PR leaders sign Kuching Declaration

September 16, 2012

KUCHING:  The leaders of Pakatan Rakyat signed the ‘Kuching Declaration’ in conjunction with Malaysia Day celebration to pledge and promise to the nation and the people of Malaysia that when they form the next government of Malaysia they will honour all its pledges and promises.

The de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)  Anwar Ibrahim signed on behalf of his party, while Lim Kit Siang, DAP National adviser signed on behalf of DAP and  Haji Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS President signed on behalf of PAS.

Also affixing their signatures on the declaration were also state leaders.  Sarawak PKR Chief Baru Bian signed on behalf of PKR, while Wong Ho Leng, Sarawak DAP Chairman signed on behalf of DAP and Haji Adam Ahid, PAS Commissioner on behalf of his party.

The Declaration reads: “Lest we forget, and lest all the peoples of our great Nation of Malaysia forget, we the undersigned do once again firmly, resolutely and unequivocally pledge and promise before the whole Nation of Malaysia as our witness, on this historically day the 16^th of September, 2012, in the City of Kuching, and on behalf of our respective parties and Pakatan Rakyat will honour all its pledges and promises to the peoples of Malaysia.

“We will honourably execute all the policies set forth in the Buku Jingga so that Malaysia will once again be a great Nation, her peoples prosperous, her future secure and peaceful, and her name celebrated by all the nations of the world.

“We will honour the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement of 1963 which our founding fathers put their hands to, and as a sign of our deep commitment to the peoples of Sarawak and Sabah, consistent with democratic principles and justice for all Malaysians, in particular:

ARTICLE ONE: EQUAL PARTNERS

“We will restore the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement and the position of Sarawak and Sabah as equal partners within Malaysia by restoring autonomy to Sarawak and Sabah within the framework of the Federal Constitution.

ARTICLE TWO: FAIR REPRESENTATION

“We will increase national integration between Sarawak, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia through a fair power-sharing arrangement that fully upholds the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement.

ARTICLE THREE: CITIZENSHIP

“We will set up a Royal Commission to solve the perennial national problem of illegal immigration and citizenship, particularly in Sarawak and Sabah.

ARTICLE FOUR: RESTORATION OF NATIVE CUSTOMARY RIGHTS OVER LAND

“We will endorse the authority already vested in the State Laws of Sarawak and Sabah to set up Land Commissions to investigate, resolve disputes, redress, survey and restore Native Customary Rights over Native Customary Lands.

ARTICLE FIVE: COMPETENT SARAWAK AND SABAH

“We will endorse the appointment of Sarawak and Sabah citizens to head Government Departments in their own respective States and by the powers vested in the State Secretaries of both States as well as give first priority to the appointment of Sarawak and Sabah citizens at Federal Government level functioning within Sarawak and Sabah.

ARTICLE SIX: OIL JUSTICE

“We will raise the royalties paid on petroleum and hydrocarbon resources to Sarawak and Sabah to 20% from the present 5%.

ARTICLE SEVEN: EQUITABLE DEVELOPMENT

“We will bring the level of infrastructure development in Sarawak and Sabah up to par with Peninsular Malaysia.

“We, the undersigned, make this declaration as an incontrovertible contract between the Pakatan Rakyat and the peoples of Malaysia, this historic day of 16^th September, 2012 on Malaysia Day, so that it may ring out resoundingly from Malaysia’s high forest hills down to the open sea; so that freedom may ever reign; and our peoples live in unity!” 

Sarawak PKR says Salcra is short changing native landowners

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR has accused the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (Salcra) of short changing native participants in its schemes.

Nicholas Bawin, who leads the party’s Lubok Antu division, said that despite Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu Numpang’s “big talk” about dividends accruing from the Salcra oil palm estates, the payout to the natives was paltry.

He cited the amount received by families living in Rumah Empirong, the 30-door longhouse he comes from. “This year, each family is getting only RM350.”

Bawin was commenting on a recent statement by Jabu that Salcra’s profits were high because of prudent management. Jabu said the 16,374 landowners participating in Salcra schemes would receive RM100.9 million in dividends this year.

Salcra was established in 1976. It has about 51,000 hectares planted with oil palm. However, Bawin said, it had brought little benefit to native landowners.

“Salcra is supposed to help the poor native landowners, but with the small dividends they receive each year, how can their economic wellbeing be improved?” he said. “Is it worthwhile for the NCR (native customary rights) landowners to participate in Salcra?”

Bawin is a former deputy president of the Council of Dayak Customs and Traditions.

He also complained about the unreliability of water supply to 21 longhouses in the Batang Ai resettlement scheme. These longhouses were transferred from areas now submerged by the Batang Ai dam.

Bawin said there should not be any problem supplying water to these families because the source is the huge Lemanak River. “But what we experience regularly is that there are often interruptions of water supply to our homes.” -  Free Malaysia Today

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COMMENT: Who is to be blamed for this blunder? Of course Jabu, as he is the man who has personally selected someone as general manager who lacks experience as an oil palm planter. He is only an accountant? Or did he pass it?

Because of his lack of experience Salcra oil palm estates have not progressed. Not even a plant had been planted under its expansion programme in the eighth, ninth and tenth Malaysia Plans. But the GM is very arrogant blaming everybody for his failures. Most of the senior staffs who have been with Salcra for the last 20 to 30 years are really expert on oil palm plantation, but the GM would not listen to them.

Many could not tolerate his arrogance so they either asked for early retirement or asked to be transferred to other departments which need their expertise. Now filling those posts are mostly his relatives or cronies who are given much higher salaries than the senior civil servant in Salcra. The way it looks, Salcra is not making money. But it is projected to pay millions of ringgit of dividends.

Now that Land Development Minister is back to control Salcra, he should do something about it before it is too late.

What do the readers think?

PKR women accuse gov’t, police inaction

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR women throw a scathing attack against the government and the Police for being inaction against the perpetrators of rapes on the Penan women and girls.

“The inaction of the Police, the state and federal governments has encouraged the prepreetractors who are mostly timber workers to commit more rapes,” said Voon Shiak Ni, national vice-president of PKR women wing.

She said: “Since the last report made three years ago in which 14 rape cases against the Penan girls were reported, seven more new cases have surfaced.

“The latest rape case was reported last Monday by a 20-year old Penan woman who alleged that an Indonesian man she knew had repeatedly raped her after coaxing her into following him to the city in the pretext of finding work,” she said.

The woman also told the Police that there had been similar rapes involving other Penan girls in her village, said Voon.

She said that several reports made by a number of taskforces of non-governmental organisations together with suggestions and recommendations had been submitted to the government, the Police, relevant government agencies, the ministry of women, family and community development and even to Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the prime minister.

“Up to now no one has been charged or investigated by the Police though the ministry taskforce report and the NGO task force report on the allegations of rape by timber loggers confirmed the incidents of rapes,” Voon said.

On remarks made by the newly elected state assemblyman for Telang Usan Dennis Ngau, Voon said that positive steps and actions expected to be taken to redress the issue were long overdue.

“Not only the opposition parties had called for investigations, but the civil society including women NGOs in Sarawak had made numerous statements calling for police investigations and government attention on the matter,” she said.

Following the report made last Monday, Ngau was reported to have admitted that there had been a surge in the number of foreigners in the interior because of the expansion of oil palm plantations and logging activities.

He said he would hold an urgent dialogue with the plantation and logging companies to the discuss the matter.

Ngau also announced that the Barisan Nasional is going to set up a taskforce again to look into the plight of the Penan women to show that the government is serious in fighting against rapes involving Penan women and girls.

Voon said: “Our question is - is there a necessity to set up another taskforce upon another taskforce when rapes are still continuing and ruining the lives of the Penan girls and women?

“Have the government intervened yet to see to the prevention of the crimes inflicted upon them?” she asked.

The government, she said, should have looked into suggestions and recommendations made by various taskforces when the issue of rapes surfaced three years ago.

Voon said that the Penan rape issue is not about prosecuting the culprits only, it is about making the right the system and structure in respect of transportation for the Penan children, looking into the logging activities, the impact of the influx of male workers, on the living conditions of the native community, their women and children.

“It also includes how to provide for the survivors of rapes and the children born out of the rapes,” she added.

“All the recommendations outlined to reduce the vulnerability of the Penan community and to improve on the living conditions are contained in the two taskforce reports.

“These reports have been delivered by us to Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, (Minister of Women, Family and community Development), Alfred Jabu, (Deputy Chief Minister), James Masing, (Land Development Minister), Rosmah Mansor, (wife of Prime Minister), Fatimah Abdullah, (minister in the chief minister department), women bureau and even to the education department.

“It is the inaction of the government that allows rapes to continue to plague the Penan community,” Voon said, calling on the government to act on the matter immediately.

“PKR women challenge Dennis Ngau to bring up the issue in the coming sitting of the state assembly,” she said.

Meanwhile, Nurhanim Mokshan, head of Sarawak PKR women wing criticized Fadillah Yusof, Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) youth chief for his failure to look into the plight of the Penan women and girls who complained of being raped again and again.

Fadillah was the one who promised to set up a taskforce to collate information about the alleged rapes of Penan women and girls in an effort to assist police to prosecute the culprits.

He had said that the PBB youth was informed by the police that action could not be taken after the issue because the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who highlighted the issue did not want to share their information.

He also said that these NGOs claimed to have the details but they did not want to share their findings with the police, so it was difficult for the police to act.

In view of that, the PBB youth wing had decided to form a fact-finding taskforce.

“If we found out that there are evidences that such incidents did happen, I myself would lodge a Police report,” said Fadillah, who is also deputy minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Commenting on Fadillah’s remarks, Nurhanim asked: “Why are rapes continuing to happen again and again?

“What are the police doing about it?” she asked.

“I also want to know the progress report of Fadillah’s taskforce. We have not heard anything at all about his taskforce,” she said, asking Fadillah to walk the talk.

Expressing her regrets, she said that another rape case has been reported and she wanted to know what action is Fadillah’s taskforce is doing about it.

“We want Fadillah to answer it. He is the one who pledged to do it,” she said.

She said that PKR on its part had submitted memorandum to various authorities including Rosmah Mansor, wife of the prime minister.

"It is most regrettable that until today nothing has been done about the plight of the Penan women and girls. After all, the Penans are also Malaysian citizens and they too need police protection,” Nurhanim added.

THE NEW DEAL: Ibans will become instant millionaires if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Sarawak

Tucked away in the back pages of Saturday's Borneo Post was a small and innocuous looking news-clipping about a Land Commission (see above). It is no surprise that this news report was buried away and did not get the headline news it deserved. In fact, it is a surprise that it was even reported at all!

You see, the heading should have actually read, ‘Ibans will become instant millionaires if Pakatan Rakyat takes over Sarawak.’ But of course the editor of the Borneo Post cannot do that. If he did, he would suffer the same fate the editor of the New Sarawak Tribune suffered a few months ago and end up being reprimanded, suspended and worse still, sacked. In fact, we congratulate the editor of the Borneo Post for having the balls to even publish this news.

The reason we congratulate the Borneo Post for publishing this news is because the setting up of a Land Commission will have far reaching repercussions and consequences for Sarawak and the natives in particular. It will make many, if not all of them, millionaires overnight. Impossible? Not at all. Let's look at what Baru Bian has exactly in mind when he mooted the idea of the setting up of a Land Commission.

According to Bian, the commission will “investigate claims over issuance of land titles and also gazetted areas as the party (PKR) had all along been fighting for recognition of the rights.”

“We are offering in particular the rural folks of Sarawak a solution for their NCR issues. I've said this in the past and I am going to say it again. PKR is reiterating its stance on NCR matters. We are not only looking at natives in rural areas but also at urban Chinese and the Malays in the coastal areas as well.”

What exactly is Bian offering? Baru Bian is offering the setting up of a Land Commission. What is a Land Commission? A Land Commission is a special body set up by the State Government to look into matters and issues concerning land.

Will this body have the authority and power to act independently? Yes. All commissions do. That is why they are called commissions because they have been commissioned and empowered to do something about a problem.

If Bian is elected and Pakatan Rakyat takes over power in Sarawak and replaces the current BN government, we are promised a Land Commission. So how does this Land Commission benefit, in particular, the Dayak natives of Sarawak?

A Land Commission would survey whole areas of native customary lands in Sarawak. This is what PM Najib instructed Taib to do with the recent perimeter survey exercise. However, will the BN government go one step further and issue titles (pala tanah) for these surveyed lands? And who decides the garis menoa or boundaries of these lands? According to Bian, his Land Commission will not only survey the NCL but also have the power to grant titles to the NCL! This means that the pemakai menoa and pulau galau claimed by the Iban will be fully recognised by the Land Commission and titled. Within these boundaries, especially within temuda areas, individual titles will also be granted to individuals, not just communal titles.

If Bian's Land Commission will do this, then this will be the major break-through that will empower the Iban at long last. Ownership of their lands will be recognised and with titles, the Iban can finally go to banks and financial institutions to apply for loans with their land titles as collateral for mortgages. This means Iban will have the same opportunities as other communities to start their own business with seed money from bank loans guaranteed with their land titles. But will this make Ibans instant overnight millionaires? Of course not. Business is always a risk, but the potential to reap huge rewards will be possible.

Once landowners are granted titles, they can sell their lands. This is how the Iban can become rich. By selling their lands. But if they are smart, they will not sell their lands. They will develop their lands. This is how they can become millionaires. They can invite oil-palm plantation giants like Samling and WTK to joint-venture with them on their own terms.

Currently, these oil-palm plantations call the shots and dictate to the Iban how much they get paid for renting their lands from them. That is because the Iban do not have bargaining power. They do not have bargaining power because Taib and Jabu refuse to grant the Iban land titles. So the Iban are no better than slaves on their own lands. Thanks to Taib and Jabu.

However, when Bian's Land Commission is set up, the Iban will have the solution to their land issues. And this is exactly what Taib and Jabu are afraid of. They are afraid that the Iban will finally realise how much economic and political power will lie in their own hands when they have titles to their lands.

Who owns the most tracks of lands in Sarawak? The Iban. Not the State. However, Taib used his Land Code to convert many native lands into State Land. Then he gave these State lands to Samling and WTK to plant oil-palm. So in actual fact the Iban are the largest landowners in Sarawak, not the State. But Taib changed it all. His BN YBs, including the Iban YBs, agreed to vote in the Land Code which stripped the Iban of their rights to their own lands. So now vast tracks of land previously owned by the Iban under the pemakai menoa and pulau galau have become State lands overnight for Taib to give away to his family, friends and cronies.

However, did you know that the High Court, the Appeals Court and the highest court in Malaysia, the Federal Court, disagreed with Taib? Yes, they disagreed with Taib and said that the Iban do indeed own their pemakai menoa and pulau galau. They said that the Land Code in Sarawak is misinterpreted by the Director of Lands & Survey. The landmark case of Nor anak Nyawai, which every lawyer in Malaysia knows, once and for all settled the issue and grants ownership of pemakai menoa and pulau galau to the Iban. Recently, the Hj Ramli Case further extended the same principle to coastal lands owned by Malays. But the State government still refuses to grant titles to these lands despite the court rulings.

Instead, the State government is stubbornly fighting the precedent created in the Nor Nyawai Case. It is fighting so that it can continue to rob the Iban of their lands, which has been recognised by the law since 2007!

So now that we have discovered that the courts and the laws of Malaysia do indeed recognise that the Iban own huge tracks of lands in Sarawak and that the Land Code enacted by Taib's Dewan Undangan Negeri is practically useless and has no legal standing, does this ownership of lands make the Iban instant overnight millionaires? No yet.

What will make Iban instant overnight millionaires is when Samling and WTK and all oil-palm giants surrender the lands leased to them by the State back to the original owners of the lands, with all the palm oil growing on these lands. All these oil palm will then be automatically owned by the Iban, as Samling and WTK would be recognised as trespassers on lands owned by the Iban. In common law, trespassers have no rights over their cultivate crops.

This ownership of hectares of oil palm planted by Samling and WTK and all the other oil-palm giants will revert back to the poor Iban and make them instant millionaires! Instant overnight millionaires by the stroke of a pen! Just like how Taib made himself and his family, friends and cronies instant overnight millionaires.

And who will have the authority to decide this with a stroke of the pen? The Land Commission promised by Baru Bian. Baru Bian's promise of a Land Commission is not just empty talk. He has put his words into action. The Star on Friday January 22, 2010, reported this: Oil palm firm told to return land to Ibans.

If we vote BN out and Pakatan Rakyat in, Baru Bian will have the political power to set up a Land Commission and then the Iban, Orang Ulu, Bidayuh, Malays and even urban Chinese will all become instant millionaires. With the stroke of a pen! It is now up to us to decide if we want to become instant millionaires or not.

You can be as rich as Jabu and Taib. All you have to do is vote Pakatan Rakyat (PKR, DAP, PAS or SNAP) and let Baru Bian set up a Land Commission when Pakatan Rakyat takes over the Sarawak government.

Baru Bian takes Dayak leaders to task

KUCHING: The Dayak leaders in the Barisan Nasional have been taken to task for failing in their duties towards the community that they are supposed to represent, and yet they dare to question the role Dayaks are playing in Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

“PKR is not a racist like Barisan Nasional; it fights for justice of all Malaysians including Dayaks. This is why I am attracted to PKR,” Baru Bian (pic), chairman of Sarawak PKR said in reply to President of Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party, William Mawan Ikom.

Mawan had accused PKR leaders of closing their eyes not only on Sabah and Sarawak, but also on Dayaks.

Mawan said: “Baru, being a Dayak representative, is not being appreciated in the party. Baru always focuses on the struggles of the Dayaks and their rights, especially the NCR land issues.

“This struggle does not speak well of PKR. Now that the Dayak community does not have a representative in PKR, my advice for them is to rely on the ruling BN government,” Mawan said.

“We don’t want to follow their racist policies,” Bian added, pointing out that the absence of the Dayaks in the top leadership does not mean that the rights of the Dayaks are not protected.

He said: “We have Dayaks as President of SPDP, President of PRS, and the Deputy President of PBB. And what have they done to help the Dayaks?

“You can put hundreds of Dayaks as leaders; but if they do not fight for interests of the Dayaks and have never protected their rights. Why should we support them, because they are useless?

“But if you have a non-Dayak leading a party and fights for the rights of the Dayaks, then he should be given all around support,” he added.

“Ask them why are they not looking after the interests and the rights of the Dayaks? Why are the issues of NCR land faced by the Dayaks are are still not solved?

“Only yesterday (Land Development Minister and PRS President) James Masing suddenly woke up and found out that the common law and the Adat are so important than the Land Code.

“He and other Dayak elected representatives should long time ago know about it, and should have done something about it. We in PKR all this while know about it,” said Bian, who is a prominent NCR land lawyer.

“PKR in Sarawak has been emphasizing on the importance of native customary rights over land in Sarawak. We have been fighting for the recognition of these rights for many years.

“You know that this is an area where I am very passionate about. And I made a statement in my website and now I am issuing a similar statement that we are offering in particular to the rural folk of Sarawak a solution for the NCR land issues.

“I have said it in the past and I am going to say it again, reiterating our stand on the NCR land that we are going to form a land commission which power is not only to investigate claims on NCR land, but also the power to issue titles, gazette the area and of course issue individual titles.

“Now we are not only looking at land owned by the rural natives but we are equally concerned with land issues affecting the Malays and the Chinese,” he said, pleading on them not to be misled by the Barisan Nasional which has been in power for the last 47 years in Sarawak.

The state BN government has reduced Sarawak into one of the three poorest states in the country, and the people of Sarawak should put a stop to this.

“Let us change the state government, and the time is now,” Bian added, lashing out at Masing who said that PKR had nothing to offer to the people of Sarawak, so they should not take the party seriously.

Explaining why he attracted to PKR, he said that the most important thing in PKR is its platform, the policy and what it is fighting for.

“I am attracted to PKR because it is fighting for the justice of all Malaysians including Dayaks. Dayaks’ interests and rights are protected.

“If that is the case then, we would ask all the Dayaks in Sarawak to come over and support PKR instead of PBB, SPDP and PRS if you want your land to be protected,” he said.- The Broken Shield

Is Adit serious in forming a new party?

Gabriel Adit (pic above), State assemblyman for Ngemah and a leader of Sarawak PKR has been rumoured to be the leader of the rumoured formation of the new party, Pakatan Rakyat Malaysia, a supposedly a multi-racial party.

Many do not take him seriously judging by the conflicting statements he made to the Press in Sibu on Wednesday night during which he was to announce the protem office-bearers. Apparently he could not announce the names of the protem office-bearers when the response to the gathering was only a small group of 40 people. Here again, the majority of those present were his supporters from Ngemah.

He would have expected hundreds of people to come after he made telephone calls to many of his colleagues in PKR as well as to those ex-PBDS members who have remained partyless for the past five years or so. But these people either took him lightly or did not want to join him.

In his statement to The Borneo Post, he said the gathering in Sibu had nothing to do with the formation of PRM; it was to form a committee in preparation for the next state election.

To a question about his future in Keadilan, he said: “Today (Wednesday) I am still a PKR man. I don’t know about tomorrow. You will have to ask me again tomorrow.”

In The Eastern Times, Adit said: “When it is time, I will make the announcement. I will alert the Press.”

Some of those who are close to Adit say that he is leaving for Kuala Lumpur on 11 October presumably to hand over the application to form PRM to the Registrar of Societies and he should be back on 15 October and if every thing goes well to announce the formation of the new party.

He has even told a friend to ready a banner with the words “Welcome Adit, the PRM leader to Sarawak”.

Adit was said to have told a few close friends that the constitution and the logo of the party have been ready for some time. He said he has a “big” sponsor for the party, someone who is close to the corridors of power in Kuala Lumpur.

“Definitely, he is not Sng Chee Hua,” he said.

“This time it is not Sng Chee Hua. You believe me,” he assured his friends.

Many of his friends have been taken by surprise when Adit’s name was mentioned to be the leader of the new party. Because all this while, we have heard him bringing a “few thousands of my supporters” to join PKR and that he spoke among the loudest of all the PKR leaders in Sarawak. “Help PKR to get rid of Taib,” he often said. He is known to be an ardent member of PKR.

I am reminded of what my brother told me that we must be wary of those politicians who speak the loudest, the longest and the most critical, because they will be the ones who will become the first to become “political frogs”. My brother was referring to Johnichal Rayong, the SNAP state assemblyman for Engkilili when he was about to “jump frog” to SPDP in 2006.

I told my brother “cannot be, as he was the one who spoke the loudest, the longest and the most critical against Alfred Jabu at Kaki Wong in Betong before the State election.” So he replied: “We must be wary of those who speak the loudest, the longest and the most critical.” It seems that my brother has been proved right once again. (Sorry to digress a bit.)

But one may ask why is Adit making a 360-degree turn? I was told he met Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat recently. He was reported to have told Anwar that if Pakatan Rakyat were to topple the state government, then they have to need a large sum of money for each constituency.

“What large money, rupiah?” Anwar jokingly asked him. Anwar’s reply and how Anwar treated him all this while made him angry and said to a friend: “Ila asai, tetudok iya ila.”

Anwar does not see any leadership quality in Adit especially after an incident at the Crown Tower when he was drunk and came to the stage to utter very unpleasant words regarding remarks about 'drinking ribena'. PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was there. Daniel Tajem was the guest of honour. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Mawan calls on Adit to return to BN

During a visit to Kanowit on Saturday, SPDP president William Mawan called on Gabriel Adit, State assemblyman to return to the fold of the Barisan Nasional through SPDP as he had still a role to play in uniting the people of Kanowit.

Adit is now a supreme council member of PKR and Mawan said that Adit is in the wrong camp.

Before the state election in 2006, Adit was a supreme council member of SPDP and was forced to resign when Mawan failed to fight the Ngemah seat for SPDP. The seat was given to PRS.

Adit then stood as an independent candidate defeating PRS candidate Alexander Vincent by a majority of 549 votes.

After joining PKR Adit has been very active in mobilizing his supporters to join PKR and Mawan saw this as a threat to BN not only in Ngemah, but also Machan which is now under PBB.

Mawan said that his visit to Kanowit was to further strengthen the BN position in the area and called his SPDP members to support any BN candidate.

In the previous election, many SPDP members voted for Adit because they were angry that the seat was given to PRS and not to SPDP.

But political observers are wondering why Mawan wants Adit to return to the fold of BN-SPDP knowing that he (Mawan) will not be able to help Adit. He also knows that Adit will never return to BN after being betrayed.

So why does he make the call?

One possible reason, according to a senior SPDP member, is that SUPP wants Johnichal Rayong to join SUPP and contest the Engkilili seat in the coming election. Rayong won the Engkilili seat on a SNAP ticket.

The logic is that if Rayong is allowed to join BN-SUPP after fighting the BN, then Adit is also should be given the same privilege. It was on the objection of other BN members parties that Adit did not contest on BN-SPDP. Mawan still harbours bitterness in his heart.

In other words, if Adit was objected, SPDP is likely to oppose any move for Rayong to join BN-SUPP. PRS is also likely to oppose the move.

For Rayong to join BN-SUPP there must be 100% consensus among the 14 members of the Barisan Nasional.

Is this what Mawan is hinting when he urges Adit to return to SPDP? – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshied.blogspot.com

Dayaks in S'wak BN 'should join PKR' ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/106472

Sarawak PKR leader Augustine Liom wants Dayaks in Barisan Nasional (BN) to join Pakatan Rakyat to change the state government, so that native customary rights (NCR) to land can be protected.

“It is a matter of urgency that we put into power a government that is kind to us and which is protective of our rights especially land rights and the rights to property as guaranteed in the federal constitution,” he said.

“Any support to the BN and its component parties means only a support to maintain a status quo. We get nowhere. A handful of seats to Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party, a handful seats for Parti Rakyat Sarawak and a handful of seats to Parti Bumiputra Bersatu and Sarawak United People’s Party. That is all.

“We continue to be split, divided, ruled and manipulated and to gradually lose our lands. So we have no choice but to go for a radical or revolutionary change in our political approach.”

Liom, a former judge, was recently appointed to head the land and human rights bureau of the state PKR. He was speaking at a Gawai Dayak dinner organised by the PKR women’s wing in Kuching.

“Our Dayak friends in BN ought to now join us to make this happen to change the state government. Otherwise posterity will not judge then too kindly [...]

“Do not be overwhelmed by your comfort of office that you forget where you have come from. I say ‘comfort of office’. I don’t say ‘comfort of power’ because we know that they do not have that much power.

“Real and meaningful power is in the exclusive domain of chief minister and his handful of inner circle of confidantes. They will not be so kind as to share that power.”

Liom said the results of the March 2008 parliamentary elections have led Sarawakians to realise the political reality.

“The Dayaks now need a national party as their political vehicle. Sarawak National Party is nominally alive. Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak is dead and gone. Malaysian Dayak Congress has not seen the light of the day.

“What we need is a political vehicle, that is PKR, and we need Malays like Anwar Ibrahim (right) to champion the Dayak cause, not Malays who will divide us or who will rob us of our NCR land.

“We place our trust in PKR and Anwar to champion the Dayak cause. This is a stark political reality we have to come to accept and to live with. There is now no alternative to that.”


‘Daylight robbery’

Liom said BN leaders have denied that the state government had robbed the people of their NCR to land.

“But when longhouse folks wake up one day to find tractors ploughing through their rubber or fruit trees on land they have toiled for generations and are told that the government had granted lease to their land to a logging or plantation company usually connected to people in power - is that not daylight robbery? That is what is happening in our midst,” he said.

He said the government would then tell the landowners to prove that it was NCR land, but that this is difficult when the original settlers have died and because landowners could not acquire NCR by purchase.

“So in effect, it means gradually and eventually NCR land will be no more. And that is the policy of the BN government,” he added.

“Have we heard any BN Dayak leader calling for a survey and for the issuance of titles to NCR land? No one in BN dares to make such a call. On such matter, only one man decides.”

PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was present, said: “If we want to change Sarawak for the better, then it is now or never.”

At a press conference after declaring open the Batu Kawa PKR service centre earlier, she said the party had held discussions with a number of past and present BN leaders to join the party before the end of the year.

“I am not going to reveal names. Let there be an element of surprise,” she said, without dismissing the possibility that some of these leaders are from Sarawak.

News and Views

PKR committee to monitor BN's goodies in Batang Ai

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/102089

Lubok Antu PKR division will form a special committee tomorrow to keep track on development projects promised by the BN during the Batang Ai by-election.

The committee will be formed when Jawah Gerang, the defeated PKR candidate, holds a ‘thank you’ event at his longhouse in Sayat, Lubok Antu.

"This committee will monitor the projects and ensure that the BN keeps its promises to the people,” Jawah said today.BN leaders have promised about RM200 million worth of projects during the by-election.

The projects include RM2 million for the upgrading of longhouses, RM6 million for electrification programme, RM2.5 million for a telecommunication tower and community broadband centre, RM40.2 million for Universal Service Provision projects, R420,000 for minor rural projects, RM62 million for tar-sealing the seven-kilometer Lemanak Road, the survey and design of Lemanak-Engkari Road, and tar-sealing the 10km ring road in Batang Ai.

Apart from these projects, the government has also promised to settle unpaid claims as a result of the construction of Batang Ai hydro-electric dam and to issue land titles to the land owners.

Jawah said the Batang Ai people have been waiting for these promises to be fulfilled for the last 27 years.

This committee, he said, would ensure that these promises are fulfilled and projects delivered as soon as possible, otherwise the same promises and projects would be made again in the coming state election, expected in two years.


'We must work harder'

Jawah also pacified his supporters, asking them not to be disappointed with his defeat. “Instead, we should regroup and re-evaluate as this was the beginning of an interesting journey towards the Dewan Undangan Negeri 2011 when the state election will be called."We may lose the battle of Batang Ai, but not our spirit and our struggle," he said, adding that the recent defeat should spur them to work harder.

The five-term Lubok Antu MP lost to BN’s Malcolm Mussen Lamoh by a majority of 1854 votes. Jawah managed to secure only 2053 votes against his rival’s 3907 votes.Meanwhile, Mussen 49 will be sworn in as a member of the state legislative assembly when it sits on May 11.

The former engineer with the Sarawak Department of Agriculture is seen as a potential leader who will be able to further strengthen the position of Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) in the BN.Mussen was the only candidate put up by PRS president James Masing for consideration by the BN top leadership.

The risk he took in fielding a political greenhorn paid off.Lately, PRS was seen as a party that has been bullied by Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu due to its weak leadership.

News and Views

1. Najib’s Cabinet

It is nothing surprised about Najib Tun Razak’s cabinet announced this afternoon. While Sabah is given a better deal, Sarawak remains the same with two (2) ministers and eight (8) deputy ministers.

We were hoping that one Dayak from either Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) or Sarawak Progressive Party (SPDP) should have been appointed to represent the Dayak community in the cabinet proper. The four deputy ministers – Joseph Salang (Information, culture, arts and communication), Jelaing Mersat (home ministry), Joseph Entulu (rural development and territories) and Jacob Sagan (international trade and industry) – are outside the cabinet and do not attend cabinet meetings. Who are going to articulate our interests?

It is true that Douglas Uggah Embas has been retained as a minister, but he is more representative of PBB’s interests than the Dayaks’ interests.

Once again the Dayak community has been let down both by the former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the newly appointed Prime Minister Najib.

Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud was reported to have said that there would be surprises for Sarawak. Now you know what surprise is there?


2. The picture tells the story

The picture of page 6 of The Borneo Post today (9 April) tells the story how happy were PBB boys with the electoral victory of Malcolm Mussen Lamoh on the Batang Ai by-election on 7 April.

Although Mussen was nominated by PRS to contest the Batang Ai by-election, there were no signs of PRS people celebrating his victory. The questions being asked are: Where were the PRS people? And why PBB people were seen celebrating the victory? Does this mean anything to the readers?


3. Time for BN to deliver the goods

After the by-election is over, the Barisan Nasional candidate, Malcolm Mussen Lamoh has won the by-election. His victory was achieved because of the promises made the Barisan to the people of Batang Ai. The promises to tar-seal the roads leading to their longhouses, the construction of a new road, the construction of communications and internet towers and centre, to pay the unpaid claims of properties as a result of the Batang Ai Dam, to give them an extra land for farming, to give them titles to their land and to supply them with electricity and water supply. The BN also must keep its promises to give RM1,000 more if their candidate won the by-election. RM500 had already been given.

The Ibans in the Batang Ai have been loyal to the Barisan and it is expected that the BN will be honouring their promises. However, the people and Parti Keadilan Rakyat are monitoring the fulfillment of these promises. The next state election is actually around the corner and the same issues will be raised again.


4. Recognise Dayaks as Dayaks

Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) wants the ethnic races of Sabah to be known as Bumiputra Sabah and not “other races” in the federal government affairs and forms.

As Dayaks have no political party of their own, there is no one daring to speak on the interests of the Dayaks. Like PBS, our Dayak YBs should ask the federal government to recognize Dayaks as Dayaks and the word “Dayaks” should be written in the official forms and the federal government affairs instead of “lain-lain” (others).

The categories of races in most forms listed major races as the Malays, Indians, Chinese and other races.

There were occasions when Dayaks are not considered as Bumiputras and are therefore not entitled to privileges given to Bumiputras.- The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

S'wak PKR cries foul over two incidents

Taken from http://malaysiakini.com/news/101899

Barisan National has won the Batang Ai by-election, but the polling was marred by two alleged incidents according to the PKR. One incident supposedly involved phantom voters and the other was about padlocks on ballot boxes being tampered with.

In the first incident, two 40-seater buses and a van, said to have been used for ferrying voters from various parts of the state, stopped near one polling station, SRK Lubok Antu, where they were allegedly carrying voters there to cast their votes before the polling station closed at 5pm.

According to a PKR leader, Dominique Ng, he received a telephone call from a party member telling him that the vehicles were used for ferrying what he believed to be phantom voters.

By the time, the PKR leader and his supporters arrived at the scene, one of the buses had taken off with its passengers while the other was waiting for its passengers to come out from the polling station.

Ensuring a clean electoral process

Ng, who is the Batang Ai PKR coordinator, lodged a complaint with the local police chief and also a senior election officer.

Later, Ng and other PKR people went to a nearby police station and also had a discussion with officials for about 20 minutes inside the SMK Lubok Antu polling station.

Emerging from the meeting, Ng said that he had a list of 50 of those who boarded the bus and managed to check 15 identity cards. They came from Kuching, Mukah and Kanowit. The rest did not furnish their identity cards and no one could ascertain whether they were genuine voters or not.

However, these people informed Ng that they were employees of Kemas. PKR then lodged a complaint that they were suspicious that these people were either phantom voters or they used some other people’s identity cards.

They took action to ensure a clean electoral process especially when the party had complained earlier about the security during the transportation of ballot boxes from 14 polling stations.

The complaint on the ballot boxes was not entertained so PKR decided to purchase separate padlocks to ensure the integrity of these boxes were not compromised.

Ng said that when the boxes were about to be opened later it was found only one original padlock was intact.

Meanwhile, PKR leaders and supporters said they were in state of shock and disbelief at the initial results of the counting involving 15 out of 26 polling districts with a total electorate of 8,129 voters.

Counting started at 3pm after the ballot boxes from the 14 polling stations arrived either by road or helicopter at the tallying centre at Lubok Antu.

News from Batang Ai (Part 14)

The daily update of news
from Batang Ai by-election
----------------------------------

1. Voters return home to Batang Ai

Several scores of voters who are working in the cities, towns and in Peninsula Malaysia are returning today to Batang Ai to cast their votes for tomorrow’s by-election. Many are going on their own transport, but some are using buses already arranged for them by both the Barisan Nasional and Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

PKR hopes that these working voters who are more knowledgeable in issues being discussed regarding NCR land, unpaid claims and lack of development, muddy roads, lack of electricity and clean water supply, may be able to influence their parents, uncles, aunties and their siblings to vote for PKR candidate, Jawah Gerang.

PKR also hopes that pensioners should help by telling their relatives that the BN government is not fair to Ibans in terms of recruitment into the civil service and in promotions, entry into universities and scholarships, etc.

Unless the aged voters or the longhouse voters are told about all these, they may not understand about these issues and are confused by the promises of development and financial assistance.


2. Menteri Besar Selangor campaigns in Lubok Antu shops and market

Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim early this morning campaigned at the Lubok Antu bazaar and talked to shopkeepers and people in the market. PRS president James Masing and his team also campaigned in the market, after Tan Sri Khalid has left.

The Menteri Besar then left for Buie not far from the Hydro-electric dam. He was accompanied by Datuk Sri Daniel Tajem. The Menteri Besar is expected to return to Kuala Lumpur later today.


3. Mafrel is fair, says Peter John

In The Borneo Post today, PRS president James Masing questioned the fairness of the election watchdog Malaysians for free and fair election in its coverage of the by-election in Batang Ai. Its interim report recently only covered the supposed wrong doings of Barisan Nasional and not the opposition.

Masing said that Mafrel should have reported the incidences of the opposition tearing down and vandalizing BN posters. One billboard at the junction leading to the Batang Ai hydro-electric dam was vandalized and a police report had been lodged over the matter.

He regretted that Mafrel did not seem to bother about the incident apparently because they were more focus on reporting the bad side of BN.

Peter John Jaban, Mafrel chief, today said that nobody reported the matter to him. However, when they found out, they had taken photograph of the vandalized billboard.

Peter said: “For information of the public, we have not submitted any report on the by-election. The game is not over yet. How can he say we are unfair?

“He must have seen reports done by other people. Certainly not our report,” he said and pointed out that Mafrel also covered functions carried out by PKR.


4. BN rating goes up?

Following reports of Ting Ling Kiew, deputy president of SNAP and Ambrose Labang and three other PKR leaders joining BN, the BN rating for the Batang Ai goes up in a similar fashion when Dr. Mahathir rejoins UMNO the rating of BN in Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang also goes up. This assessment is done by BN leaders.

According to PKR sources, “Manok Labang” who has so many baggages attached to him is more a liability than an asset. He has no “tuah, only tuah chelaka”. When the other fighting cock dies, this "Manok Labang" runs away.

In the Iban culture, when a fighting cock runs away when its opponent is dying, it is known as that fighting cock having “tuah chelaka”.


5. Don’t believe contents of CDs and pamphlets, says Awang

Voters in Batang Ai have been advised not to be taken in by the contents of the pamphlets and CDs which contained negative elements, said Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, second minister of planning and resource management and a senior vice president of PBB.

It is true that PKR and NGOs have been distributing thousands of pamphlets and CDs to all the longhouses detailing how land and survey department staff which is under Awang Tengah’s ministry destroyed Iban longhouses allegedly built on State land, how oil palm companies have chased Ibans away from their NCR land and have destroyed their cash crops, their pepper, rubber and fruit tree gardens. All these are being put into CDs and are distributed free of charge.

The strategy by PKR to distribute the CDs and pamphlets must be very effective so much so that the second most powerful minister has to advise the people not to be taken in by the contents.

According to reports received by The Broken Shield many of those who have seen the CDs were seen crying.

More to come…stay tune to www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

P/S: I will be going to Batang Ai to today (6 April) to cover the by-election and will only be back to Kuching late evening of 7 April. To all voters the of Batang Ai, I wish you good luck and success.

News from Batang Ai (Part 13)

The daily update of news

from Batang Ai by-election

----------------------------------

1. Ambrose Labang resigns from PKR

Julau division chairman of PKR Ambrose Labang and his deputy, secretary and a committee member resigned today from Parti Keadilan Rakyat. He went to the BN operations centre at Batang Ai just to announce their resignations.

The three others are Wong Kee Kai (deputy), Kajang Unan (secretary) and Kundi Untung (a committee member).

He said that the PKR would never be able to carry out development programmes or help the people. People in the rural areas need the BN as such they should not waste their times any more with PKR.

Well, actually it is good that Ambrose Labang resigning from PKR so that it can find better candidates for Meluan and Pakan constituencies, because if we sabong this “manok labang”, he has no “tuah”, except “tuah chelaka”.


2. Tan Sri Khalid, Menteri Besar Selangor, visits Lubok Antu again

Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, arrived this evening (5 April) at Batang Ai and his programme is to campaign at Mepi Pasir tonight. Early in the afternoon he campaigned at Changkol.

This is Tan Sri’s second visit. His first visit was on nomination day (29 March). Tan Sri Khalid is very determined to see that Dayak rights are returned to the Dayaks, but what is sad is that, not many Dayaks who have been vocal all this while, are seen at the Batang Ai. Jawah needs all of us to help him defend Dayak rights.


3. Jabu eats his own words

Deputy president of PBB Alfred Jabu anak Numpang last month accused de facto leader of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Anwar Ibrahim of disrespecting the Iban Adat when visiting a longhouse. As a result, Jabu said one person died.

The Iban adat is that when a visitor of high standing visits a longhouse he must be accorded an Iban adat including miring (offerings) and genselan (part of the offerinfgs), so that his visit to the longhouse will bring luck to the longhouse folks. Fair enough.

Now, so many “outsiders” including a number of federal ministers have come to the longhouse to “mess with the Ibans” (to borrow Jabu’s words). The question is: did Jabu arrange these VIPs to undergo these miring and genselan rites? If not why not? For genselan (slaughtering of animals to clean the feet) the Ibans normally used a pig. For a non-Iban could a cow or goat be used?

Genselan is also used to see the liver of the pig. If the liver is long and sharp, it can mean a good omen; a dull and short mean bad luck. BN candidate on the nomination day did use a pig as genselan. Its liver was not seen and further more when Mussen speared the pig, the pig came out a live? Could it mean a bad luck?


4. Final push to win votes

If your read today’s The Borneo Post, all the pages were covered by pro-BM news, indicating a “confirmed” victory for the BN. “BN will win Batang Ai” says the heading in the Post which quoted UMNO vice president Mohd. Shafie Apdal as saying.

Yes for sure, Jawah Gerang is an underdog, but he may spring the biggest surprise. Wait until 8.00 pm on 7 April.

More news to come...stay tune to www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

News from Batang Ai (Part 12)

The daily update of news
from Batang Ai by-election
----------------------------------

1. SG cars changed to ordinary numbers

Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, a senior vice president of PBB and second minister of planning and resource management, accompanied by Joseph Salang, PRS information chief and deputy minister of energy, water and communications visited Rumah Ungki, Tabau today. On the spot, he approved RM70,000 worth of roofing materials for the longhouse.

On request by the Tuai Rumah for the maintenance of their road, Awang said he would send his officers to estimate the costs of the road maintenance.

Four SG cars were used, but the plates of the cars were changed to ordinary numbers. They tried to cheat, but four MALFREL observers took note of the cars.

Compared Awang Tengah to our Iban ministers, none has that type of authority who dares to approve on the spot. After Taib, Awang Tengah (aka Awang Tanah) is the most powerful minister in the cabinet. Even Alfred Jabu and George Chan, although deputy chief ministers, have none of this authority given to them.


2. Today in history

3 and 4 April 1987 was polling day for the Lubok Antu parliamentary by-election. The by-election was caused by the untimely death of Andrew Janggi Muyang of Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) as a result of a road accident.

You know who was a PBDS then? It was none other than Jawah Gerang, 33 years old. As an economist he worked with a bank and he had to resign his post to take up the challenge.

Twenty two years later, another by-election is being held for the State constituency of Batang Ai following the death of the incumbent Dublin Unting. Again Jawah Gerang has been called by his community to represent Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). What a coincidence! Even the two-day of polling 3 and 4 equals to 7. Polling date for this by-election is also on 7. Both in April. What do you make of this?


3. An encounter with an Australian journalist

I was in Lubok Antu today where I met an Australian journalist, Norman Hermant, who works for ABC Australia Network and CBC Newsworld. He is based in Bangkok. He is interested to cover Jawah Gerang’s campaign in the interior of Batang Ai, especially those who have suffered for the past 25 years as a result of their resettlement due to the Batang Ai hydro-dam and the government which promised to help them had failed to keep its promises.

We need this type of exposure so that the whole world will know how the Ibans have suffered, marginalized and oppressed.


4. Newly appointed PM to campaign in Batang

It is learnt that the newly appointed Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will make an historic visit to Sarawak, especially to Lubok Antu to campaign for the BN candidate for the Batang Ai by-election starting from tomorrow. He is likely to be accompanied by Sarawak’s Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The three by-elections, Bukit Selambau, Bukit Gantang and Batang Ai, have been regarded by observers as a test of Najib’s popularity especially when the by-elections are to be held days after he had been appointed as PM.

But PBB deputy president Alfred Jabu Anak Numpang said that the victory of Batang Ai by-election will be a “good present” for Najib from the State Barisan Nasional.

more to come…stay tune to www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

News from Batang Ai (Part 11)

The daily update of news

from Batang Ai by-election

----------------------------------

1. MAFREL (Malaysia for Fair & Free Election) statement

I am now backed in Kuching after spending 8 days in Batang Ai observing the by-election conducts. And as far as our term of references (which is very limited) is concerned we are more or less done, 3 days before polling.

Why I said we are done, because there is nothing to observe anymore. What happen in the next few days will be of no different. Riggings in this by-election are rampant and sad to say that the words “CLEANS, FAIR & FREE ELECTION does not exist in Batang Ai by-election vocabulary.

Our report and photographs taken during our stint in Batang Ai have been compiled and submitted to our Head Quarters in KL.

MAFREL (Batang Ai) had reached a conclusion that Batang Ai by-election is where politic is at its worst. It’s here that money politics rear its ugly head. By all accounts I dared says that Batang Ai by-election is the dirtiest, most unfair & expensive in Malaysian election history.

We observed that:

1) During nomination day (29/3/09) we felt that the police should not have confisticated PAS flags, only returned after vehement protest from PKR. What puzzled us most was why the police allowed SUPP flags among the BN crowd. Report and photos taken during the incident has been submitted to HQ KL for further action.

2) BN candidate election posters were pestered a day before the nomination date. This is a gross defiance of the by-election conduct. We had taken photographs of those posters at Ng. Mepi longhouse. This was by no mean an isolated case because we found the same in other longhouses.

3) It was common sight to see BN giving away gifts of all sorts to the people in the constituency. We have pictorial evidences to that effect but I don’t think its wise me to disclose them here.

4) Misused of government vehicles (pic below) is very rampant and seem to be an acceptable norm among BN officials. We took photos of not less than 47 SG vehicles either parked near the BN “ceramah” or near their operation rooms since nomination. During the nomination day alone we sighted not less than 120 SG vehicles not far from the nomination centre.

5) Civil servants, Departmental heads, teachers appears to be parts and parcels of BN election machineries. They are being deployed and mobilized to every longhouses and corners of Batang Ai.

6) MAFREL (Batang Ai) hereby confirmed the talks that “Tuai Rumah” or longhouse chief are being “kidnapped” and held hostages at Batang Ai Hilton. Some of those whom I met reveal that they are given RM1,000.00 pocket money during the duration of their stay. Some who chose to go to Kuching for sight seeing are given more. We observed that this is indeed very effective tools deployed by BN politician to entice voters. If not money politics, bribery what then?

7) As expected BN ministers continuously poured in “instant noodle projects and other goodies” virtually to all 121 longhouses in Batang Ai. As far as MAFREL is concerned, this is a daylight bribery. Again we have more than enough evidence to support our claims. It’s now up to HQ to make the necessary discloser.

8) Our monitoring unit reported that BN campaigners have contravened particular section of the by-election Act whereby they placed BN flags on the bridge and other prohibited places.

9) We also received report that BN supporters/campaigners pulling down PKR flags at the entrance of a particular longhouse. At the time of reporting police report has been lodged.

10) By MAFREL (Batang Ai) estimation the cost of this by-election far acceded the allowable amount of RM150K by contending parties.

11) We also reported & recorded scares tactic employed by BN Ministers esp. by Jabu, Masing, Awang Tengah, Awang Asfia, Salang, Entulu , Gramong Juna , Fadillah and few others during their “ceramah”.

12) We had examined and scrutinized the voter lists, found out that 111 years old voter still appear in the electoral roll. We checked with NRD and our trip to a grave yard confirmed that this particular voter died some 30 years ago. We have communicated our findings to the EC and believed that this is by no mean an isolated case.

13) We also received complaints from the longhouse residents that some of the names are missing from the electoral rolls. We are still investigating their claims.

14) Intelligence information received from the ground suggested that there will be more longhouses after the by-election. Reasons: Batang Ai by-election will cause a split among longhouse folks leading to the formation of new residence/longhouse.

15) In 1996 election, Donald Lawan successfully challenged Mong Dagang in the court as a result of practicing money politics. Will the 2009 Batang Ai by-election provides another same scenario of Jawah Gerang Vs. Malcolm Mussen, not only in Batang Ai battle field but also in court battle? NOT impossible if MAFREL (Batang Ai) reports and findings are anything to go by.

16) I must say within our term of references, the 26 Mafrel observers have done a splendid job as an election watch dog despite the numerous hurdles and handicaps.

COMPILED BY A MEMBER OF THE MAFREL TEAM
For more info, go to MAFREL's website > http://mafrel.wordpress.com/

2. Good wife?

Goerge Chan (pic), chairman of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and deputy chief minister dismissed PKR’s intention to eventually take over the Sarawak government with a sense of humour.

“The PKR leaders have been trying to change the federal government, and now the Sarawak state government. Do you think that if you have a good wife, you want to change her?”

What is said by George Chan is very true. But yet some YBs and even ministers have changed their wives even if they are good.

After being elected or appointed as ministers some Dayak YBs are having mistresses. This makes them vulnerable and earns them little respect from their own communities as well as other communities.

How can they look after the interests of their constituents? How can they become a role model? Many have changed the acronym YB, instead of Yang Berhormat, it becomes ‘Yang Bebini’ or ‘Yang Bekendak’.


3. Minister fails to turn up for his appointment

Awang Tengah Ali Hassan a.k.a Awang Tanah, senior vice president of PBB and second minister of planning and resource management was supposed to visit Rumah Jengin to campaign for the BN candidate, Malcolm Mussen on 2 April at 2.30 pm.

Some 50 villagers were waiting for him. There were also several reporters present to cover the visit. When he failed to turn up, State Assemblyman for Ngemah, Gabriel Adit who had arrived earlier at the longhouse to campaign for the PKR candidate, Jawah Gerang seized the opportunity and “hijacked” the event. He touched on issues including the unsettled claims of compensation for the Ibans affected by the construction of the Batang Ai hydro-dam and the NCR land issues.

Adit also took the opportunity to introduce Dick Sakalai, former deputy Resident, who would contest against John Sikie, PRS State assemblyman fo Kakus and Stanny Embat, former police officer, to contest against Alfred Jabu in Layar.

According to Adit, the people responded enthusiastically and understood the message the PKR passed to the Iban community.

More to come…stay tune to www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com