Selasa, 14 Oktober 2008

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OF BIBLICAL ISRAELIS..

By Mario Rozario

I invite you to a brief history of the children of Israel based on Biblical facts (which according to some in this list is ancient literature) !!
First of all as difficulet as it may seem to believe - its true, while some of us may claim that we all may not be created equal - in God's sight, the almighty clearly has his preferences.
Its stated very clearly in the Bible too -
"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."
- Deuteronomy 7:6
God makes a covenant with Abraham to make Israel a great nation. The 12 tribes are created and soon begin to spread, sometime down the line a coat of 7 colours lands up in Egypt and becomes a Prince, his family soon become become royalty to the Pharaoh's.
Soon however, the tide turns and the large number of Israelites in Egypt are now a threat, so they are taken into slavery for 400 years for reasons unknown to them.
For 400 years Jehovah who promises he would make them a nation does nothing, but sit in silence. Then all of a sudden he rises up Moses and brings 10 plagues on this great civilization and culture and destroys their armies !!
One would have hoped that a God of love would have at least brought this leader "Moses" or anyone else centuries earlier, and spared the generations of Israelites all the pain and maybe even perhaps brought an end to the conflict in a more appropriate way!!
But No - the scholars will tell you this is all part of Gods plan .. after 400 years all we see are Fireworks .. 10 plagues .. swarms of locusts, reddening of seas, hailstorms and finally deaths of the firstborn.
Was all this really merited?? The negative impact this had was - centuries of Israel's children spent in slavery - the positive impact was that now - they had God on their side - so they are invincible !!
Next - they cross the wilderness in one of the biggest documented acts of pillaging in their times. They Plunder the desert tribes of the Amelikites, Midianites, Moabites and other desert tribes who used to consider the desert as their territory !!
These tribesmen were obviously there first because the Israelites were never tribesman roaming th desert. This was their territory, their domain and they had every riht to defecd it especially from a huge group of invading Jews ..
but aaah !! the chosen Israelites along with the help of their God invaded these people and slaughtered them .. all because he wanted to prepare them for the Promised land ...
From there they move on to Canaan, the land flowing with Milk and Honey, but its occupied by giants .. so Joshua and Caleb tell the Israelites that its good but since the Israelites are scared of the size of th Cananites - they will now get punished - which means - more sojourning aimlessly across the desert for 40 years .. for the Israelites and more wars with desert tribes !!!
Finally years later they finally move into their home in Canaan, destroying the Canaanites. This is the right thing to do - because the land was given to them .. so everybody else .. OUT !!!
From them on their relationship with Jehovah takes many twists and turns, Saul enters the fray, then David, then come the Philistines (whom we today call the Palestinians) .. these folk seem to have an undending problem with the Jews .. and in the old testament they seem to have the upper hand depending upon how well the Jews are in Jehovah's sight.
Warriors like Samson the Nazarene and Goliath make good hollywood films.
Then God's patience wanes and he suddenly looses it with the Israelites - they get carried away to Babylon, and his wrath is so much that Israel is burned. However, since it was burned and no one had occupied it, they rebuild their country a century later .. and reclaim their lost culture.
Then come the Romans nd occupy them !! The comes Jesus the messiah of love and preaches the words of love - No - the Jews want a warrior - someone who could take them to war - an equivalent of the hawk Donald Rumsfield .. who could only talk about war war and war ..
Soon after Jesus death Palestine revolts and rebellion breaks out !! War follows and decades later Tiberius sacks Jerusalem and drives them out !! The Jews are now scattered all over the world. The Philistines happily come in and occupy the vacancies over time ..
Then suddenly, the holocaust occurs - the outpouring is so great !! How Horrible .. how wicked .. Adolph Ratzinger (ooops sorry) - Adolph Hitler is evil !! 6 Million Jews gassed (by any standard its cruelty).
Slowly, the Jews all start to return to what was once their home, and they are outflanked and outnumbered !! They soon stave off a series of surprise attacks on them by all their Arab neighbours and then begin to re-establish themselves !!
Now - they are back in their promised land .. so - whoever is here - gotta GO OUT !!
A letter to the Palestinians by the returning Jews 30 years ago would have looked like this
Dear Philistines (Palestinians)
- you took very good care of our land whilst we were away, now u may kindly leave and live in the refugee camps in Gaza. No!! Sorry, we were here first .. you arrived here like scavengers after the Romans threw us out ..
No !! No !! Now - get out !! We are the Chosen ones Biblically !!! You weren't!! Tough luck - and now - get out !!
What?? You want Jerusalem?? How dare you?? No we do not believe in Christianity nor Christ - but just to spite you, we would hang on to Jerusalem !!! Yes - Oh wait !! there is the wailing wall there - which is important to us - so we cannot give it up!!


OF SLAVE MENTALITY... SARAWAK'S DAYAKS NEED HIGH VOLTAGE JOLT...

IF the Dayaks (at least the voters) didn't have a slave mentality, they would have voted for a system of checks-and-balances, democracy, public accountability,and transparency and not vote in, like political morons, the same political dynasty for the last 40 years.

What do you call that, if not slavery? A slave mentality is worse than a yesman mentality. It's demeaning and humiliating the Dayaks who are registered as voters and bother to vote.

There are many who don't register and even if they register, they don't bother to vote. Yet others don't even have personal documents and can rightly be considered stateless.

When some people in KL started whining and moaning about ketuanan Melayu (what they actually mean is ketuanan Umnoputra) did any Dayak say anything? That's another example of a slave mentality.

How can you impose ketuanan Melayu on Sarawak, the sacred land ofthe Dayaks since time immemorial?

Slaves generally don't break out of their slavery because when a smart slave is plotting freedom for all, some of the other slaves would carry tales to the master. The master of course would make an example of the errant slave, for example by lynching him in front of his fellow slaves (and probably raping all the women in his family to stamp out his genes) and eventually letting him bleed to death.

That would be the end of the freedom movement among the slaves for perhaps another 50 years. Another example of the slave mentality among the Dayaks is their low literacy levels, especially among the Ibans, the miserable number of university graduates among them and their self-imposed lack of access to newspapers and the Internet.

On top of this, they are weak not only in English and Malay but also their own mother tongue and math and science. Don't talk about going into business when youcan't count.

Finally, what takes the cake is the legendary aversionof the Dayaks to have anything to do with books,reading, learning, studying or even thinking. No Malaysian is as lazy as a Dayak when it comes to studying. That's proven in the statistics. Don't complain about the lack of books etc. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Abraham Lincoln had only one book but he mastered that book, went on to study law and became a great president of the United States who fought a war to free the slaves. As long as the Dayaks consider books as their mortal enemies, they would continue to be drawers of waterand hewers of wood for other communities.

Other people have embraced the concept of lifelong learning in this era of globalisation to stay relevant and productive all their life. Meanwhile, Dayak graduates don't touch even a single book after getting their paper qualifications which become useless in less than five years.

Why can't Dayak parents start learning all over again on their own when their children are born? Is it more important to sit in front of the TV all the time or indulge in other time-wasting pursuits and vices? Every Dayak parent should tutor his or her own kids at home.

This is possible if you start studying again the moment they are born and continue studying alongside them. You don't have to be a genius to know what is in the books at the school level. Even an Orang Utan can do it.The Dayaks are slowly losing their land and with it their independence and their "maruah" (dignity).

The day that no Dayak has even a small plot of land left, the yoke of slavery would have completely descended on them and crushed them mercilessly. Daniel Tajem was right when he said on the sidelines of the recent (Dec 28 & 29) PKR Congress (in Shah Alam)that the most important goal of the Dayak community should be to get back all the land which had been seized from them under one pretext or another since independence.

This is not only one Dayak who is thinking but thinking the right things and having big thoughts.The Dayaks know about the miserable fate of the Indians on the estates in Peninsular Malaysia.

Nothing good ever happened to the estate Indians in the last200 years. It's the misery of the estate Indians that resulted in the birth of Hindraf. Yet, the Dayaks who have had their land seized for the big estates in Sarawak are moronically treading the same path as the estate Indians, 200 years later.

Isn't it silly to give up your land to the estates and end up slaving on that same land for a pittance? Can't you fellows study from the history of others? Or do you want to suffer for 200 years before coming up with Dayakraf?

I mentioned ketuanan Dayak to provoke a response. If other people can talk about ketuanan, it's time that the Dayaks talked about ketuanan too in their own land to temper the ambitions of others.

Whether it materialises or not is besides the point. The only way to stop all talk of ketuanan Melayu is to harp on ketuanan Dayak, ketuanan KDM and ketuanan Orang Asli among the original settlers and owners of the land... (Jeneral Ken: This provocative piece sure have reverberating effect on Borneo once it met the eyes and mind of the great Natives. I pray my Dayak brethrens would not be offended in any way by this strong view from an anonymous writer who sent me this article...By the way, my advice to Daniel Tajem and my Dayak brethrens is to unite under a Sarawak-own Party and not a KL-based party like PKR... My advice shall be proven right in years to come, mark my word... he, he..)




Fatwa-fatwa yang akan datang?

Oleh Bukhari Hood, Shah Alam


Makin hari umat Islam makin ditindas dan dikongkong. Bukan oleh orang Cina, atau orang India atau orang Yahudi atau orang Kristian. Tetapi dianiya dan dikongkong oleh orang Islam/Melayu sendiri.

Selepas fatwa pengharaman yoga, fatwa-fatwa yang akan datang mungkin boleh jadi seperti berikut :


Disember 2008
Orang Islam dilarang mandi di kolam renang awam. Di kolam renang awam, akan terdapat orang bukan Islam yang memakai pakaian renang yang singkat dan mendedahkan aurat (terutamanya amoi-amoi cina yang cun dan seksi). Ini boleh menjejaskan akidah orang Islam. Cara yang paling baik ialah kita haramkan orang Islam dari kolam renang awam.

Januari 2009
Orang Islam dilarang pergi ke Pulau Pinang. Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang adalah seorang yang bukan Islam and majoriti penduduk Pulau Pinang adalah orang yang bukan Islam. Apabila seorang Islam berada di Pulau Pinang, beliau mungkin terhidu bau char keoy tiaw yang dimasak oleh orang bukan Islam dan ini boleh merosakkan akidah kita. Cara yang paling baik ialah kita haramkan orang Islam dari pergi ke Pulau Pinang. Orang Islam yang kini tinggal di Pulau Pinang akan diberi elaun pindah sebanyak RM3000 untuk membantu mereka berpindah ke negeri-negeri yang lain. Perpindahan ke negeri Kelantan dan Terengganu amat amat digalakkan.

Februari 2009
Orang Islam dilarang meminum root beer. Walaupun root beer tidak mengandungi alkohol, namun perkataan "beer" ini boleh menimbulkan keghairan dan kelakuan tidak senonoh di kalangan orang Islam. Dengan pengharaman root beer, orang Islam bolehlah meminum minuman ringan yang lain tanpa was-was. Ginger beer juga diharamkan.

March 2009
Orang Islam dilarang memakan di kedai Mamak. Walaupun mamak kebanyakkannya Islam, tetapi asal usul mereka adalah India dan ada kemungkinan terdapat unsur-unsur India di dalam perniagaan mereka seperti bercakap Tamil dan memakai seluar dalam buatan India. Untuk mengelakkan sebarang syak wasangka, mulai 1 Mac 2009, orang Islam dilarang dari memakan di kedai mamak (kecuali Tun Mahatir kerana dia sendiri mamak kelas I)

April 2009
Orang Islam dilarang bermain ping pong atau table tennis. Ping pong berasal dari negeri China dan oleh yang demikian, mungkin terdapat unsur-unsur agama Buddha atau Confuciusism di dalam permainan ping pong. Ornag Islam yang terlalu banyak bermain ping pong akan terjejas akidah mereka. Sebagai permainan alternatif, orang Islam digalakkan bermain sepak raga (tetapi bola raga mesti buatan Malaysia, bukan dari Thailand).

Mei 2009
Orang Islam yang bekerja dengan kerajaan dilarang mengambil gaji masing-masing. Ini kerana sebahagian besar pendapatan kerajaan adalah cukai pendapatan yang dibayar oleh syarikat-syarikat orang bukan Islam. Orang Islam digalakkan meminta sedekah dari orang Islam yang lain. Untuk memudahkan permintaan sedekah, bakal peminta sedekah digalakkan mencangkung di hadapan bangunan UMNO.


Jun 2009
Orang Islam dilarang keluar negara. Terdapat terlalu banyak godaan yang boleh meruntuhkan akhlak dan akidah orang Islam. Perkara ini telahpun dikaji dengan teliti hasil lawatan sambil belajar ke Bangkok oleh Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan baru-baru ini. Oleh yang demikian, orang orang Islam diminta menyerahkan balik paspot masing-masing ke jabatan immigresen secepat mungkin. Perjalanan keluar negara hanya dibenarkan untuk menteri-menteri dan orang kuat UMNO sahaja, itupun hanya jika diiringi oleh ahli Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan.


Julai 2009
Orang Islam dilarang berfikir di waktu siang. Kebanyakkan masalah jenayah dan maksiat wujud kerana orang-orang yang tak ada kerja berfikir yang bukan-bukan. Untuk membenteras maslah jeneyah dan maksiat, orang-orang Islam mulai 1 Julai 2009, dilarang dari menggunakan otak mereka diwaktu siang. Pemikiran mereka akan dipantau oleh Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan dengan menggunakan sekumpulan specially trained monkeys. Orang Islam boleh menggunakan otak mereka di waktu malam tetapi pemikiran dihadkan kepada perkara-perkara berkaitan dengan makan dan minum sahaja.


Please do not laugh. Many of the above will become a reality if we do not do anything. The rational-thinking muslims in this country are simply not doing anything. We let a very small minority of narrow-minded idiots to control our lives. We, especially the Malay muslims, are fast becoming a laughing stock worldwide. We are obsessed with the little little things.

When there are so many important things remain to be done, why must the Fatwa folks spend their time on little things.. tomboys, yoga, etc, etc. Why don't we ever hear anything from the Fatwa folks for social justice, eradicating corruption and poverty, protecting single mothers, helping the poors, educating the ummah, protecting the environment or ensuring fairness in society.

If you are a rationale, forward thinking muslim, please speak up. If you choose to remain silent, it only means that you agree with whatever is happening. And do not blame the non-muslims for all our troubles. We are asking for it.
(Jeneral Ken : Sdra Bukhari Hood sure knows how to tickle us with his satire... What a presentation of a creative preemption on the coming possible "fatwas" after the fatwa to forbid Muslims to learn Yoga... Lets hope rationale and tolerance prevail in this poor country of ours...)


DANIEL JOHN DARES FEDERAL WORKS MINISTER TO LIST OUT THE SO-CALLED RM17 BILLION INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS FOR SABAH FROM 2008-2012

Report by Abang Arjuna

KOTA KINABALU / JESELTON (Dec 3, 2008): Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) today challenged Federal Works Minister, Mohd Zin, to list out all the infrastructural projects worth RM17 billion the latter claimed would be carried out in Sabah from now till 2012.

PKR State Liaison Deputy Chairman, Daniel John Jambun, in a statement here said what Mohd Zin had said is tantamount to misleading if he could not prove to the people the full list of RM17 billion projects to be carried out in Sabah, and their beneficiaries.

“The recent announcement by Mohd Zin is smacked of Barisan Nasional’s arrogance. We do not yet know the truthfulness of all this big promises being announced here and there . They mentioned big figures for short period, is this real?

“I want to highlight just one example of their old tricks. Asphalting of the Kokol road from Menggatal town was approved during the 7th Malaysian Plan (1996-2000) but only now at the very end of 9th Malaysian Plan, the road is finally being asphalted,” he said.

Daniel said there were many projects and funds announced by Federal leaders during the Ijok by-election last year, but those promises had not materialised in Ijok until now.

“Now hundreds of millions of ringgits are being announced for Pensiangan, just because of an impending by-election there. If the Federal leaders are sincere to help, they should have completed many projects there long time ago.

“Nabawan is second only to Pitas in term of poverty, why must wait for a by-election to act and help big,” he said adding that BN MP Ghapur Salleh’s skepticism on BN promises does hold water.

Daniel said PKR welcomed whatever help and projects for the Pensiangan folks, regardless of their political affiliation. In fact, Pakatan Rakyat has been successful to “force” the federal to offer more to Sabah and Sarawak, he added.


THE SIX MISTAKES OF SABAHANS...

By Vox Populi

The First Biggest Mistake made by the Sabahan leaders, I think, was that they concurred with the crafty Malayan Tunku Abdul Rahman to form a nation called 'MALAYSIA' not knowing that the Malayan leader(s) under UMNO might have a hidden agenda of "colonising" Sabah and Sarawak in a true sense of the word.

We could have been happy in the safe hands of Great Britain until such a time when the Sabahans could take over the administration and rule on their own.

Look at Brunei as a case in point. Like the ‘fairy tale’ the Bruneians could only whisper to your ears and say “we live happily ever after”.

The Second Biggest Mistake was the Sabah and Sarawak leaders’ inability to read between the lines when Singapore was ejected from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965.

The ejection from the Federation means that the MALAYSIAN AGREEMENT signed by the four countries which formed the Federation namely, Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak is NO longer valid.

Therefore when Singapore left, a fresh Federation should have been worked out among the remaining equal partners - Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak. Sabah and Sarawak could have just been independent countries like Singapore today.

The Third Biggest Mistake was when our state leadership agreed to sign an agreement to give away 95% of one of our most valued natural resources - OIL - without any sense of personal reservation and pride.

It is like giving away your only begotten son to a monster looming at your backyard to be sacrificed for nothing without even attempting to fight it off. This bad decision had caused Sabahans to be the poorest in a land of the most bountiful.

This situation will go on in perpetuity without us seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, unless we put up a fight.

The Fourth Biggest Mistake was when the Sabah leaders allowed the then dominant and condescending UMNO came and spread its wings to Sabah.

Now Sabahans are at the receiving end or merely taking orders from UMNO, again and again and again 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year without any sign of stopping. That explained the perennial problem of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS in Sabah!

UMNO has no intention, whatsoever, to solve this problem because they see them as the only way to help them to perpetuate the Ketuanan Melayu by turning these illegal people into their permanent voters in every subsequent General Election.

For they (PTI) are now might be the majority in Sabah. That explained the decision to go at length to distribute the Green Cards to them a few of days ago at the expense of the genuine Sabahans in the interior, many of whom still do not possess the Malaysian ICs.

The Fifth Biggest Mistake was when Sabah leaders and the Sabahans still clung to UMNO’s Barisan Nasional in every General Election despite the non-stop ”raping” taking place at every turn.

Even in a situation where the Sabah and Sarawak have now become the LIFE GIVER of UMNO at the Federal level, UMNO are so blinded with ‘lust’ that Sabah and Sarawak are still treated as Illegitimate Children in favour of the severely election-battered MCA and MIC.

With this very obvious lopsided policies of UMNO and rampant discrimination of KL towards Sabah one may be prompted to ask this question, “What came into the heads of PBS, UPKO, PBRS, LDP leaders?” Only SAPP had come to their senses and turned their back on UMNO’s BN. Bravo to you SAPP leaders!!

The Sixth Biggest Mistake will be for Sabah leaders and Sabahans to allow once again our very own natural resources - GAS - to be channelled to Bintulu and once again start believing the sweet talk of “Romeo UMNO” that a Petro-Chemical will be set up in Sabah and only excess gas is channelled to Sarawak.

Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan is right that no one knows for sure of any of such “excess gas” at all given the fact that Petronas had never been transparent to the rakyat of Sabah in the more than 30 years of operation.

So, Juliet, be wised up, Romeo’s promises are only meant to be broken!!

Whether the above Mistakes are in fact mistakes or just mere Stupidity on our part I will leave it to my fellow Sabahans to make the judgement. And it is up to us whether we want a change or remain in the status quo.

The American people, especially the white people, had recently made a decisive move for a CHANGE propagated by a minority black leader, Barack Obama. Could not we Malaysians in Sabah take a que from them?

May God open our eyes wide!


Federal special treatment to stateless Indons and Filipinos in Sabah !

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan

Guest Writer / Vice President of PKR

The Federal Government announced it is giving out Green Cards to stateless people. With this announcement, immediately the Federal Registration Department offices especially in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan were swarmed by hundreds of Filipinos and Indonesians !

As a responsible leader i cannot but question this sudden mass issuance of green cards to non citizens. I am calling on the Sabah State Government not to sit idle. Please play a role to check against what is happening to the state.

Sabah State Government should check what is going on because it has a role on sovereignty and citizenship. Don’t just leave entirely at the hand of the Federal Registration Department.

There seem to be many stateless people in Sabah. Who are this stateless people? The state leadership needs to know and explain. Some has birth certificates but without any information on their parents, who are these people actually?

And who carried out the registration of birth of these people in the first place? Wasn’t it the Federal Registration Department? Why did they don’t have the complete information? Why?

If these people are stateless and coming to register for green cards, that means they are not citizens of this country. But why are they still allowed here despite the on-going Ops Sepadu to eliminate illegal immigrants?

Does this has to do with Datuk Najib Razak’s order that only undocumented illegal immigrants would be rounded under the current Ops Sepadu, and that by giving this green cards to these people they are deem documented and thus would not be arrested and deported now?

There are confusions and inconsistencies on the whole exercise, but if one reflect deeply on the whole scenario then one can see that what is happening is just part a of bigger dirty political scheme by outsiders.

As a responsible citizen of Sabah, and in all humility, I am urging the current State Assembly sitting to bring up this matter for discussion or debate as this is something of utmost importance to our state sovereignty and to future safety of our generations.

UMNO POLLS: Contractors rule !

Joe Fernandez Dec 1, 08 3:01pm
Take a closer look at delegates to the Umno polls next March and be very afraid - the bulk of voting power will be concentrated in the hands of 1,560 contractors.

Former Sabah attorney-general (AG) Herman Luping made this observation in an opinion piece entitled ‘Money politics the new curse in our society’, in yesterday’s edition of the Kuching-based Borneo Post.

Luping, citing a ‘reliable source’, wrote that contractors will make up 60 percent of some 2,600 delegates at the next Umno general assembly. “About 25 percent of the delegates are professionals in various fields while five percent are businessmen and party veterans,” he said, without accounting for the rest.

Luping noted that the situation is a far cry from the early years and even as late as the 1970s and 1980s when (Malay school) teachers initially and small businessmen later made up the overwhelming majority of Umno delegates.

“Those were the days when delegates would spend their spare time working for the party through their respective divisions on a ‘voluntary’ basis. No money was involved and nothing was demanded in return,” Luping wrote, citing his source. “... Umno delegates these days are more discerning and ‘demanding’. It can be very good for the nation. Except, of course, the use of money to buy votes and influence people. This ‘political curse’ we can do without.”

In his cautious piece, he touched on former Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s threat to reveal the names of members those allegedly involved in money politics; his failure to combat money politics in his time; money politics a la the timber curse in Sabah; and where to draw the line between money politics and party work.

He noted without comment party deputy president Najib Abdul Razak’s recent pledge that Umno would take several more measures to check money politics, that the problem cannot realistically be resolved in the near future, and that efforts to eradicate it should be supported by strong political will and commitment.

“Efforts in tackling money politics involved a process that needed a certain time frame because even ... Mahathir ... had initiated efforts to eliminate money politics,” Najib is quoted as saying. Problem in all parties Mention is made of the Anti-Corruption Agency’s arrest of two politicians in Sabah, who had allegedly bribed members at the recent Umno party divisional elections.

No charges have been filed against them so far. “We do not hear much about money politics amongst other BN component party members. It is not unlikely that politicians in the coalition partners do not indulge in money politics.

The problem of money politics is in fact the problem of every political party in the country,” said Luping. “Buying votes at party elections is a common practice. It had happened before and will continue to happen for a long time, as long as there are over-ambitious politicians in our midst.

“The buying of votes at party elections, however, is a recent happening, a recent phenomenon. The problem was not there in the early stages of our political history. This is especially so in Sabah.”

However, Luping said he does not recall spending money to buy votes or influence people to vote for him when he was in United PasokMomogun Kadazan Organisation (Upko) or in United Sabah National Organisation, which Upko members joined en masse after dissolving their party.

Leaders then took it for granted that people would vote for them for their commitment to the party and the state. Even party workers and those who helped campaign for candidates did so on a voluntary basis. It was not until the mid-70s that money politics crept in and more funds were needed for campaigning purposes.


Even so, it was discovered in 1976 that several candidates in fact didn’t even spend the money allocated to them by the party but had, instead, pocketed it. “Today, money politics have also set in (during) general elections. This too cannot be avoided as people who come out to help in the campaign must be compensated...


"Blatant direct buying of votes is wrong. But is it also wrong if candidates for positions in the party to pay their campaigners?” ‘Contain new curse’ Luping made a distinction between “the curse of money politics” and the “timber curse” which, according to him, began when Fuad (Donald) Stephens was appointed the first chief minister of Sabah two weeks before the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

Stephens came up with his infamous 4Ks - kayu, kaya, kerja, kampung - rationale for the exploitation of the timber resources in the state. The colonial government itself had awarded four timber concessions to bumiputera politicians to help build them up financially for the political struggles to follow, but they made up a small number compared to the 43 concessions leased to non-bumiputeras.

Even so, Stephens’ timber policies did not prevent the Sabah Alliance crisis of 1964, noted Luping. After he left the CM’s post, Stephens penned a bitter article entitled ‘Timber curse in Sabah politics’ in 1965 in the North Borneo News which he owned.

The crisis in Sabah politics since then has been engineered by politicians struck by the “sure get rich quick” phenomenon of the ‘timber curse’. “Money politics is the new curse in our society. It has become the new syndrome, the new ‘culture’ that our leaders have to deal with and contain,” added Luping.
Source: http://malaysiakini.com/news/94068

Petronas boss flayed over Sabah gas pipeline...

By Joe Fernandez

Guest Writer - 18-11-08

PKR Sabah chief Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has “a sneaking suspicion” that Petronas chief Hassan Merican has been less than candid in his lengthy statement on the state’s resources, which appeared in Daily Express and New Sunday Times on Sunday.

“Petronas should be more transparent and truthful as it is dealing with a state and national resource and not a private property,” said Kitingan in an emailed statement late last night to Malaysiakini.

“The Petronas chief should resign if the information or assessment from an independent assessor differs from his statement on Nov 16,” said Kitingan.

“If Sabah’s gas deposits are in small economically unviable and scattered pockets, why the need to exploit it, pipe it or even build a full-fledged petrochemical complex and oil refinery? The figures given by Petronas on its reserves and current production level do not indicate, in any way, the viability or otherwise of the oil and gas industry in Sabah. What it does show is that we have yet to exploit these resources, i.e. 14.5 percent of Malaysia’s total reserves versus a two per cent production. According to figures released by Merican (left), Sabah at Jan 1, 2008 had 44 percent of Malaysia’s crude oil and condensates (2.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent per day); 14.5 percent of gas (2.1 billion bboe/12.7 tcf) and 22 percent of the nation’s combined oil and gas total. So far, production from Sabah comprises 15 percent of the nation’s crude oil and condensates; two percent of the gas production and 7.7 percent of the combined oil and gas production. Several questions arise..." said Kitingan.

"We (Sabah) have oil but we only get five percent royalty. We have gas but it is being piped out. We have an oil and gas industry but little participation in its downstream activities.We have substantial oil and gas reserves/deposits but we are being told that ‘you only have very little’. Petronas talks about a big royalty revenue for Sabah. Where is the logic (in all this)?” he asked.

Better to pipe it to neighbouring Sarawak? Among others, Merican also said in his Nov 16 interview that Petronas has completed plans for a full-fledged petrochemical complex in 2006 and discussed the project with Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman.

“It was not an afterthought,” he said, referring to the Nov 7 federal cabinet meeting which ostensibly approved a full-fledged petrochemical complex and oil refinery in Sabah in compensation for “surplus Sabah gas being shipped from Kimanis to Bintulu” after UPKO chief Bernard Dompok raised the subject of the on-off and on again gas pipeline.

While Sabah did not request for a LNG (liquefied natural gas) plant in the state, Merican disclosed that such a plant was considered, found to be not economically viable – especially in view of existing facilities in Bintulu, Sarawak.

The proposal was scrapped in favour of the only practical idea - ship Sabah’s gas to Bintulu and use the rest to support downstream gas industries at the planned full-fledged petrochemical complex in Bintulu. Petronas has plans for a oil and gas terminal (SOGT) on 250 acres in Kampung Takis, Kimanis, Papar.

Its principal activities will be to receive, store and export crude oil from the offshore fields. SOGT will also receive, process, compress and transport gas from the offshore fields through a 500km pipeline to Petronas’ MNLG (Malaysian Liquefied Natural Gas) complex in Bintulu.

The designed capacity is 300,000 barrels of oil per day and 1.25 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day. The storage capacity for crude oil is 2.5 million barrels. Construction started in June last year and operations will commence in January 2010.

Sabah’s infrastructure still backward Merican did not explain why oil-and-gas related industries have been developed in non-oil states like Pahang, Malacca, Kedah and Johor while such industries are lacking in Sabah, which has most of Malaysia oil reserves.

Neither did he touch on the electricity shortage along the eastern seaboard of Sabah which necessitates the setting up of a gas-fired plant along the West Coast to generate electricity for the east coast.

The lack of supporting infrastructure – not up to world-class standard – like water and related facilities for the oil and gas industry in Sabah, appears to be a major problem holding back the state in these industries, judging from Merican’s assessments. “All the facilities we have built are world class because this is a global business,” said Merican.

“The ability to bring in the big players is crucial. “People always criticise Petronas. They say we keep things quiet. But in this industry, this is how we do it,” said the technocrat.
Source: http://malaysiakini.com/news/93287

Of Bullying and the New Deal on Petrochemical Plant in Kimanis...

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan
Guest Writer / Vice President of PKR
Today ( November 8, 2008) the newspapers carried a story that Bernard Dompok now supports the proposed 500 kilometre long gas pipeline from Kimanis, Sabah to Bintulu, Sarawak after the Federal Cabinet told, and must have convinced, him they would also build a full-fledged petrochemical plant in Kimanis...

I found this new deal to be illogical and perplexing. It does not make sense for the Federal Government to still go ahead with the 500km Kimanis-Bintulu gas pipeline, and at the same time wanting to build a full-fledged petrochemical plant in Kimanis.

The idea is to scrap the 500km pipeline, and to use the billions of ringgits for it to raise a full-fledged petrochemical plant in Kimanis. Not to have both.


How do you know there is an excess of gas? (because according to the newsreports only excess gas would be exported to Bintulu). What is the use of a full-fledged petrochemical plant in Kimanis, if it is indeed real and really full-fledged, when at the same time you export the same raw material for this plant?

It is illogical and wasting, isn't it?

It is just unfortunate that Dompok would be satisfied so easily and quickly with this new raw deal or promise by the Federal Government. He must at least take the Federal words with a pint of salt, judging from their long chain of broken promises to Sabah.

While it looks good to saying that finally the Federal Government agreed to build a petrochemical plant in Sabah (and so employments and spinoffs are coming), it is rather appalling and raises eyebrows because here you are killing the plant by building the pipeline to export Sabah’s gas, the so-called excess gas or "gas lebihan".


The idea is to scrap the 500km pipeline and build a full-fledged petrochemical plant here. I feel sorry to hear that the President of UPKO (Dompok) now allowed the building of the 500km pipeline. In actuality Dompok achieved nothing. The full-fledged plant may never take off…

I think we must take note of BN MP Ghapur Salleh who today said his skepticism over the pledged petrochemical plant by the Federal Government.

AS for me, I still oppose this 500km gas pipeline project. This is tantamount to act of UMNO-led Federal Government bullying Sabah and sabotaging her economy.


We Sabahans want to create downstream industries in Sabah. Why must we export this opportunities to Sarawak, which has their own? Sabah is in dire need of this opportunity as this state has been the poorest among the 13 states...



Thanks to the whites, America opens the door...

Comment by Peter Marajin
Practising Lawyer
The victory of Barack Obama has given us an unprecedented lesson of humanity, at least as far as politics are concerned.

Thanks to the open-mindedness of the American people especially the whites who formed about 80% of the American population.

This is a culmination of the "dream" of the civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, whose invigorating speech in the early 60s on the future possibility of blacks and whites looking at themselves as one Americans instead of you are judged by the colour of your skin.

We hope the Obama factor will influence the proponents and propagators of "ketuanan Melayu" to abandon this policy and let the Malaysians of all creeds be allowed to shape the destiny of this land without being muddled by this racist sentiment and policy.

Only when this is eliminated then we will dare to dream that one day an Iban or Kadazandusun can be the Prime Minister of Malaysia.


Malaysia Agreement reigns supreme over all institutions..
( Malay Rulers demanded in their statement two days ago [Oct 14, 2008] that the greatness of Malay race and Malay Sultans must be respected... whatever that means, looking at the timing.. mmm )

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan
Harvard Scholar / KDCA Deputy President
The single most important social contract in Malaysia that needs to be respected by all is the Malaysia Agreement, on which sovereignty of the nation really sits upon and founded.

Sovereignity and greatness of this country named Malaysia lies in the Malaysia Agreement which contracted socially all the people of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore which in 1963 agreed to form a Federation of Malaysia that adheres to fair parliamentary democracy.

However many things had been breached. Certain parties willingly took advantage of the people in Borneoan states, making them always at the receiving end. This must stop. Respect the foundation of the nation, no single race is greater than other in Malaysia, we must all stand equal and be treated as equals.

It is time to review the Malaysia Agreement whether it has been respected. I think Malaysia Agreement is now outdated since Singapore had long left the Federation, therefore it is high time to put it right and to put in place a fair power sharing, as originally envisioned by our forefathers...The 1963 agreement reigns supreme over all institutions in Malaysia.

We should be forthright and brave to come together and sit down to make sure Malaysia Agreement continues to be relevant, taking into account our maturity and what had happened in and to the country.


What Ketuanan Melayu ?

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan
Harvard Scholar / Resident Writer
Ex-USNO Sec-Gen, Onn Ariffin, should stop harping about Ketuanan Melayu in Sabah as it has no relevance to us unless his intention is to colonise us. At any rate Onn should show the people of Sabah exactly what this so called social contract that he is talking about.

I am surprised that even after 45 years of Sabah’s independence some people still want to take over the role of the British colonisers and want to be our “tuan”. Sorry, Onn, we are our own Tuan now.

We have our rights and we do not want anyone to “lord” over us. So stop imposing on us outdated concepts of racial supremacy and let us move towards a civil society of Ketuanan Rakyat instead.

Tan Sri Bernard Dompok was right, the last “tuan” left us in 1963 – 31st August 1963 to be exact.

If Onn’s intention is indeed what he says then it is clear that UMNO’s motive for coming to Sabah is to colonise us.

And if UMNO is here to colonise Sabah then Sabahans must get rid of this colonisers as soon as possible to prevent further damage to our country politically, economically and socially. Everyone knows that since UMNO came, Sabah has become the poorest State with the largest illegal immigrant problems and is last among the States in terms of development achievements.

This is because UMNO’s priorities are not our priorities. UMNO’s priorities are to maintain control of Sabah through whatever means (including selling Malaysian citizenship rights to foreigners for voting purposes) and to be our “tuan”!

It is time our political leaders, irrespective of their political parties, realise this and be brave enough to make a stand on our State rights like what Datuk Yong Teck Lee is doing. The other leaders are more interested in polishing the shoes of their political masters.



Red IC Issue in Sabah: No Action, Talk Only !

By Dr Jeffrey G. Kitingan
Resident Writer / Harvard Scholar
There have been too much talk with no action and too many problems but no solution to the issues concerning the government’s handling Malaysian citizenship and dubious ICs in Sabah to the extent that Sabahans now regard this as a deliberate political plan by certain quarters in the Federal Government with obvious agenda.
As such we, in PKR, will assist the victim Yong Hee Hua, 78, to take the matter to courts as the best action to resolve this and the other related IC issue.
This court action will also help determine among others, the qualification of citizenship under the Malaysia Agreement and the requirements for the issuance of IC as well as the qualifications for natives as defined by State Laws and the Federal Constitution.
Citizenship is a sensitive and emotional issue in Sabah because we believe that the role of Sabah in National Registration and Immigration have been compromised and ignored.
As Malaysia was formed through a merger of independent state entities, Sabah’s rights as a partner to the Federation should not be totally ignored by Kuala Lumpur in favour of one dominant political party and its political agenda.
Yong is not the issue. Yong’s rights represents Sabahan’s right. Injustice to her is an injustice to all Sabahans. Sabah leaders, irrespective of their political ideology, must stand together on this.


My IC Oh My IC

By Amde Sidik
Lawyer / Columnist (Oct 17, 2008)
Writing on the issue of Malaysian Identity Card (IC) isn’t new to many of us. So too hearing the same argument from the authority, probably said by the same people aren’t unusual?

When federal politicians are confronted with issue such as the recent Malaysian citizens of Sabah origin whose status were being downgraded to permanent resident PR. The authority usual reply were, One, it was due to NRD administration oversight, second, came a promise to work more diligently in the future.

But if you are in the shoes of these people as experienced by Yong Lee Hua, Alice Chui Pee, Stephen George, Thien Kan Pah, and others, and if you are a Minister of Home Affairs, I would think this would enough reason for you to say why can these people not be sent to Kamunting.

Have we been, Sabahans all this while considered as forever naïve, forget and forget after given Hari Raya sweets, Christmas sweet, Ang Paw or Kaamatan kolopis alike? I know lots of restless people out there. My worry is what would happen if they speedily becoming less patient. Are they going to be naughty or are they becoming more stupid as if virus has infected their brain cells.

At the moment their patient is still at bay, nonetheless so to speak. So we keep to ourselves–even if we neither believe nor trust in them with their excuses. This because we love our State, this love must go beyond today, after all, not many of us having second home elsewhere. Thus defense is a must.

We shall wait if the political system of government is going to change. We are looking forward to having bi party system form of government.

I am not saying if and when new government is formed it will be full of angels. But I would be slightly happy to exercise my democratic right, help making democratic system works. If in return, the government I trust makes me unhappy, I wouldn’t mind making it go to the drain again.

I want to see this cardinal political philosophy is working at our doorstep,

Governed by the people for the people, and with the people. I know a lot primary six YBs memorized this, what I don’t know whether they understand it or not as we have far too many parrots.

Let me come back to these affected citizens of Malaysia, those hold bumiputra status both by right and by law, what else can be greater than that; their forefathers were the inhabitants of the Sabah. Yet denied right of what they are, in other words, their statuses are down graded to PR or even some as lower as aliens.

My grandmother was from Sarawak, she never got blue IC until she died, but I wouldn’t bother because I am pretty sure she doesn’t need an IC where she is now.

We have not talked about those who in our eyes deserved to be given PR, many whose plights have never really be entertained because we are too pre occupied with this basic problem.

I wish we should also be caring for people who help developed our State and Nation. We are not that selfish. If I am in power, I could have assisted Tiger Wood in getting his Malaysian PR in those days, now he is in USA lah. I also know leaving us as we are would make us more stupid.

Why can the politician not see this?


May be Najib can’t be PM

By Amde Sidik

Lawyer / Columnist (Oct 8, 2008)
Political uncertainties are looming in the horizon for the Prime Minister. What would he do?
PM is in the habit of making tentative solution; it looks like he is going for short cut but very often ended in a long-winded vine. For example, raise petrol cost aims at curving habit of subsidy mentality in one way and for pecuniary measure in another. But decision was disastrous in all account, timing and the modes of operandi created loud outcry, deafened Putrajaya. He reversed to low gear. It doesn’t cure the problem in fact it demoralized the system of administration, which make lamer than ever.

Prone to making announcement after announcement, usually ended up in anti climax–for example, decision has not made yet, decision is carried forward, or shall elaborate in a day or two-thus the high build expectancy suddenly dropped, mood turns somber and often retreated. It’s like watching pink panther-the cartoon, after he being grilled by machine he has to start all over, and all over again.

All this indecisiveness isn’t good for action-oriented people.

PM is to announce whether he will stay put defending or relinguishes his Presidency in UMNO? This must be terrible feeling to some people wonder how did they swallow some of the Hari Raya kuih without thinking because the dateline is after Hari Raya.

But didn’t he already settle with his deputy Najib? Sure they have, it is scheduled to 2010 that Najib will be the PM.

Najib finds it too long to wait for 2010, he might or he might not. In an environment like this one-hour in politic can be hellish let alone talking about 416 days.

Power makes people impatient. People always go for short cut rarely waits, only the least brainy ones would. With that note, I think Najib wouldn’t like to be called as the least brainy one. He has learnt a thing or two, that after all.

Verbal and political agreement in UMNO’s experience meant nothing much. If the Imam can break the promise, (Tun Mahathir and Abdullah) what’s about the playboy?

The choice, Najib foresees he can beat Abdullah; he can grain him on the pretext that it’s under Abdullah’s reign that Malay super power is ruined and UMNO is sinking.

Abdullah now pushes to the corner. But I see Abdullah can always bites back he is at the advantage if you are plying tennis; an advantage point is crucial point. He can make and unmake power to anyone in so long as he still the President of UMNO and the PM. Only fools don’t see this way. His only problem is when come to solving his very own problem little will he get assisted.

Abdullah can stop Najib from becoming PM anytime. Assuming he is pushed to the corner by Najib, with the current mood, he just have to declare that he is supporting Razaligh for UMNO President, should he not defending his post. That’s enough to make Najib sob looking for big brother.

Abdullah can say, you push me to the extreme let me organize with Anwar Ibrahim, not only UMNO is sinking but sinking fast and deep. Where does UMNO loyalty come from? Well if Mahathir could do why can’t others?

Who will putih mata in the end?

I hope Sabah politicians see this!


DISCRIMINATION AT WORK !

Special Report By Amde Sidik
Law lecturer / Promoter of Justice

This time i want to share with you my witnessing a discrimination and prejudice at work.

Some months ago I was waiting for a friend to collect air tickets in Segama, Kota Kinabalu. I managed to find a parking space just beside the ticketing office.

As i was waiting for my friend, i think it was about 9am, came DBKK (City Hall) traffic enforcement men in their dark-blue uniform. Six of them. They must be on their routine going rounds looking for indiscriminate parking.

They came passing by where I was, writing furiously on their prepared dockets for cars that are parked indiscriminately.

I watched them closely. There were many cars but mostly were Kancils, Kelisas, Nazas and motorbikes. There was also this expensive four-wheel car, a Ninja, parked indsicriminately.

To my surprise these DBKK enforcement officers were not interested in this Ninja. I saw some of the boked cars owners pleading to the DBKK officers. I heard they argued they were there only for a few minutes to send and pick something... Their pleadings all fell on deaf ears... The booking is written, that's it!

I then approached three of these DBKK officers asking them, why didn't they book the Ninja (Amde sent me the some pics but i couldn't put them here : Jen Ken).
They were embarrassed by my remark. One of them replied he would write a ticket. So I stood next to him, as I wanted to see him writing. He didn’t.
I asked this one guy again if he knew the owner of the Ninja, and I wanted to know what is so special about this owner that he or she was exempted from the booking.
The five DBKK officers left the scene, leaving this one guy to answer my question. He wanted to leave me but I made myself clear that I wanted to know the reason.
He pretended to write but he noticed my eyes were on the paper he was holding. He asked me who I was. I answered that wasn’t very important.

He seem reluctant to "saman" the Ninja. He didn’t book the Ninja.

My friend came and it was time to leave. And the DBKK officer rushed to join his colleagues who were now somewhere in front of the Hyatt Hotel.

I actually knew the owner of that Ninja. Was there justice to the Kancil's and Kelisa's owners? Wasn't it a discrimination at work? I am reporting to God...

Selasa, 23 September 2008

DIALOGUE

Borneo Post's Fauzan Mydin recently asked our politician friend Kanul Gindol of his opinion over Barack Obama's election as first black US President, and its impact or influence on Malaysian politics, and here is Kanul's raw view, major part of it was carried by Borneo Post in an opinion poll column:

KANUL : Obama's being elected as 1st black President of USA speaks a lot about Americans coming of age. It augurs well for anti-racist policy everywhere in the world. However i don't think Malaysia will in the near future get a black or white or non-Malay non-Muslim Prime Minister.

FAUZAN : Why do you say so?

KANUL : It can't materialise under the present Malaysian political conditions. We still have many brick walls to shatter in order to reach the room of meritocracy and dignified equality. While both Republicans and Democtrats in the USA had adopted the policy that capable white and black stand equal chance of being elected, racist Malaysian parties like MCA, UMNO, MIC, PAS, and UPKO will never be able to appreciate the same policy because these groups are stuck with certain narrow racism.

FAUZAN : So what is our future then Mr Kanul?

KANUL : I for one want to see capable non-Malay non-Muslim to get elected or appointed into top offices in Malaysia. However this won't happen as long as racist party like UMNO and MCA dominate our political landscape. Malaysian racist politicians excuse themselves by saying they already have power-sharing formula. But look at the top 20 posts in the Federal Government.. they are dominated by Malay muslims ! And in Sabah none of the majority Christian natives occupy any of the top seven state posts! The Governor, CM, Speaker, state secretary, attorney general and so on.. I don't think the current UMNO-led BN wants to entertain the idea of again having a Christian Chief Minister for Sabah and Sarawak. You will understand what i mean if you study our political history since 1963...


ARJUNA:
Hello Jeneral Ken, you seemed to know a lot about politics, tell me what will happen to my Kadazandusun-Murut brothers? Say Pakatan Rakyat takes over power from Barisan Nasional, what will happen to the KDMs, the Ibans, or even the Bajaus? Are they better off under a new Government?

KEN : Well the best brains in these communities must sit down together, just like the Jews and Chinese, do. I am for the people, i don't admire Anwar, Pak Lah or Najib, not in totality, no matter how skillful and talented they are in politics. Sabahans, especially the KDMs, beware your political leaders, at most are seasonal fighters... They are now scanning for opportunities to enhance their own position. To me, only one or two political leaders in Sabah who really and truly have proven their consistency in fighting for Sabah causes. You can examine who the person is or who they are...

ARJUNA : Wei Jeneral who do you support then??

KEN : I suppport good leaders and good policies. I worship love, tolerance, intellects, freedom, human rights, gallantry, peace, happiness and unselfishness.. I think if a government respects these factors, the rakyat jelata would be better off... What about you Arjuna?

ARJUNA : I'll go with you lah, you have just converted me... he he.

Khamis, 18 September 2008

POLITICS

In Sabah, government agencies are focussing onto Nabawan and Sook in the Pensiangan Parliamentary constituency. Hundreds of millions ringgits are being announced to be poured in these areas. Today (Nov 29, 2008) the Information Ministry is also launching non-stop campaign to indoctrinate the natives in Nabawan on the Government policies and programmes...

JENERAL KEN: Biasalah Pilihanraya Kecil Pensiangan akan diadakan... (It is expected, a by-election is to be held in Pensiangan). I hope the natives are smart enough in taking the projects and opportunities, while sending the right MP to Parliament... They should think small when taking the Government projects, but they should think big when sending someone to Parliament..


Today (October 8, 2008), finally the embattled PM Abdullah Badawi announced he is not defending his post as UMNO President at the coming March party election. Instead he would "surrender" UMNO's presidency as well as the PM post to his deputy Najib Razak (soon a sure embattled PM)...

JENERAL KEN: Nah this UMNO circus will never end... It is funny and at the same time disgusting, that a single UMNO leader could just brush aside its other BN component parties and decide for itself who would be Malaysia's PM! As for UMNO, i think it is so undemocratic for the current president to just name his successor without going to UMNO's delegates conference. But it is pointless to focus so much on UMNO, a sunset party that we have seen the best, or the worst, of it... Jeneral Ken, just like you, eagerly awaits how Parliament conduct itself come October 13, 2008, when Anwar Ibrahim attempts to dislodge power-laden UMNO-led BN...


Yesterday (September 30, 2008) PM Abdullah Badawi in his Idulfitri Message to the Malaysian Muslims, said "no citizen is recognised as being of a higher status than another in this motherland... and that everything is done on the basis of consensus, tolerance and mutual respects..."

JENERAL KEN: Wow! wow! how nice to hear the Malaysian PM said this words, but what a pity it is only words, and just words. I don't believe there is an iota of honesty in the PM when he said these words. I am quite sure that when he said these, deep inside him, Badawi too, know that the above words are hollow. But what can the lovely PM do to alter the text. The text was prepared by a student of UMNO's politics who believed in different meaning to fairness, consensus, tolerance and mutual respects...


On Prime Minister Badawi swapping ministerial post with Najib (Badawi's took over Defence from Najib while Najib given Badawi's First Finance)?:

JENERAL KEN: "This act of PM Badawi could mean at least two things; (1)Indeed PM is preparing Najib to take over from him as PM, soon, (2)It could also be a preemptive security step to protect the embattled PM from threats from within his own UMNO party."


On Anwar craze to topple BN?:

JENERAL KEN: "The fact is that Anwar is now surrounded by impatient MPs, allies and supporters who want to occupy Putrajaya as soon as possible. Cannot wrong them, who doesn't want to be at the seat of power? Even I, who is a non-legislator, would want to be there, i mean to contribute rebuilding whatever is needed for this beloved nation of ours... In days ahead, it would be very interesting to see manouvres unfolding in front of us..."


On possible crackdown against Anwar?:

JENERAL KEN: "I think it will be a grave mistake for the ruling BN (Barisan Nasional) to even try to harm or curtail Anwar's freedom. This is simply because Anwar now commands a very huge chunk of the population, especially in the Peninsular. When you have the knowledge that a volcano is about to explode, you don't go and try to stamp the volcano from erupting. You should manage safety exits for your family and neighbours. I mean it would be folly to ignore the current political seismic especially in the peninsula. Then BN also got to take into account what the international community perceives us? We don't want to Myanmarise Malaysia, or do we? We might end up the pariah of Asean... Best exit from this looming prolong turmoil is to hold a fresh general election, because BN and Pakatan Raktyat (PR) are unlikely to ever agree on a reconciliation government. It is not even on the table..."


On vote of no confidence against PM and BN?:

JENERAL KEN: "The best way to do it is while the Parliament is in session. However, constitutional experts say there is no specific procedure to move a motion of vote of no confidence
against a PM... Anwar cannot get appointed by the Agong (king) by just forwarding a list of MPs. This act may have political strength but has no constitutional effect, meaning Anwar could not topple BN this way, unless because of this act, the ruling party resigns the seat of government..."



On Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim quitting the BN Government:

JENERAL KEN: "To me what Zaid Ibrahim did and because of the reasons he gave for quitting, his act is tantamount to a lost of confidence against the ruling UMNO-led BN. If another three Federal Ministers resign under similar reasons, the PM might be compelled to dissolve the Parliament, or resign as PM..."

Ahad, 14 September 2008

TOURISM HOTSPOT...

Nexus Karambunai Resort, Tuaran, Sabah

Hotel Rating: 5-Star

Hotel Address: Kampung Karambunai, Off Jalan Sepangar Bay, P.O. Box 270 88450 Menggatal, Sabah

Location: Tuaran

No. of rooms : 491 rooms

Abang Arjuna : The Nexus Karambunai Resort is set within 3,335 acres of unique and unspoiled rainforest. The resort is located 30km North East of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah on a secluded 45 acres of tranquil, natural beauty on the Karambunai Peninsular with wonderful white and sandy beaches. The Nexus Karambunai Resort is literally a world unto itself and a great spot for a memorable tropical vacation in a true tropical Nexus.

The resort offers 491 finely-appointed rooms and suites that are fully equipped with wealth of amenities and conveniences.At the Nexus Karambunai Resort, guests have a full option of facilities and recreational activities including an 18-hole championship golf course and convention centre. In fact, nowhere in Asia can you find such a comprehensive range of facilities within one magnificent location. If you are looking forward to a tropical vacation resort which offers a combination of class and comfort, the Nexus Karambunai Resort is the ideal choice with a perfect blend of Sabah's rich culture and the latest in hotel accommodation facilities.

The 1Borneo in Kota Kinabalu, reputedly the largest shopping complex on Borneo Island... "Nice malls, nice people too..." Abang Arjuna



Jeneral Ken and myself did go for the "Twilight" lastnite (Dec 1st,2008), at the old Cathay.. Oh yeah we love the draculas, they are cute and attractive.. he,he




"The Rungus tribe, who mostly live in the northern tip of Borneo, makes one of the most creative crafts in Borneo... Some still live in longhouses like the one seen in the picture below..." Abang Arjuna



Bornean Faces...