Friday, September 26, 2008



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: The Star Online

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Analysis: Anwar's New Malaysia


Analysis: Anwar's New Malaysia (Part 1)

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim shares his vision of a new Malaysia and says "Patriotism, and I will include here racial politics, is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

Accountability, transparency, good governance, the need to eradicate corruption, cronyism, and nepotism--these are the values of Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s ‘reformasi’ (social reform) agenda.

Speaking about them has been his platform for the last ten years, for which he has endured a lot.

His words have lit a spark in the people of Malaysia, as a younger generation--free from the fears that plagued the older generation--with access to knowledge and information, began to take his words to heart.

They were exposed to the ways of the world, and saw in his words a hope that was exhilarating in its audacity of promises. The world was passing Malaysia by, and the need for change--for the basic reason of adapting to the changing world--was becoming imperative. Today, the desire for change has grown stronger, as the seeds that Dato’ Seri Anwar’s words planted in people’s hearts 10 years ago have germinated and blossomed.

And in this exclusive interview with Passions magazine, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim shares with us his vision for a new Malaysia.

New economic agenda

Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s words are a refreshing change from the talk of race and religion that is seemingly the wont of so many political personalities in the country. Instead of beating about the old communalist bush, he spoke issues--economic, social, and political issues that affect all Malaysians regardless of colour and creed.

It was therefore apt, considering the current global and local economic climate, that the first thing he spoke about was his New Economic Agenda, which promises to bring about a seismic shift in the Malaysian economic climate. A shift, perhaps, for the better. But are Malaysians and Malaysia ready for such a change?

For Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the question is a no-brainer. As he puts it, "Malaysia has been stuck with an obsolete economic programme, which has led to the loss of competitiveness, the diminishing attractiveness of the nation for foreign investments, which is further worsened by the lack of transparency, accountability, and good governance." The answer to such a "malaise", he puts it, "is to embark on a New Malaysian Economic Agenda, based on market economic principles and driven by Malaysians working together to enhance economic competitiveness. All Malaysians," he said with conviction, "must play a part and be part of this new direction."

And thus he makes no bones about it. "Obsolete policies have to go." And to him, one of the biggest epitomes of a failed and obsolete policy is none other than the New Economic Policy or NEP.

As he puts it, "We need to promote growth, and that can only happen if we are seen to be a market-driven economy." But will scrapping the NEP bring about a doomsday scenario for the Malay community, as so many of the policy’s adherents claim? Definitely not. Because as Dato’ Seri Anwar told us, "market growth is not a zero-sum game at the expense of the poor and the marginalized.

But instead of a race-based affirmative action policy, what we should have is a needs-based policy. In doing so, the majority of the Malays will still be taken care of, and at the same time so too would the needy and marginalized among the other communities in the country, such as the Indian estate workers."

For him, the path is clear. "Economic growth and competitiveness," he told, "come hand-in-hand with good governance, the rule of law, and a free media. I do not believe that such an agenda is the concern of the present ruling establishment, although there have sometimes been some platitudes towards that direction from the establishment."

Nevertheless, to him, the Old Guard are the progeny of failed policies, which is why he believes that it important to "transform the nation and at the same time ensure that the transition is smooth and stable so as to garner hope for all Malaysians."

A new Malaysia

What Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim wants to bring about then is a Malaysian agenda. Of course some parties might be reluctant to see that come into fruition and have appealed to baser instincts such as race and religion to create a platform against him. However, as Dato’ Seri Anwar so nicely puts it--paraphrasing from Samuel Johnson--"Patriotism, and I will include here racial politics, is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

To answer his detractors, he had this to say, "I am a Malay. A very committed and concerned Malay. But I cannot see my relevance if I cannot think as a true Malaysian, and show enough concern for the welfare of all Malaysians"

Wise words indeed, and again it is a sign of how wonderfully refreshing his words are to even the most jaded of ears. Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim talks Malaysia first and foremost. However, he proudly states that he is very much pro-Malay, in a sense where it really matters - in the sense of being competitive and of being able to be proud of their achievements because they know they had earned it in merit.

And this is why he said, "I am convinced that pursuing an obsolete agenda, including race-based politics will ultimately lead, not just to a breakdown of the social fabric, but will adversely affect the morale, confidence and resolve of the Malays." Here he hits the nail right on the head. It is popular to talk about how unfair race-based policies in Malaysia are to the non-Malay communities. Yet the biggest victims of the policies are ironically the very people they try to help.

The real Malay dilemma

He asks, "How many non-bumiputra can understand and appreciate the feelings of self-doubt that has been engendered by being told for two generations that you are not capable of standing up on your own two feet, that your achievements are not based on merit alone but on other more insidious factors? How terribly confidence-sapping it must be to have such thoughts always hovering in the background like a nagging doubt at the back of the head."

"Take my daughter for example," he offered by way of illustrating his point, "she is currently studying mathematics in Georgetown University in the United States. And she is happy because she knows that she managed to get in because of what she did and not because she happens to be of the right race."

"I want to bring about that sense of confidence in the Malays through the New Economic Agenda," he said. "Now, at the same time, we would need--at first--to reassure the Malays that they would not be marginalized by it. And this is important because for the past 30 years, they have been subjected to incessant propaganda, which tells that without the NEP they would not be able to survive."

Hope in the new generation

A new Malaysia such as the one that Dato’ Anwar Ibrahim hopes to bring about would mean having what he calls, "A new generation of leaders." He is hopeful and confident about the future, noting "the younger generation of Malay Malaysians are rejecting the politics of fear, race, and religion." But there is still work to be done, and as he pointed out, "How we view issues like religion, culture, language, and education is still important.

Therefore within the Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance--the combined Opposition forces in Malaysia) leadership, we have already spelt out a clear agenda. And this is based on the Constitution, where Islam is the religion of the Federation with guaranteed freedom of practice for other religions. Because Malaysia is a multi-religious nation, and we cannot have and should not have had high-handed and unjust incidents such as the demolishing of temples."

Dato’ Seri Anwar’s licence to speak about economic affairs comes in part from his previous role as the Finance Minister of the country. So too by being the former Education Minister, he is qualified to speak on matters of education.

And this is an area where he sees a great and urgent need for change, especially when one takes into consideration the fact that the education system is the one that shapes the future leaders of Malaysia.

Being a true Malaysian, he is adamant about the importance of the national language. "As a developing nation," he said, "it is important to have a national language and everyone should be encouraged to be proficient in Bahasa Malaysia. But we should not do this at the expense of English."

"We should," he emphasised, "be committed to enhancing the proficiency of English in Malaysians because it is the international language of business and trade. Otherwise Malaysia will lose out in economic and human development."

"Take for example Indonesia and Thailand," he said. "Back in the 1960s, they were far inferior to Malaysia in terms of English proficiency. But today they are catching up and in some ways have even surpassed us." Dato’ Seri Anwar has no doubts about the direction that is needed.

"We need to have more serious efforts in the teaching of English in Malaysian schools. We cannot afford to continue on in the haphazard and directionless manner of today," he said with firm determination in his voice.

Furthermore, the importance of the languages of the other communities in Malaysia such as Mandarin and Tamil should not be underestimated. It is as he said, "Mandarin is no longer just the language of the Chinese in Malaysia. It has become a very important economic language of the region." He brings up the example of the universities in the UK where elective language subjects are usually Mandarin or Spanish.

Source: The 28 August 2008 edition of www.malaysiakini.com. This second part of this analysis, titled “Good Leadership and Good governance” will be published soon. The above article first appeared in the August edition of Passions magazine.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Malaysian Economic Agenda Set to Propel Growth

Malaysian Economic Agenda Set to Propel Growth

Anwar Ibrahim says that with a resounding victory in the March 8th elections, KeADILan (Justice Party) is set to begin implementation of its economic agenda which will stimulate economic growth, attract foreign investment and ensure that marginalised and poor communities receive adequate attention and support from the government.

--(PR.com)-- KeADILan’s economic agenda received a resounding mandate on March 8th when Malaysians went to the polls and quadrupled the number of seats held by the opposition in Parliament, awarding us with 50% of the seats in West Malaysia. After a decade of economic mismanagement, unchecked inflation in recent years and lagging competitiveness vis-a-vis Malaysia’s neighbours, we are confident that under our leadership and working closely with our partners, we will begin to implement policies to ensure a stronger and more vibrant economy in Malaysia.

Looking to the future, the coalition, using its control of five key states, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan, will implement business-friendly, free-market policies to stimulate growth, attract foreign investment and promote greater accountability and transparency in business dealings.

One of our priorities in the upcoming weeks will be to initiate dialogues with the foreign investment community already present in Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan to ensure investor confidence remains strong during the transition period and also to identify areas of concern that our new governments will address in enhancing and improving their operations and performance in Malaysia.

Our no-tolerance policy on corruption will have a major impact in reducing transaction costs and building confidence in small and medium enterprise. We also plan to divorce government employees from doing business with the government thereby reducing incentives for cronyism and insider deals which are plaguing the current administration.

The Malaysian Economic Agenda which was a cornerstone of KeADILan’s election promises can be implemented at the state level to reduce race-based affirmative action policies and begin to implement a more competitive, merit based system. This will immediately increase foreign investment, improve the state’s tax revenue and begin to promote more equity and income parity. Furthermore we will honour our promise to protect the marginalized from each ethnic community.

The unexpected margin of our victory caught the nation and the region by surprise. A short term adjustment in the KLSE and weakening of the Ringgit is expected but will not persist unless Barisan Nasional chooses to pursue a regressive policy of punishment, and withholds its commitments for development allocations to the now opposition controlled states. We would warn Barisan Nasional however, that doing so will further alienate its position with the people.

Anwar Ibrahim

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Barisan Bersatu Sarawak Declaration




To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto Pages 20 - 23




To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto Pages 17 - 19





To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto Pages 9 to 12






PKR Manifesto pages 9 - 12. To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto Pages 13 - 16






PKR Manifesto pages 13 - 16. To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto Pages 5 to 8






PKR Manifesto pages 5 - 8. To view, please click on the image.

PKR Manifesto







To view, click on the image.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Right of The Wealthy To Encroach Into Native Land



The timber and oil palm tycoons continue to indiscriminately grab land that rightly belong to the Sarawak natives. They earn huge amount of wealth from the land.

In times of crisis, such as when fire razes the natives' longhouse, it's the NGOs and church groups who are first responders offering much needed aid and relief. The towkays, timber companies and the political organizations are the last to come with aid. That is, if they ever do.

We all know that the right to encroach into the natives' land is given by the top Sarawak executive.

Life is about choices. The right choices at that. The choice to change the status quo.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Borneo Project

In their own words, one Iban Dayak community tells the story of their ten year struggle to protect traditional farms, orchards and primary forest reserves from discrimination and seizure by the Sarawak State government without due process of law or compensation.

The community is appealing that decision in Federal Court, the highest court of Malaysia. The Federal Court must decide what does or does not constitute “sufficient evidence” and “occupation” for native customary land rights claims in Malaysia, especially primary forest reserves used for hunting, gathering, fishing, medicinal plants and rattans. This decision will set an extremely important precedent for hundreds of indigenous communities across the country that are currently fighting for rights to their ancestral lands, especially forests. Learn more on the Borneo Project website.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

George Chan Admits




Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said, “. . . rural areas in Sarawak are far behind the other states in terms of even the most basic facilities.”

Thanks for being frank, at last, Minister. Now, can you explain how that has come about while you and the Taib Mahmud dynasty are wealthier and wealthier? All the timber wealth that have been extracted from the land for over two and a half decades could have gone into building the most basic infrastructure for the people. Where did the wealth go - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Swiss Bank?

Monday, September 1, 2008

Anggun




On the lighter side, my favourite singer.

Anggun Cipta Sasmi (born April 29, 1974, in Jakarta) is an Indonesian singer/songwriter with French citizenship. Her name means “grace born of a dream” in Bali.

Having already had tremendous success in her homeland Indonesia since she was 12, she decided to pursue an international career and left Indonesia in 1995, when she was only 21. After a year in London, she settled in Paris, France and met producer Erick Benzi, who later helped her sign a record deal with Sony Music France and recorded her first French album, Au Nom de la Lune, in 1996. The album was released in 1997 and spawned a hit single, “La neige au Sahara.” She re-recorded the album in English and it produced her biggest worldwide hit single to date, “Snow on the Sahara.” Watch it here:




Britney Spears