Ng says Jabu should resign as minister

KUCHING: A State PKR leader Dominique Ng has described as farcical and negligent, the attempted denial by some senior Sarawak cabinet members, especially Alfred Jabu anak Numpang, a Deputy Chief Minister, of the findings of a federal report confirming the occurrence of rape against Penan girls in 2008.

“Jabu who is the minister responsible of Penan affairs should resign from all his posts to take full responsibility for the whole debacle which has now brought tremendous shame to the people of Sarawak,” said Ng, who is the state assemblyman for Padungan.

“The whole cabinet should tender an apology to the Penan people of Sarawak,” he stressed, when commenting on the reports of rape and sexual abuse against Penan girls and women.

He added: “The State government should immediately release the long overdue report in its entirety. It must give a just account to all the people of Sarawak and Malaysia.

“Police and court action must immediately proceed to return justice to the victims and their families,” he said, pointing out that the Police must be seen to be effective in combating crime, and public confidence in the criminal justice system in Sarawak must be restored and promoted by due promptness and effectiveness of the relevant authorities in action.

“The persecution and the sorry plight of the indigenous people of Sarawak occur repeatedly and this is a situation that cannot be tolerated by all decent Malaysians.

“State cabinet ministers concerned should be ashamed of their futile attempts to camouflage the commission of such insidious crimes against our own Sarawak people.

The international reputation of our beloved Nation and State has been severely compromised,” he said.

The occurrence of rape of the Penan girls was raised by Ng in the Dewan Undangan Negeri, Sarawak, during its November 2008 sitting after the initial exposure by the Bruno Manser Fund website in mid-September.

The Star newspaper had on 6 October reported on and confirmed the allegations based on its own on-site journalist investigation, which State cabinet ministers, MPs and State assemblymen had described the reports as “untruths”.

Even when the reports on the rape have been released and are found to contain some “truths”, there are some Cabinet ministers especially Jabu who question the credibility of the reports. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

Salang tells State leaders: Don’t divert federal allocation on infrastructure

MP Julau-cum-Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Joseph Salang has made it very clear to the State powers that be not to take away federal allocation for infrastructure development in Sarawak’s rural areas.

“The money must be rightly spent on such areas only. The implementing state agencies should follow the federal directives. There are reasons why the fund is specifically allocated to certain areas.

“The money should not be diverted else where,” he said when referring to RM4 billion federal allocation to upgrade infrastructure in the rural and interior regions of Sarawak and Sabah.

Salang’s warning is timely. Otherwise most of these monies will go to only SCORE areas, Mukah and Betong, thus other areas will be deprived of infrastructure development. It had happened in the past when allocation for the Simunjan/Punda Road was diverted to Kota Samarahan; allocation for a Pantu Secondary school was diverted to Betong. Many more had happened that you and I did not know.

Despite we are the richest State in the country with timber, oil and gas and land resources in plentiful, we are among the poorest in Malaysia. Why?

We know why Salang is so concerned about the federal fund being taken away, because at the moment the State government has no money. And we and Dayak leaders like Alfred Jabu, James Masing, and William Mawan should support Salang for daring to voice his concern rather than involved in the “sirat” issue.

A contractor friend of mine in Sarikei complained that the government owes him RM1 million, saying that the government has no money to pay him. Complaints of other contractors receiving no payment are also common.

Hotels will not receive service orders as a form of payment when civil servants go on travelling. Either cash or don’t stay in the hotels. That is the order from hotel managements.

According to my friend, the contractor, many will go bankrupt if the government does not pay for the completed projects: the contractor will go bankrupt, many of his workers who have houses and cars to pay will also go bankrupt and the hardware shoppers will also suffer.

So the question is: Why are we in this state of financial uncertainty and bankrupt? And where have the monies gone to? - The Broken Shield

Source: http://www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com/

S'wak land owners resist joint-venture 'land grab' ~ Malaysiakini

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/108602


Native Customary Rights (NCR) landowners from some 60 longhouses in the Lower Julau and Upper Bintangor areas in the Sarikei Division have registered their strongest yet objection against the inclusion of their plots as part of an oil palm plantation joint project by the Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) and Sime Darby Plantations.

In a statement emailed to Malaysiakini, TAHABAS (Jaringan Tanah Hak Bangsa Asal Sarawak) or Sarawak NCR landowners network secretary Nyumbang Anak Barau said that the landowners who attended a dialogue session on July 9 had told LCDA and Sime Darby Plantations to exclude their land.

However, despite their protest, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between Sime Darby plantations and the LCDA to develop 20,000 hectares of NCR land.

The landowners from 109 longhouses were represented by the LCDA.

Sarawak's land development minister James Masing witnessed the signing of the agreement.

Nyumbang said: "I wish to reiterate our stand as the affected landowners that we are against the implementation of this NCR land development policy in our areas, where LCDA and Sime Darby respectively own 10 percent and 60 percent shares in a joint-venture company (JVC).

He said that the remaining 30 percent is supposed to be "owned by us, the landowners who have not agreed to this policy".

Major points of discontent

"We are not against NCR land developments through oil palm schemes per se, but we cannot accept this particular land development policy," he said and outlined the main points of disagreement.

He said: "We are not confident that LCDA can competently and impartially protect our rights in the JVC. We see LCDA has vested interests, and the mechanisms to be employed are not convincing enough to protect our rights;

Secondly, he said, the LCDA is being given an equivalent of "dictatorial power which is too strong for our liking, while our rights are unfairly and vastly diminished."

Thirdly, they do not trust LCDA, and “we are against LCDA becoming our Trustee. LCDA's records as known by us have failed to dispel our fear of not receiving fair bonuses and dividends later."

He said that so-called 30 percent share that is offered to may not eradicate poverty but "we may even become poorer by losing our lands forever after signing the trust deed".

Nyumbang said the current policy does not satisfactorily provide a guarantee to return those lands to their heirs upon the expiry of the joint venture after 60 years.

"This fear is genuine and not unfounded. And this is reflected by over 200 cases in our courts involving NCR lands. With such numbers, why are we not to worry?" he asked.

"Incidentally, the people from over 60 longhouses living in Lower Julau and Upper Bintangor and those along Kanowit-Julau-Durin road formed an action committee in 2007 to counteract an earlier attempt to extract timber on these same lands by a company issued with a provisional lease by the government," he said.

Loss of land

Nyumbang said that in the event that the joint-venture company fails to settle its debts by a certain period, the land owners will then be forced to use their land as collaterals.

"We could lose our land," he said and that working as a labourer earning a rate of RM15 per day or RM330 per month is hardly sufficient. It is well below the poverty line."

He said due to the absence of land titles, some of the idle NCR lands may not seem to offer them much profit. But they are a source of unpolluted vegetables, meat and fish in addition to giving them priceless building materials and other jungle produce.

"Moreover by safe-keeping these lands temporarily, we can therefore hope that one day our next generation with better education and means will be able to develop them better," he said.

Can Ibans play smart politics?

For the past 46 years of our so-called independence, the story is the same in all the 19 Iban majority state constituencies: complaints of no basic amenities like clean water, electricity, road and clinic not to mention major projects that can generate incomes and thereby uplifting their living standards. Instead their NCR lands are forcibly taken away from them and leased to big plantation companies.

And yet in every election, the Iban voters continue to vote for the “dacing” symbol after the BN has promised them all these, knowing that the same promises have been made over and over and again and again.

The famous quote by US President Abraham Lincoln that “you can fool some of the people all the time, and all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time” cannot apply to the Iban voters. It appears that “all the Ibans can be fooled all the time” by BN and worst still through Iban representatives.

After each election, the BN government has forgotten them. No doubt one or two of our elected YBs did ask for funds for projects in their respect constituencies, but they are not forceful enough. Many a time their requests are ignored. In other words, the government does not really respect them because they are weak, fragmented and found in every political party. If Abdul Taib Mahmud or even Awang Tengah were to be an elected representative in the Iban constituency, that constituency would have certainly undergone tremendous development and progress.

For now, even if you are shouting at the top of your lungs, nothing will come out; nobody will listen. State assemblyman for Meluan Wong Judat’s speech during the recent Council Negeri meeting clearly shows the disrespect the BN has on the people.

He said: “The Rakyat in my constituency are thinking that the government only knows how to make promises come election time to fish for votes.” And what made him say such statement like an Opposition elected representative was the delay in the construction of the long-awaited Nanga Entabai-Rantau Limau ulu road and the 29km Pakan-Engkamop road had not been tar-sealed for a long time.

It was not just the roads, but also the construction of suspension bridges across Kanowit river (from Julau town to a Chinese settlement and another suspension bridge to SK Nanga Luan).These had not been implemented although the cost had been determined at RM1.8 million.

He said he had raised the issue with the relevant authorities numerous times and each time he asked the ministry concerned, the reply was that funding from the federal government was insufficient.

“We the people of Meluan have waited a very long time, our patience is running low. The projects have been proposed since the seventh five-year Malaysia Plan and it was brought forward to the eighth Malaysia Plan and then to the ninth Malaysia Plan. Now the ministry could bring it again to the tenth Malaysia Plan.

“I want to know in which Malaysia Plan can the government have enough allocation to finance these projects considering they have been proposed a long time ago (more than 15 years). I do not want my people think that the government is only making promises during election,” he said.

Wong who is Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party supreme council member also spoke of the people’s dilemma in 30 longhouses, individual houses, three primary schools and Nanga Entabai clinic which are in dire need of clean water and electricity supply.

Likewise, the Kapit MP Alexander Nanta Linggi has bemoaned the absence of funds for the construction of Kapit-Sibu trunk road. Nanta’s grandfather, Tun Temenggong Jugah made the call more than 40 years ago, and the call was echoed by his father, the two-term MP for Kapit and it was repeated by the former MP for Kapit James Jimbun. Now Nanta is the fourth generation of MP for Kapit and hs been making numerous requests for funds for the Kapit-Sibu trunk road. Until now the requests have fallen on deaf ears.

So what are the solutions in order that our YBs can be an effective voice of the people? Could form a new political party specifically catering for Iban interests of any help? Or better still if SPDP, PRS, SNAP and Pesaka can form a merger called Iban National Front?

Never mind about the comments against it, but just imagine the impact if our elected 19 state representatives can come together – segulai-sejalai-sepenemu - under one political banner from Balai Ringin, to Bukit Begunan, Engkilili, Batang Ai, Layar, Bukit Saban, Krian, Pakan, Meluan, Machan, Ngemah, Ketibas, Baleh, Pelagus, Tamin, Kakus, Sebauh, Marudi, and Batu Danau and 11 Iban MPs.

This is not a racialist move, but rather that we take care and put our own house in order first before thinking of others. Let charity begin at home.

We do not aim to put our man as chief minister; neither do we want to frighten other communities. Whoever is the chief minister be he Malay, Chinese or Bidayuh or Orang Ulu as long as long as he respects our rights of existence, respect our NCR land, be fair in terms of distributing development, business opportunities, in education, and so on, we will support him.

Certainly with the 19 elected representatives and 11 MPs our voice is not only strong, but they (the government be it BN or PR) cannot simply ignore us. In other words, we will play the role of “king maker”. – The Broken Shield

Source: www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com

BN MP still awaiting Kapit-Sibu trunk road ~ Malaysiakini

Taken from http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/107585

Kapit MP Alexander Nanta Linggi has blamed the big gap in development between Kapit - located in central Sarawak - and other divisions in the state to the lack of infrastructure development.

"Although there is much talk about the digital divide between urban and rural areas, the development gap in Kapit is far more pressing," said Nanta, who is from Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), a member of the BN coalition.

"It is still a big issue here and we are still talking about it," he said at the 16th installation-cum-award dinner of the Kapit Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

"Kapit had over the years given the BN government a strong mandate in the general election because of its pledge to implement development projects, including completing the road that was to link Sibu with Kapit," he said.

"Kapit's economy depends on infrastructure development. The pledges, therefore, must be fulfilled and any development meant for the division, must also include the road link from Sibu to Kapit," added Nanta.

He warned that Kapit would suffer greatly if logging, on which it depended for its wealth, slowed down.


Vast tracks of untapped agricultural land

Kapit could not depend on indigenous fish like ikan empurau, semah and tangadak or fruit trees like dabai and langsat as they were seasonal and unreliable.

"We must venture into other businesses such as crop planting to ensure steady incomes," he said, and stressed that the construction of a road would open up vast tracts of land for agricultural activities.

Nanta is not the only one who had been urging the government to build the Kapit-Sibu trunk road.

There were other leaders before him including his grandfather Temenggong Jugah who made a similar call more than 40 years ago when he was the MP for Ulu Rejang and as minister for Sarawak affairs.

Then came Nanta's father Leonard Linggi Anak Jugah, who was the MP for Kapit (1978 to 1986), and a relative, James Jimbun.

Nanta, who fought for the road to be included in the Ninth Malaysia Plan was said to be furious when there was no allocation for the trunk road in the plan.

Trunk road may remain an illusive dream

It appears that the promise will remain an elusive dream if the argument put forward by the state government is any indication.

According to sources close to the state government, Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud is not in favour of the Kapit-Sibu trunk road.

They reckoned the trunk road will turn Kapit into a ghost town because visitors will not spend the nights there as they do now.

Secondly, the road, they said, is not economically viable as there are no economic activities between Sibu and Kapit.

This is despite the fact that the road will pass hundreds of longhouses and thousands of hectares of fertile land.

Thirdly, the government does not want to deprive express boats and tongkang that ply between Sibu and Kapit of their business.
One other reason, according to the sources, is that the government wants to concentrate on upstream development, where in addition to the Bakun hydro-electric dam (above), there is the Murum and Baleh dams to be built.

Roads and other infrastructure worth about RM7 billion will be built between Kapit and these areas, which will form part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE).

Although Kapit may not be linked to Sibu in the near future, it will eventually be connected to the fast growing town of Bintulu.

"One Sarawak" should mean one Sarawak

After PM Najib Razak introduced his “One Malaysia” concept, CM Abdul Taib Mahmud followed suit by introducing his version of “One Sarawak”. Next we may hear the Mayor of Kuching introduces “One Kuching” and someone else introduces “One Simunjan”, or “One Malay”, or “One Chinese” or “One Dayak” and so on.

I have, and so many others, tried to interpret the meaning of “One Malaysia” and to me “One Malaysia, One family” where equality, justice and fairness should be the guiding principle. But judging by what is happening now, it seems that “One Malaysia” has a different meaning and interpretation.

Not many people really understand it. Not even the civil servants especially those in the Ministry of Information, who recently underwent a course to understand it.

For Sarawak, it is hoped that “One Sarawak” should be “owned” by all Sarawakians who should enjoy her wealth and prosperity. But currently it appears that “One Sarawak” belongs to one family where businesses, government contracts and tenders are grabbed and monopolized by those closely connected with the family members. Projects in SCORE are a fine example. The rest of the Sarawakians are by-standers.

“One Sarawak” is a mere slogan that helps divert the people’s attention from the real problems confronting Sarawak. One such problem is involving NCR land like the termination of the rights of the natives over their ancestors’ land and leasing such land to companies for the plantation of oil palm.

It is the off-shoot of “politics of development” where development is being concentrated in Mukah such as the proposed airport, the coal powered station, new administrative centre and so on, whereas other under-developed divisions like Kapit remain undeveloped.

If it is to be practised true to its name and concept, “One Sarawak” should really mean one Sarawak where its citizens from the various ethnic groups should be given equal opportunities in fields of education, in recruitment to the civil service and promotions, given business contracts and tenders, given political posts such as in government-linked companies as well as to participate in Sarawak’s development.

“One Sarawak” should therefore be aimed at eradicating poverty, a very, very rampant occurrence in the rural areas. Do the present State government and its leaders have the political will to do it now? Or do the rural people have to wait for election times to hear the BN politicians announcing those projects? – The Broken Shield

Source: http://www.thebrokenshield.blogspot.com/