WARNING! Beware of BN!

Here's a photo from the Jan-17 Kuala Terengganu by-election. It speaks so loudly about Barisian Nasional and why BN lost.

We must tell our children to be always aware of UMNO and Barisan Nasional people whom, at their convenience, can become MESRA GENERASI MUDA or youth-friendly overnight. Only BN can generate instant youth-friendly so-called leaders.

And what does "merakyatkan pembangunan" mean? A phrase coined at BN's whim to suit their situation. Such desparation by pathetic, corrupt people.

BN Always Insults Our Intelligence

Wasn't it Barisan Nasional that raised the price of fuel at the pump? Then who benefited from the handling of the distribution of the fuel rebate? So clever schemes it seems.

Who pays for the e-books? Certainly it is not Barisan Nasional. So why does BN think that taxpayers are so dumb as to believe that BN is so generous? No, BN does not care. This is one of the stupid ways that Barisan Nasional misleads people into believing that goodies such as e-books and low-cost houses are given by BN. Guess who benefits from the contract to supply the e-books.

PPRT - Projek Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin is a project of giving free houses to the poor. The money that pays for the houses does not belong to Barisan Nasional.

The approach of giving handouts such as free food, cash and houses to the poor does not help the poor in the long run. They continue to be dependent on hand-outs. As long as they vote for BN, they will receive hand-outs. That's BN's strategy for making sure that they get votes.

Barisan Nasional Continues It's Disgusting Ways

Screenshot of Star Online report.

The Federal government bans heads of federal agencies from attending official meetings of state governments ruled by Pakatan Rakyat. This is another arrogant and disgusting behaviour of Barisan Nasional leaders. Taxpayers pay government officials to be effective. How can they be effective if they cannot attend official meetings? How can they contribute to the nation's development if they are banned from being involved?

Barisan Nasional must remember that it is taxpayers' money that pay salaries of civil servants, not Barisan Nasional's money.

Barisan Nasional is doing a disservice to the taxpayers and to the rakyat.

How long can we tolerate this arrogance?

BN's Deep Rooted Corruption and Arrogance

UMNO cannot distinguish the difference between an official government function and a political campaign event. Or UMNO's deep-rooted culture of corruption at the highest level works all the time.

During the campaign for the Kuala Terengganu by-election, there were just so many official government functions that were blatantly used by UMNO as political campaign platforms. There were the opening ceremony of the MARDI office, the opening ceremony of the SMIDEC office, the launching of the Projek Pemindahan Penduduk, the oil royalty cheque handing ceremony and many more. There were Barisan Nasional and UMNO flags at all the events. The speeches by the officials, the Ministers and Deputy Ministers were all election campaign speeches.

Government cars were used to ferry UMNO officials during nomination day and through out the campaign. Function or event expenses such as rental of equipments, meals , hotels, etc were charged to the various government departments and state-owned companies.

All schools in Kuala Terengganu organized ceremahs or jamuan mesra and compelled parents to come. Some parents were disgusted and felt belittled that they had to take their time away to come to their children's schools only to listen to hours of stupid, intelligence-insulting campaign speeches.

This government car in the picture was ferrying UMNO official during election day.

Subtle Bribery by Barisan Nasional

Eat my cake and vote for me.

By the way, the cake was baked, packed and distributed using taxpayers' money and money taken in some unethical ways.

Now, is the cake halal?

KT By-Election Carnival

It's a carnival. General election, state election or by-election - the atmosphere is always like it's a big festival / carnival.

BN's 200 Buses of Unproductive Citizens

Is this a bus depot? No. This is the Masjid Terapung or the floating mosque of Kuala Terengganu situated in Kuala Ibai.

On nomination day of the Kuala Terengganu by-election, more than 110 buses were parked on the compound of the beautiful mosque. Elsewhere, all over Kuala Terengganu, there were even more buses. I counted over 200 buses that morning. The buses brought in Barisan Nasional supporters from all over the country. They were mostly members of UMNO, Wanita UMNO, Pemuda UMNO and Puteri UMNO.

And they all did not look like they paid for their fares. These are the UMNO hangers-on, leeches, suckers, ass polishes seeking favours, handouts and contracts. Or just free rides to a place where they could not afford to go on their own.

On that nomination day, there was massive traffic jam - unprecedented. The massive number of policemen could do nothing to minimize the lost productivity of the day. Thousands were late for work and businesses, except the eateries and keropok lekor stalls did not do well.

The Silence of Sarawak MPs and ADUNs is Deafening

It is deafening! That is, the silence of Sarawak's Members of Parliament and Members of the State Assembly on the issue of the use of the word "Allah" in the Herald newspaper. Our Sarawak Barisan Nasional MPs and ADUNS are so afraid to speak up on this issue, not even the Christians ones.

This is such an important issue that touches the sentiments of minorities. My dear YBs, why are you so afraid? Are you not even more afraid that you will not be elected again?

Source: The Star Online

Rakyat suffers but Taib celebrate

In Bau,Serian and most parts of Sarawak, thousands of ordinary folks braces for the onslaught of the flood and related hardships. Most in the brink of distitute where temperorily evacuation centres were crowded.
General Tan Sri George, as Chairman of the Disaster Relief Committee promised all were set should there be flood or such eventuality. But i saw no personnel from his committee or agencies under his command at the worst hit areas such as major roads and kampongs where assistance were most needed.

Did you know that every time Sarawak got hit by disaster, Taib would either be celebrating or holidaying overseas.The last time Sarawak was hit by haze, Taib was holidaying overseas and this time around when Sarawak got hit by flood, Taib celebrated his wedding anniversary lavishly in an exclusive hotel in Kuching.

One's indulgence and others sufferings...How do we Sarawakian like this?

Speech by Pkr's co'ordinator for bidayuh cummunity...Mr.Granda Aing

I stand here before you tonite as PKR's co'ordinator for the bidayuh community.
As such, i will confine my address to the feelings and aspirations of the bidayuh as a community within sarawak and malaysia as a whole.How do the bidayuh feel about their present situation and what do they expect for the future?

To be honest, we the bidayuh feel that, we have enjoyed some fruit of development, but at the same time we feel that what we get is a pittance, the crumbs left by others.

We also feel that we have been discriminated against, particularily in relation to another bumiputra community which is being treated with special favour. We are told by our leaders in BN that we are a united community but the reality is they have actually divided us among all the BN component parties.

As a result of the inadequate and discriminatory treatment accorded to us through this divide and rule policy we feel increasingly marginalized.

The state govt boasts a lot about its development achievement, but let me tell you, many villages in the bidayuh areas, most of them not far from Kuching, are still without some basic infrastructures. Some still do not have proper road access. Some still do not have pipi water. Some still do not have electricity. And some still have none of all three...road, pipe water and electricity. Some of the development projects in the bidayuh areas which were supposed to bring a lot of participation from and benifits, to the community ended up as a total farce.

The Borneo Heights, for example, was supposed to provide a lot of employment to the bidayuh. But not so many bidayuh are being employed there and those that are being employed there are offered only the lowest level job, worst still, the project which was to attract a lot of foreign tourists, to play golf mainly, is now only a place where the rich display their wealth, with their big concrete houses in the middle of the jungle. But the bidayuh who owned the land on where the project stand have lost their land forever.

In Mambong, the bidayuh in the area were similarily promised job opportunities from the clinker plant that's been built in the area. They were also promised that they would not suffer from the pollution that would arise from the plant as adequate measures would be taken to prevent such eventuality. But now the people in the villages near the plant have to literally shut their doors and windows against the dust coming from the plant. Instead of benifitting from these project they have become it's victims.As if that is not enough,Mambong was also choosen as the site for a rubbish dump for Kuching rubbish. Why Mambong? Surely there are better sites nearer to kuching.

In Bau, the mining of gold at Tasik Biru has turned the once beautiful lake, which used to be the town,s major tourist spot and the place to swim turned into a lake of mercury. With so much mercury being poured into the lake by the mining company involved it is now a health hazard to swim in it. The notice by the lake warn you of such danger.How much dit the mining operation benifit the bidayuh in the area? Your guess is as good as mine.. the promise to rehabilitate the lake remain a promise.

In the dam project in Bengoh, to provide water for Kuching, which supposedly will need more water in the future, four bidayuh villages will have to be relocated.The government has promised adequate compensation and that it will take care of the people involved. But the villages who had been relocated to make way for the Batang Ai dam and the Bakun dam have all ended up much worse than when they were staying at their old longhouses. Can the bidayuh people who will be relocated as a result of the Bengoh dam end up any better? I think the answer is obvious. Indeed, the government itself has already provided part of the answer. Only recently it was reported to have given out one part of the compensation, for the land that will be affected. On average each family was reported to have been given Rm79,000.00.
Considering the amount of land involved, the amount is really pittance.With the present cost of living we can easily envisage where these people will really end up, in the slump. But a more pertinent question than that of compensation is why should the dam be built there at all. If indeed Kuching need more water, can we not built multiole dam involving other rivers within the region. The Bengoh dam will not only wipe out one of the most beautiful rivers i have ever seen but it will also wipe out part of the bidayuh heritage, in particular those bamboo bridges which crosses the river in various parts. I do not know whether the government has taken these fectors into consideration but what is true is that the company concerned must have found the project very financially attractive..It had rush into starting it,s operation even before any compensation was paid for the land and property involved.

On SALCRA(Sarawak land consolidation and rehabilitation Authority), a project in which quite a number of bidayuh have surrendered their land for the plantation of palm oil.The Sarawak state minister concerned recently proudly proclaimed the benifits(dividen) from the scheme that been given out to the participants.But in actual fact these dividens are nothing at all to boast about.Dividing the total amount being paid out by the total number of participating families, on the average each family gets only ringgit Malaysia ninety (RM90) per month.. which is way below the national poverty level. By just keeping his land idle, the owner could get about the same amount if not more through appreciation of value etc.

I could go on and cite other projects that are supposed to be undertaken for the benifit of the bidayuh. I would like to highlight another feeling and concerned of the bidayuh...that is, the feeling of being treated as a second class indigenous people of sabah and sarawak. Infact the bidayuh need the assistance provided under the NEP more than their malay counterparts as they are infact in a more disadvantages position compared to the latter.They have less experience in commerce and industry and acquired modern education at a later date then the malays. But still we are only asking for our due share, no more.

Our land, which is increasingly becoming more sub urban is left largely unsurveyed, making our land and our rights to the land vulnerable to the design of greedy and corrupt BN leaders. The reasons which the BN government give for refusing to survey our land and issue documents of tittle insult our intellegence but none of our leaders in BN ever spoke for us.

The bidayuh cummunity has made some advanvement, in certain fields more than others, but i have to say that on the whole they are still lagging quite far behind particularily when compared with our more advance communities. Thier future are not very encouraging. Bidayuh are not even a third class bumiputra.As we all know bumiputra are accorded certain privileges especially under the New Economic Policy.
But except to the blind or those who choose to be so, the implementation of the NEP has been carried out in a very discriminatory manner against the non muslim indigenous people of Sarawak and Sabah in every feild, be it the extending of loan for business, the allocation of scholarships, allocation of places at the institutions of higher learning, position in civil service, the military and the police, the bidayuh and the other non muslim bumiputeras has not been given their just and fair share.It is as if there is a deleberate move to marginilize them, which is contrary to the public pronouncements of the government. Such a move, i submit, is not only unjust and unfair but it is totally uncalled for and unwise.
The bidayuh like other race need not be an expert to come to this conclusion. Just observe the bidayuh in Kuching, you will find them everywhere, the restaurant, the shop, the hotel, petrol station and car repair shop. But whereever they are, most of them are employed in low ranking jobs. These young boys and girls will end up marrying their counterpart in similar positions. It needs little imagination to see where they will end up in the economic ladder. In other words, the bidayuh are likely to be increasingly marginalized. The trend could accelerate as they loose more of their land, their main economic asset, through acquisition by the government in the name of development or because of unilateral sale to meet essential expenses such as their childrens university fees.

Now, i would like to say some word on the bidayuh political position.
We have six members of the Dewan Undangan Negeri and three members of the Dewan Rakyat. One of the main questions to raise is whether the number of our representative adequately represent us. The answer is very clear if you look at the electoral seats available and the number of electorates in them.But more important is the question of participation of our representatives.How active and effective have they been? On both counts the answer sadly is the negative. News reported during one session of the Dewan Undangan Negeri last year not even one of the bidayuh representative made any speech.What are the reasons behind such reticence? We can only speculate. It could have been a lack of interest on the subjects under discussion, it could have been a lack of adequate knowledge on the subject under discussion, or it could have been the fear of speaking out of tune with the boss. Whatever be the reasons what is clear is that the bidayuh representatives and political figures as a whole has not been effective in articulating bidayuh feelings, concerns snd aspirations...which is why i am raising this tonight.

After forty five years of independence, the bidayuh have made some advancement, but it is far from enough particularily when compared with the progress made by other communities. The measures undertaken by BN government have tendered to marginalized the bidayuh.

It make promised and poise pronouncements but seldom keep them or adhere to them.The BN in becoming more and more corrupt and inert, cannot bring about the required change that needs to take place if we are to further advance.
Only a party that is truly committed to justice and fairness and transparency will be able to bring about a true Malaysia where each community however small will have itsdue share of the national cake and a voice in the deliberation of its national affairs...That party is PKR and its partners in the Pakatan Rakyat.
We rely on such party and government to lead us into the 21st century.

Before i close since i am speaking on behalf of the Bidayuh community, i would like to request two things:-

1. That Bidayuh should have adequate representation at our party highest decission making body(mpt) as this will ensure that our voices are adequately heard and that the party will know our feelings and aspirations.

2. That we are united under one common platform(PKR) and it is important that in any elections(parliamentary or state) all the Bidayuh majority seats be contested by PKR.


NOW THE TIDE HAS CHANGE- NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE BIDAYUH TO USE THEIR VOTE FOR A CHANGE.