Reply from Dr. Elli Luhat

On the issue raised by YB Baru Bian, I would like to put to the record straight.  I appreciate the response from him.  He is among thousands of people who responded after the report of the seed adoption programme came out.

I believe this is a positive response, especially from YB Baru.  I thank him for that.

Clonal rubber seeds do not exist. Clonal seeds are rubber seeds collected from rubber trees. People like YB Baru need clarification. I know that he got his information from someone who claimed to be an expert. To me that someone is bogus expert.

What do not exist are cloned seeds. The seeds cannot be cloned. They do not exist. But clonal seeds do exist. There are no scientific methods how to clone the seeds. People who say it can be done are bogus people.

Why I said that because this guy called me and he sounded like a foreigner. And he started talking to me about rubber. I told him that if he has experience and technology please come forward.  I told him that I will help him to recommend his work to Lembaga Getah Malaysia (LGM). I told him that if he has the technology, I make sure that being a member of the Malaysian Rubber Board we will get it patented.  He will be paid premium for it. He slammed the phone down. That was the first encounter with the bogus expert.

Another instance when I met bogus experts who tried to manipulate me. He said that his technology comes from China. And they came to talk to me about their technology that can produce rubber seeds from rubber seeds using hormones.  They told me they inject hormones into the seeds and that it will make millions of seeds for 1Malaysia rubber.

I ask for proof of their work. They walked out from my office.

The third instance when I met people from the land of the rising sun. They told me that they have a technology how to clone rubber and produce millions and millions of seedlings to produce 1Malaysia rubber. They use the tissue culture technology. I ask them whether it can be done.

I told them I have been doing this tissue culture during my academic life.  No doubt we can produce millions of planting materials. It can only apply to plants like orchids and pitcher plants, because these plants don’t have main roots. (tunjang). Can you prove to me that it can be done to rubber trees? We know that rubber trees have main roots. They just left. They could not bluff me.

They come and talk to me, but they cannot convince me. And then they turn to politicians trying to influence them.

YB Baru could have been informed by these people. Just imagine people from Japan, China and England to tell us that they have a technology to plant rubber, when there is no rubber trees in their countries.

DLT does not have a licence from LGM. I buy my parent trees from LGM. DLT also does not have any funding from LGM. I would like to give free to the farmers, but I have my limit.

LGM is only assisting farmers in term of technology. It commercializes and patents its technology. If you want some funding, you either go to RISDA or Department of Agriculture.

DLT is a private company and has nothing to do with government projects. It has the heart to supply clonal seeds under its adoption programme to the farmers who can promise DLT that they can undertake the projects. One of the conditions is that they must get rubber bud eyes from DLT for the bud-grafting.

I hope my explanation will clear the air.

Clonal Rubber Seeds stolen




http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/01/19/rubber-seeds-heist/

LET ME EXPLAIN: Elli (right) shows reporters the 1Malaysia Clonal Rubber seedlings after the press conference.

KUCHING: Dr. Elli Luhat of DLT group of companies has reported to the Police the loss of about 24 tons of clonal rubber seeds worth about RM27.6 million.

The seeds kept at two places - six tons of about 1.4 million rubber clonal seeds at Ark BIO Sdn Bhd (Grow Centre) Kpg. Sri Temenggong, Jalan Telaga Air, Kuching, and 18 tons of about 4.1 million rubber clonal seeds at Lot 1378, Section 66, Pending Industrial Estate, Jalan Buroh, Bintawa, Kuching – were discovered stolen in the afternoon of January 17, 2012.

Elli said that the seeds were ready for distribution to farmers for their 1Malaysia clonal rubber  seeds.

According to him, the Police have alerted their counterparts in other divisions.

He advised farmers that anyone who wanted to sell clonal rubber seeds to them should immediately contact the Police.

DLT group of companies is one of the two that are involved in the supply of clonal rubber seeds.

He has so far distributed two millions of the seeds. 

Clonal Rubber Seeds do not exist

Media Statement by Baru Bian

13 January 2012

Clonal Rubber Seeds do not exist

I refer to an item in the Borneo Post dated 11 January 2012 page D1 headlined ‘15 million 1Malaysia Rubber Clone Seeds for adoption’ in which the DLT Group of Companies is reported to be offering 1Malaysia Rubber Clone Seeds for adoption to any interested farmers in the state under the Rubber Seeds Adoption Programme purportedly “the fruit of work, research and development”. This is also reported in Sin Chew Daily on 11 January 2012 at page 7.

I have been informed by highly knowledgeable consultants that there is no such thing as a ‘clonal seed’ because any seed produced by the cloned tree does not necessarily bear the characteristics of that clonal parent. All the seed produced from a clonal tree will be different and not necessarily of good quality. It is therefore not accurate to say that the seed are of the 1Malaysia clone or better than any other rubber seed produced from any other rubber tree whether it be cloned or not.

I was informed that the DLT Group of companies is willing to let farmers have the seeds for free but that in order to produce clonal plants for planting and production they must grow the seeds and then graft buds onto them of legitimate clones such as 1Malaysia, PB260, RRIM2023 etc. etc. From where do the DLT Group of Companies expect the farmers to obtain the buds and how much will they have to pay for them? Will the DLT Group of Companies also be supplying buds free of charge?

I would like to advise all farmers that they need not get seed from DLT or any other company or Government Department as all they need to do is collect any seed from any type of rubber tree growing in the jungle, grow it on until it has the stem size of a pencil and then graft onto it a bud from a legitimate and certified clone that is produced from a budwood nursery.

It has been made known to me that the DLT Group of Companies is one of the licensees of the Malaysian Rubber Board who are licensed to produce the 1Malaysia clones and therefore presumably budwood. They would presumably have received some funding from the Board to carry out the production. I would like to propose supplying deserving farmers subsidized or free of charge-cloned buds. At the same time it is crucial that RISDA educate these farmers to do this cloning process.

Something does not seem right in this whole scenario. Firstly, the role of the Rubber Board, if I’m not mistaken, is to help the rural people who wish to plant rubber trees and make some money from the latex. Why then have two private companies been chosen to adopt 1 million and 700,000 seeds and an individual 1 million seeds? This is helping the big players and not those people who truly need the help. Where does this leave the farmer who has a small plot of land?

Secondly, the way which the DLT Group of companies is conducting their business causes me great alarm as a lot of the farmers will be misled by the claims that they will be given the 1Malaysia clone seeds. After they have been given the seeds, from where will they obtain the high quality buds that they need to graft onto the plants that they grow from these seeds to produce plants for establishment in their smallholdings?

From the press report it appears that the said 1Malaysia clone is very good. It would be helpful to all if Dr. Luhat could furnish us with the performance data of this clone as recorded and reported from field trials in Sarawak and which have been conducted by a reliable testing organization in this State. This would give credence and confidence to all interested parties especially the poor rural farmers. Our rural folk just want to be able to get some good and reliably certified rubber clones so that they can work towards self-sufficiency.

Baru Bian
State Assemblyman
N70 Ba’ Kelalan

Environmental disaster?

KUCHING: Dr. Elie Luhat, whose field of study is environment and forestry, warns of environmental disaster in the Bakun dam in the next three to five years as recommendations made in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports are not followed.

“There was a study of EIA reports where recommendations were supposed to be made; somehow when the implementation was done such recommendations were forgotten,” alleged Elie who is the chairman of Bakun Community Safety Committee (BCSC).

Elie who told The Broken Shield said: “One of the recommendations was that we get rid of as much as possible the biomass – the trees, branches, twigs, scrubs, and plants – before the dam is to be impounded.

“But they failed to get rid of all these. Over the years, these trees, branches and twigs will get rotten and become very toxic to the water and fish.

“If you look at the EIA reports, and if they are not removed, such toxic can cause environmental disaster in three to five years’ time,” he warned.

“We have to anticipate this (disaster) will occur, but they are not observing all these things,” he said, pointing out that one of the fish that will be affected will be the ‘empurau’, Sarawak’s most famous and expensive fish.

A kilogram is worth between RM600 and RM800.

Elie was asked to explain that the change of biodiversity not only harmful to human beings, but also to the environment in the Bakun dam.

He praised the authorities for helping to move the wild animals to higher ground because of the area, the size of Singapore, would be submerged after the impoundment of the dam.

“But they should do more than that. The sad thing is to me is that they never think about what to do with fish like ‘empurau’.

“We spent a lot of money moving the animals to the higher ground, but they never think of what to do with the fish which will also be affected by the impoundment.

“The fish like animals and human beings are also affected by change of environment. When the area is submerged, all natural or wild fruit trees such as for example ‘ensurai’ which is the food for the ‘empurau’ will be submerged and destroyed. The ‘empurau’ will also be suffering.

“We should also think of providing them with food,” he said, pointing out that before the impoundment of the dam, there were a lot of empurau in the rivers.

“No one has thought of that. The fish have now gone up river not only to look for food, but also oxygen as the level of oxygen in the dam has changed. The deeper is the dam the less is the oxygen.

“Moreover, when it is too deep, the ‘empurau’ will not be able to withstand the pressure of water gravity,” he said.

Will Deputy Chief Minister Alfred Jabu’s ‘empurau scheme’ to be launched in Bakun be affected?

Entulu under fire

THE PANEL SPEAKERS (left to right): Sidi Munan, Dr Elie Luhat, Datuk John Tenewi Nuek, Assoc. Prof. Dr Andrew Aeria (moderator), Mering Wan & Dr John Brian

Deputy Minister for rural and regional development Joseph Entulu was severely criticised at a forum today (11 July 2009) for suggesting that the term “Dayak” be dropped as its connotation was uncivilized, uncouth and low class.

The forum, should the term ‘Dayak’ be dropped, was organised by The Borneo Post in collaboration with the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU).

Five panel speakers addressed some 150 participants, the majority of them were professionals, pensioners, businessmen and university students.

SDNU publicity chief Dr. John Brian Anthony said that the term “Dayak” was used anthropologically to describe the natives of Borneo.

He said: “It is sillier to suggest dropping the term ‘Dayak’. He must be drunk. Otherwise he is playing to the gallery of those who are against the term ‘Dayak’.

“It is our intention to bring all the natives together under the name of Dayak, but there are people who think that the Dayaks are threat. That is why Malaysian Dayak Congress (MDC) cannot be registered because it is considered a security threat to the nation,” he said.

SDNU which was formed in 1956 was considered as opposition organisation and because this organisation was being punished and no financial aids were given to it, he said, pointing out that the government gave funds to Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA), Orang Ulu National Union (OUNA) and other NGOs in order to spite SDNU.

It seemed, he said, that Entulu was given the job of bashing the Dayak community.

Next speaker was Sidi Munan, president of Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA), who said that the dropping of term to say the least was stupid and lack of understanding of history.

“I am wondering whether it is a government proposal. It looks like it. It may be slip of the tongue, but coming from the heart,” he said.

Sidi recalled an incident in 1967 in which someone suggested that the term ‘Dayak’ be dropped.

“And there is something more than meets the eye,” he said, and warned of the legal, political and cultural implications and consequences especially in respect of I Malaysia concept.

“There will be no gawai Dayak and the Federal Constitution need to be amended. Thus it is more good than harm to retain the name in this context,” he said.

Presenting his views next was Dr. Elie Luhat, deputy president of Sarawak Dayak Graduates Association (SDGA).

He said: “If you want to get rid of the word ‘Dayak’ we are doing the work of others, that is, ‘ethnic cleansing’.

“And my advice to politicians is that if you proceed with the proposal to remove the word ‘Dayak’ you are creating problems and issues that will cause you to commit political suicide," Elie said.

Former Ambassador to Myanmar, Venezuela and Mexico, Datuk John Tenewi Nuek said that he was proud to be a Dayak and had never been humiliated for being so, pointing out that he traveled to several countries in his capacity as an officer of the foreign service.

He said that it was politically wise to retain the name as it provided a common umbrella for the various native groups to work and strengthen their political unity.

“Why should we change the word ‘Dayak’ which is already a brand name which gives us the best marketing strategy? Dayak is synonymous with Borneo.

“Dropping the name will be a step backward from the political, economic and cultural point of view,” he said.

Mering Wan from the Orang Ulu community said that he was proud to be a Malaysian, and prouder still to be a Dayak.

When the forum was opened to the floor, several participants spoke against the decision to change the term ‘Dayak’. - The Broken Shied

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Dr. John Brian Anthony, publicity chief of SDNU and owner of Dayakbaru.com receives a memento from Mr M. Rajah of The Borneo Post