Thursday, November 15, 2012

The World says Sabah is the poorest!

United Nation Human Development Program, World Bank, Malaysian Federal Government Statistics Department, Sabah Economic Planning Unit, all of them say that Sabah is the poorest in the World, certainly the poorest in Malaysia by a large margin, Sabah 20% poor, compared to 6% for the next one, Perlis, also a BN controlled state, certainly not Kelantan. Why? Because Musa brings in foreigners instead of employing Sabahans, not only in Plantations but also in almost all jobs worth getting. Hospitals? What hospitals? The waiting list for critical life threatening surgery is 2years. My mother in law was a witness last year. Many died already waiting. We had to pool resources to go to SMC. But now even SMC is no more. There is not even a single private hospital in Sabah now. Only shop lot clinics. SMC has to borrow operating rooms and even equipment. You call that progress! We nearly lose Maliau Basin, if it were not for NGOs making noises. It was not Musa who stop these blatant thefts, but NGOs and oppositions. Who say Sabah is poor? – Musa by Nancy Lai. Posted on November 15, 2012, Thursday KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman yesterday took opposition leaders to task for claiming there is no development in Sabah and it is the poorest state in the country. “If Sabah is poor then why do I have plantation owners requesting to bring in foreign labour to work in the state? What about the schools, hospitals and other public infrastructures as well as facilities that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has built for the state?” Musa asked. Speaking at the opening of the state-level annual Farmers, Livestock Breeders and Fishermen Day celebration yesterday, Musa urged people in the state to be wary of opposition leaders, including those from Peninsular Malaysia who are now traveling around the interior areas with their allegations. The Sabah BN chief said it was the opposition’s perception that there was no development in Sabah as they had turned a blind eye to what the government had done. “We do not need to boast about what we have done because the rakyat know and what is important is that the rakyat know that we are sincere in our efforts to help them,” he said. According to Musa, opposition leaders were also not new faces because among them is a former Deputy Prime Minister, a former Chief Minister and former ministers. “If we are to reply to their allegations, they will say that we are slanderous but let me ask you who is the one who ‘sold’ off certain government agencies? You can open the records or files to find out if it was me and you will see that I never sold off any of the government agencies. “In fact I was the one who managed to get a few of them back – so you can see that these former leaders are the ones responsible but are trying to be the heroes now,” he stressed. Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/11/15/who-say-sabah-is-poor-musa/#ixzz2CIKXs4jo

Illegal FEDERAL Government

I suspect this is happening. If it was not challenged, it will become the norm. Thisis what I had suspected happening to Sabah making it the poorest in the world now. Many Sabahansvare happybwith the way they are, but all over the world, nations progress at a much faster rate, even in war torn nations like Palestine, have better standard of living than the 20% Sabahans, making them the poorest in the world now. Imagine, our Maliau basin to be strip mined for coal? Once it is handed over to the Federal government. If it can happen in Selangor, it is surely much worse in Sabah, with the majority of illiterate politicians voted into power. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/15/nation/12320553&sec=nation SHAH ALAM: Another top civil servant in Selangor has been transferred out amid the brewing controversy surrounding the Batu Caves condominium project. A source said Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) president Datuk Zainal Abidin A'ala (pic), who had reportedly revealed minutes of a meeting in 2007 pertaining to the project, has been transferred to the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan). He is due to report for duty today. The source said the Public Service Depart-ment (PSD) had informed him of the transfer. Yesterday was the last day at the council for Zainal Abidin, who had reportedly said the controversial condominium project was given a development order in late 2007 and that it included a block of shops and office lots that were constructed earlier. He was not available for comment but two MPS councillors disclosed Zainal Abidin had been given notice of the transfer. Councillor A. Murugeshu told The Star Zainal Abidin had known about the transfer about a month ago but did not know where he would go. “It is so coincidental that Zainal Abidin's transfer happened when the Batu Caves issue is hot,'' he said. Another councillor Gunarajah R. George believed Zainal Abidin was transferred out of MPS because he had released the minutes of a meeting in 2007 that gave the names of the municipal councillors then who had approved the 29- storey condominium project that was to be developed by Dolomite Corporation Bhd. Gunarajah said Zainal Abidin was due to retire next year. On Sept 27, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman reportedly received a letter informing him that he would be transferred effective Oct 1. The state government objected to the move and the transfer has since been frozen. Regarding the latest transfer move, state executive councillor Ronnie Liu expressed his disappointment but said he had yet to receive a letter from the PSD informing the state government of Zainal Abidin's transfer. “We are upset and shocked, as MPS will lose a hardworking and efficient leader,” Liu, who is state housing and local government committee chairman, told reporters yesterday. Meanwhile, Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim announced yesterday former Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) director-general Datuk N. Sadasivan would chair the independent committee that would review the development of the Batu Caves project. Selangor Town and Country Planning Department deputy director Norasiah Bee has been appointed secretary. The planned project has been been stopped temporarily following orders from the state government to conduct soil testing.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

All World Heritage sites handed over to Malaya?

If you still have doubts about the intention of Malaya over Sabah, this should convince that Malaya never intends to develop Sabah for Sabahans, only 
for Malaysians, sadly of which Sabah is never part of Malaysia. The interesting issue is that, whatever happens to the existing world heritage sites? 
Were they federalised also? How about Sarawak?

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/11/10/standoff-over-world-heritage-sites/


Standoff over world heritage sites

Michael Kaung
 | November 10, 2012
The Sabah state government is at odds with the federal government, which want the places concerned federalised.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has found itself in a fix over its bid to gain World Heritage Site status for several extraordinary rainforest areas in the state harbouring unique flora and fauna.
The federal government has thrown a spanner in the works by claiming full jurisdiction over the sites but the state government has dug in its heels and refused to hand over the keys to its riches mindful that land is a “sensitive” state matter.
The Federal Ministry of Culture, Arts and Information which must endorse World Heritage Site applications has said that it will not do so if the places concerned are not “federalised”.
The state government has insisted that the demand to handover jurisdiction of the sites was an affront and a less than subtle takeover of state land.
This, they said, was against the spirit of the Malaysia Agreement which guaranteed wide-ranging autonomy for the state in all land matters among others.
The Barisan Nasional government of Chief Minister Musa Aman is aware that surrendering the administration and management of the iconic sites would mean indirect federalisation of state land, already a sore point among voters in the state.
The outcome of the standoff is that full, long-term governmental protection for Maliau Basin, Imbak Canyon and the world famous Danum Valley remains up in the air.
The local press quoted state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun as being angered by the federal ministry’s demands.
The state BN government is acutely aware that it is open to attack by the opposition that they are hostage to the federal government on all important matters and this case furthers that perception among Sabahans deeply concerned by the gradual federalisation of the state.
Masidi’s comments at this week’s two-day International Conference Heart of Borneo (HoB) +5: Shaping and Nurturing Sabah’s Future Together appeared to show that the state government was confounded that the federal authorities had thrown up a barricade of red tape to thwart its bid to raise the tourism profile of the state.
He indicated that the federal government had been dragging its feet on the HoB initiative though it was formalised five years ago.
“We want to move forward … it does not matter whether you want to ride a bicycle, bus or car but what is important is we reach the same destination,” he told the around 600 conference participants representing local and international agencies.
The other parties involved in the initiative are Kalimantan through the Indonesian government, Brunei and Sarawak.

Monday, November 5, 2012

KK will beat DUBAI? Liar.

With only RM570 million and filling KK’s waterfront instead of increasing it, KK hopes to be like Dubai? Bloody liar!
Dubai increased its waterfront 10 times instead of reducing it, and had spent 570 billion RM the last 10 years and will spend more than that in the next 10 years.
You think KK will beat Dubai in the next 10 years? Will all the discriminatory budget against Sabah still being carried out openly. Only idiots will believe it. Even IVORY Coast of Africa had beaten KK in the last 10 years. The lack of development is still going on in Sabah to the point that in the next 10 years, KK will be like a warzone compared to the other cities in the third world. You can’t even get airport lights working properly, imagine what will happen in the next 10 years. Even the dangerous 3 second traffic lights will get even worse with most of it not working at all.
Sabah will be like Dubai in next 10 years
by Chok Sim Yee. Posted on November 4, 2012, Sunday
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will boom in the next 10 years with billions of investment by the government, Petronas and international companies.
Kota Kinabalu has the potential to become the jewel of South East Asia due to the beauty of our nature and our people, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Haji Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, chairman of Asian Pac Holdings Bhd, said at the launching of Loft C, 110 units of luxury serviced residences of KK Times Square Phase II, here on Friday.
The total investment cost for KK Times Square Phase II is RM570 million. KK Times Square is developed by Syarikat Kapasi Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Asian Pac Holdings Bhd.
The eight-acre of KK Times Square Phase I comprises shop offices, the 15 acres of Phase II will include shopping, food and beverage, leisure and entertainment centre, exterior shops, and five blocks of serviced residences.
The five blocks of serviced residences, namely Loft A, B, C, D and E, will house 631 units in total.
Loft C, with its spectacular sea view, offers various types of designs from 1+1 bedrooms to 4+1 bedrooms, ranging from 704 square feet to 4,171 square feet.
With an average selling price of RM983 per square foot, the price of Loft C units ranges from RM754,000 to RM2,818,000.
Residents of Loft will also enjoy a three-acre Eco Deck, a greenery park with landscaped water feature, garden and sculptured lawns, equipped with gym facilities, children’s playground and covered walk path providing access and recreation.
In addition, KK Times Square will feature an internationally renowned four-storey Imago shopping mall measuring 800,000 square feet of lettable space upon completion of the final phase.
Megat Najmuddin said Petronas would be spending RM45 billion in the next 10 years in Sabah, while the government would also spend billions in upgrading the infrastructure in the State.
With the money and investment into Sabah by the government, Petronas and international companies, Megat Najmuddin said it was his hope that Sabah would boom in the next 10 years.
To achieve this, Megat Najmuddin said Sabah need to bring in more talents from overseas and Peninsular Malaysia to develop Sabah into a destination like Dubai or Singapore.
“We don’t want second grade development in the State.
“We must upgrade the city to something like Dubai and Singapore, and it is important to make that dream come true,” he stressed.
KK Times Square, as Megat Najmuddin said, was constructed using first class materials and engaged first class architects to produce first class architectural design.
He believed that the KK Times Square project, which he said to be the only kind of integrated living in Malaysia, would uplift Kota Kinabalu to a new level.
“KK Times Square offers all-in-one lifestyle package.
“You can live here, you can work, you can play at this place.”
Meanwhile, Dato’ Mustapha bin Buang, managing director of Asian Pac Holdings Bhd, said the construction of Phase II had reached 30 to 40 per cent and it was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2014.
Mustapha said Loft A, B, D, E, which were launched previously, had an average take-up rate of 80 per cent.
“Loft B was launched a year back and it has a good take-up rate of 93 per cent,” he said, adding that majority of the buyers were locals.
With the launching of Loft C, Asian Pac Holdings Bhd is offering 11 per cent guaranteed rental return over two years, which is 5.5 per cent per annum. Those who purchase for their own stay will receive five per cent plus two per cent special rebate.
The first 50 purchasers on Friday were entitled to a business class ticket to Paris for one person worth between RM10,000 and RM20,000.
Also present at the launching were Asian Pac Holdings Bhd senior manager of sales Lilian Lung and group accountant Y.Y. Liew.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Why BN supporters happy with budget?

Many of these comments are fair and missed by me. The bad thing is that BN supporters are happy with all these. It is a bad sign for Sabah and Sarawak.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2012/10/03/sarawak-sabah-left-high-and-dry/

Sarawak, Sabah left ‘high and dry’

FMT Staff | October 3, 2012
Many people in these two states are disappointed that the focus of Budget 2013 is all on the Peninsula.
KUCHING: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s “pro-peninsula” budget has angered many people in Sabah and Sarawak.
Sarawak, which is among the poorest states in Malaysia, was hoping that the 32-year-old cabotage policy would be eased, roads and infrastructure would be improved and the high cost of domestic transport solved.
Prices are so high here that Najib even mentioned in his Budget 2013 speech that in remote Ba Kelalan constituency, the price of a 14kg gas cylinder is RM70.
But despite knowing the ground reality in Sarawak, “Santa Claus” Najib did not announce any long-term programmes to alleviate the hardship of the people.
Instead, the prime minister said more Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M) stores would be set up in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan to offer “price uniformity” of essential goods.
He allocated RM386 million for 57 stores to be opened in these places. The money would also be used to bear the cost of delivering products in the interior.
He also allocated RM100 million to supply 40,000 water tanks for rainwater harvesting in the interiors of Sabah and Sarawak.
But the allocation came as a shock to some who see it as yet another Barisan Nasional scam in the making.
Said a FMT reader: “Giving RM100 million for 40,000 water tanks? That translates into RM2,500 a tank… the cost of a one unit 80-gallon poly water tank is about RM120. No wonder these BN cronies are laughing all the way to the banks. I give you some, you give me some.”
Another reader, Azman Hamid, said: “Who is going to get the contract to build those KR1M stores there (Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan)? Someone is going to get rich!
“But seriously instead of spending RM386 million, why not reduce the cost of transport?”

Disappointment for Sarawak

Stanley Teoh, another reader, urged Sarawakians to wake up.
“Instead of taking measures to bring Sabah and Sarawak into 2020 and beyond, the prime minister is talking about KR1M… sundry shops.
“With all those huge dams in Sarawak, he is talking about water tanks to harvest rainwater.”
“This is a rubbish budget for Sabah and Sarawak,” Teoh said.
In Miri, an activist said Najib’s budget had left Sarawak high and dry while keeping the people in the Peninsula happy.
“Overall, Budget 2013 is focused more on developing infrastructure in Peninsular Malaysia.
“But really, we are the ones in dire need of big allocations for infrastructure development…
“The federal government should have set aside allocations to improve the Pan Borneo Highway instead of providing funds for maintaining good roads in the Peninsula.
“Many people here were hoping that Najib would announce extra allocation for the Pan Borneo Highway connecting Sabah and Sarawak… but nothing happened.”

Inflation risk

The Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM) has also warned of a possible risk of inflation later down the road.
FSM president Wong Khen Thau said while the price uniformity programme was a move in the right direction, it does not solve the underlying problem of price inequality between West and East Malaysia.
“This is caused by the high transport costs due to the cabotage policy and inefficient transport network.
“While we welcome the setting up of 57 KR1M stores, we believe that in the long run, it would affect small-time sundry shops in the rural areas, which are normally operated by Bumiputeras,” he said.
“We hope the government would seriously look for long-term solutions,” he said.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The real remedy is just a little honesty


When facts and figures are distorted and lied about, there will never be a true solution. Imagine being paid below poverty wages by a very large margin, to the point of not even making a profit, but losing, who in his right mind would want to work? This is the reality of the establishment who employ workers in Sabah and Sarawak.

The accusations that Sabahan and Sarawakians just want to enjoy themselves are just blatant lies. Imagine being paid RM300 per month, from 9 am to 9pm, 7 days a week. It happened to my daughter, and also my colleague. Transportation and food alone eats up the wages. Not yet taking into account the transportation. The salary appear reasonable, until you take into account transportation costs. Even international companies like McDonald, paying at RM2 per hour is no exception. Luckily, the McDonald was at walking distance from my house. 

Why the poverty level in Sabah is set at RM1200? Because of the high cost of living. Brought about unfair Federal trade practises, such as monopolies on transportation from Sabah and Peninisular Malaysia, forceful delivery of goods via Port Klang instead of direct flights to Kota Kinabalu, for all shipments by air or sea, when Sabah is actually nearer to Hong Kong than KL or port Klang. It routinely happens to me when I order goods from China. It is much cheaper shipping to Brunei than to Sabah, because the distance is double.

Even road usage is discriminated by building roads that are of so low standards, that maximum tonnage is much lower than in West Malaysia, increasing the cost of transportation even further even within the state. Despite the low cost of transportation from SAbah to West Malaysia, Sabah is discriminated even further by not being allowed to export at all to West Malaysia. It is just so ridiculous as to be preposterous but it is very true.

Despite the huge disparity in poverty, absolutely nothing has been done about it. Only the latest figure of subsidy of RM300 million, in order to balance the cost of goods in Sabah, brought about by Malayan policies. Too little too late. It cannot even lower the price of cement by RM1.  Let alone lowering the price of houses that are already being burdered by lack of infrastructure supported by government. Every thing must be bought by the consumers, from transformers, electric and telephone poles to road junctions even those that are located 1 mile away. With certainly it was at Severy Putatan. AT SMC Damai, not sure but the project was delayed because SMC refused to pay for the  roundabout going into the Hospital, despite SMC being state government owned.

When Sabahans and Sarawakians keep on being silent when lies like this article is thrown at them, accusing them of laziness and greediness.

Sabahans are to be blamed in the end for supporting a government that steal resources from them, the oild revenue, while burdening Sabah with even more unfair and ridiculous policies such as forced transhipment via Port Klang and KLIA, taking over virtually all federal jobs, from office boys to department heads,  and yet given subsidies that are much lower than other much more prosperous states by a large margin than Sabah, by up to 300% poorer but given 300% less subsidy for the poor and now the so called price subsidy of RM300 million. The transport subsidy in one state in Malaya already exceed this amount, without taking into account the blatant discrimination in road carriage standards and restriction of exports from Sabah to Malaya. All for a few ringgit that they get once every 5 years, during election time.

There is no corruption in election, ONLY STUPIDITY.
 

28 September 2012 | last updated at 11:48PM
Remedy lies in better wages, stronger work ethic


SINGAPORE 'JOLT': Sabah and Sarawak governments, bosses need to do more so that local workers won't be lured abroad
Description: John TeoBUSINESSES in Sarawak -- from big plantations, contractors or manufacturers to small and medium-scale enterprises to restaurants and coffee shops -- all share a rather familiar problem: a dearth of local workers, or at least reliable ones.
Jobs go a-begging but employers, often out of sheer desperation, have to resort to looking outside the state to find the requisite workers. Local newspapers in the state are filled not just with job vacancies but advertisers promising a godsend to employers: a ready supply of foreign workers.
That was probably why a community leader said just the other week that the rejection by Singapore of youthful workers from the native communities of both Sarawak and Sabah is a blessing in disguise.
There is something like 30,000-40,000 Sarawakians -- most of them Dayaks -- living in Johor. It is estimated at least half the number actually cross the Causeway each day to work in Singapore. Many of them live in Johor because they have families and they are therefore able to have the best of both worlds: earning in Singapore dollars but enjoying the lower Malaysian cost of living.
There are probably many thousands more of younger Sarawakians employed in unskilled service jobs and actually living in Singapore. They might have been influenced by friends or relatives who tell them of the draw of attractive wages and bright city lights there. In any case, such workers may be following a time-honoured local Dayak tradition of berjalai: seeking employment abroad not so much out of necessity as gaining the opportunity to see and experience a different world.
It seems like such a group of younger Sarawak natives abroad may now be ruining the good name of Sarawak workers in general, if the policy adjustment on hiring Malaysians by Singapore that intentionally or otherwise impacts negatively the hiring of native Sarawakians and Sabahans below the age of 35 tells us anything.
Singapore has always been especially welcoming of Malaysian workers. While some gripe that the island republic is discriminating against natives from the two Borneo states, a little introspection may be useful. Singapore could not have taken this step lightly given its insatiable need for foreign labour and a growing local intolerance towards foreign workers generally there.
Singapore has clearly decided that younger native workers from Sarawak and Sabah are more trouble than they are worth. It may now claim there is no change in policy on hiring foreign workers and that may be true but there is no stopping it not entertaining certain job applicants from both states.
The state governments of Sarawak and Sabah will be doing both states a great service if they proactively take steps to regulate (even perhaps to the extent of actively discouraging, through punitive exit levies, for example) the flow of their workers outside the two states.
In the case of Sarawak, the realisation of the Sarawak Corridor Of Renewal Energy (Score) has already started to bring in its wake thousands of technical skilled and semi-skilled jobs for locals.
The timing of the Singapore "jolt" seems quite fortuitous. Businesses in the two states are currently grappling with the challenge of satisfying the statutory minimum wage recently promulgated by the government. The minimum wage requirement will at least go some way towards addressing workers' complaints about unattractive local wages.
Perhaps far more important -- especially as Sarawak and Sabah face up to the demands made of a modern economy -- is the need to inculcate a stronger work ethic among the work forces in both states.
Employers in both states invariably complain about the reliability of local workers, some of whom seem to have the habit of absenteeism, especially after payment of wages or a festive break. Businesses naturally will suffer if they are susceptible to the whims of individual workers to turn up for work.
It seems rather anachronistic that while both states ostensibly suffer from labour shortages in practically all job categories, even small restaurants seem to be amply staffed with service crews. Hopefully, beginning with the minimum wage, we will see a rationalisation across the board of hiring practices, with fewer workers hired to work more productively and earn higher wages so that the problem of local workers tempted by the lure of ostensibly better wages to work abroad will also sooner solve itself.

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