdn Bhd:
interhil@streamyx.com

6) Samling Global Limited
enquiry@samling.com



PROPOSED E-MAIL TEXT


Dear Ambassador (Prime Minister / Inspector-General of Police / Resident / Sir or Madam),

I am writing to express my concern about the recent reports of sexual violence against Penan women in the Baram River region of Sarawak by logging company workers.

I have the firm conviction that these perpetrations are grave human rights violations that cannot be tolerated.

I kindly ask your government (company) to start a thorough enquiry into the issue and to ensure that the victims are protected and that the harrassment of Penan women by logging company workers will come to an end immediately.

Yours faithfully


(Name / Place / Country / Date)


IMPORTANT: PLEASE SEND ONLY POLITE E-MAILS. OTHERWISE THEY WILL BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE.