Friday, February 27, 2009

UMNO's Pack of Wild Dogs Attack an Invalid


On Thursday, 26-Feb-2009, a pack of UMNO's wild dogs in the form of Umno Youth members confronted the wheelchair-bound Karpal Singh and was prevented from entering Parliament.

The mob's criminal intent and intrusion into the august House of Parliament can be construed as treason of the highest order as they have not only invaded the physical space of the honourable Speaker and Members of Parliament but more significantly, the physical guardian of the Federal Constitution and everything that it stands for.

When these people defend their ketuanan and adab, the sovereignty of their Rulers, the Malay language and Islam, don’t they realise that they themselves must be exemplary in upholding all of these?

Do they remember at all that Islam and Malay adat is full of urgings for us to show good behaviour at all times?

When we accuse others of derhaka and treason against the Sultan, are we aware that the House of Parliament is the rightful abode of our constitutional monarchy, and to invade this sacrosanct space is more serious than demonstrating outside the Sultan’s istana?

We are a lot wiser than to vote for Barisan Nasional who are made up of gangsters like these mobs.

The following are excerpts from The Star about the incident:

The MCA has hit out at the Umno Youth members who confronted Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP chairman Karpal Singh in Parliament, calling such behaviour unacceptable.

The party’s information and communication bureau chairman Lee Wei Kiat said such physical intimidation “destroys our country’s image in the international stage”, and called for respect to be shown to Parliament.

“Any kind of behaviour or mob rule which forcibly prevents the MPs from entering Parliament not only offends the rakyat but is also an affront against the country’s democratic system, rule of law and also to voters,” he said in a statement.

Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng also condemned the Umno Youth members who confronted Karpal Singh, saying the incident was “embarrassing and disgusting.”

He said Umno had tarnished Malaysia’s image and called for stern action to be taken against the group.

Lim, who is also Bagan MP, said he appreciated that Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing had apologised over the incident, but felt it was only right that Umno should do so too.

Police have described the scuffle between Umno Youth members and some opposition Members of Parliament at Parliament House as a serious breach of security.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz tabled a motion under Standing Order 80A on Thursday night, saying that the eight-man investigation committee chaired by Pandikar would take appropriate action against those committing contempt against the House.

Earlier that day, Karpal Singh proposed in the Dewan that the House issue a warrant of arrest against Serdang Umno Youth chief Ungku Mat Salleh and Gombak Umno Youth chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin to be brought before the House to explain why they should not be imprisoned under the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act.

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia said it was the first time that the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act is being invoked to set up an investigative committee for parliamentary contempt. Pandikar Amin said this had never happened before and veteran MP Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) concurred.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Batang Ai By-Election


Our time is now. The upcoming Batang Ai state by-election will see a new battleground for PKR, but a most familiar terrain for PKR Lubok Antu divison pro tem chairman Nicholas Bawin.

Batang Ai is one of the state seats in the Lubok Antu parliamentary constituency. About 95% of the electorate in Batang Ai is Iban, most of them farmers.

Bawin, a former Sarawak National Party (SNAP) vice-president, has contested twice in Batang Ai. In the last state elections in 2006, he secured 2,489 votes, losing to Unting by 806 votes in a straight fight.

Bawin stood as an independent in Lubok Antu in last year’s general election, obtaining 5,159 votes but lost to Barisan’s William Nyallau, who polled 6,769 votes.

Bawin, who hails from the Nanga Tutong longhouse in Batang Ai, is the most qualified person to lead the people Batang Ai and to bring about the overdue change of government in Sarawak.

Screenshot of The Star Online

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Our Failed Education System


The Malaysian education system, evidently, has been deteriorating over the past 20 years. While exam scores have been on the uptrend, the quality of college and university graduates entering the job market has been on the decline. The number of university graduates that are unable to find jobs is an alarm signalling the decline in quality. A research done by a major management consulting firm found that only 11% of Malaysian graduates are employable by multinational companies. Most common weaknesses of our graduates include lack of communication skills, poor critical thinking and problem-solving skills, poor attitude towards work and possess weak ethics and integrity.

There has been significant money and effort spent to improve the Malaysian education system, such as the Malaysian Smart Schools project, the roll out of the National Education Blueprint and the implementation of the Cluster Schools concept. However, these have failed to bring about improvements to our children’s education beyond scoring straight “A”s.

As the Malaysian education system fails, Sarawak is falling behind in preparing our children for jobs, college and for life. When our education system fails, it brings down with it, all the foundations of a strong nation. Rampant corruption all along the government delivery system is the result of an education system that fails to develop individuals of high integrity. The lack of new indigenous technology, products and services that are developed in Sarawak, by Sarawakians shows that our education system has failed to develop thinking, creative, entrepreneurial individuals. The absence of emphasis on arts, humanity and sports in our education system has short-changed the overall development of our young.

These and many more failures of the current government continue to suppress progress and will continue to ensure that our beloved Sarawak lags behind all other states and nations. The failed administration of the current government continues to ensure that Sarawak will forever depend on the federal government for development aid and that many talented Sarawakians will continue to seek high-value jobs elsewhere as none are available locally.

We are anxious about our children’s future. We worry that they could become the first generation of Sarawakians to see their children do worse than they did. We remember that when we were all growing up, our parents knew that if they pushed us to study and work hard, the universities would be open to us and we could get any job we wanted. But today, parents in kampongs and towns all over Sarawak are losing that hope - they're losing the sense that their children will be able to prosper in the global economy.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Najib just bought DBNA for RM4 mil


A few days ago, Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, gave RM4 million to the Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA). The Sarawak state election is coming soon. Before this, Najib would not have known the existence of people called the Bidayuhs. It is very, very rare that DBNA gets any funding from the federal or state government.

Yesterday, the state government gave RM3.5 million to Bidayuhs in Kampong Opar, Bau. Bidayuhs in Serikin, Bau received RM2.5 million.

RM4 million the price of Bidayuh votes. Bau Bidayuhs cost RM3.5 million. A PKR state assemblyman in Perak costs RM10 million.

That's how cheap Bidayuh vote is. This is an insult to the Bidayuh that cannot be forgiven.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Stateless Sarawakians - Gov't Can't Help


According to State Social Development and Urbanisation Minister Datuk William Mawan, there were "tens of thousands" of Sarawakian natives who were without ICs or personal identification documents.

The federal government has promised to help resolve the long outstanding problem of many "stateless" Sarawakian natives. During a dialogue session with the BN's elected representatives and leaders at Kuching Hilton on Thursday, 12-Feb-2009, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said he would bring up the matter at the cabinet meeting to get the relevant ministry to act.

He said the ministry concerned would have to find out if elected representatives and community leaders could help to certify the status of stateless Sarawakians in their applications for MyKad.

Mawan said the SPDP would compile details of the problem and bring them up at the Barisan management committee meeting.

This is so amazing!!! Taib Mahmud and his cronies are too busy enriching themselves that they need Najib to resolve issues that have been in their backyard for almost half a century. And Mawan is only about to compile the details of the problem. Why only NOW?