Timugon.com » Politics

The Evolution

javis — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:30:00 +0000

Something i found on the internet. Supercool photoshop imposed. The evolution of George W Bush. )

Click on picture for a larger view

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Blame it on farmers!

javis — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:50:00 +0000

Based on the recent reports by Daily Express “Tenom hospital staff vacate apartment”. The blame game on farmers is indeed an unfair clarification. Slamming on the farmers alone by clearing up the upshot caused by the logging activities in the 90s (be it Legal or Illegal) is a one way or another of saving someone ass!

Logging in light description (Available in form 1 geography book)
Besides destroying much of Sabah’s valuable biodiversity, has placed the livelihoods of local people in danger. Logging and the building of logging roads to extract timber efficiently have exposed over 40 per cent of the forest floor, resulting in severe soil erosion which contributed to flash floods.

This sort of thing never happened in Tenom 20 years ago. But today global warming caused by wanton logging and levelling of hills, not to mention dredging along rivers all contributed to the recent flash floods.

Farming in big scales may contributed to the uproars but to blame them alone is not decent. I can smells what the Rock is cookin’.

Where The Cash Went Mr.MP?

javis — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:00:00 +0000

The NST has recently reported that Tenom constituency in Sabah is one of the largest spenders of budgets allocation amongst other reps. The allocation was claimed to be spent for several festivities.

Tenom PKR vice chief express his dissatisfaction and query regarding the matter as reported in Daily Express

“Tenom MP Raimi Unggi refuted claims that he had abused more than RM900,000 in allocations for 58 festivities, saying most of the allocations were for minor physical development projects in his constituency in 2007″

To personally reply the quoted text above, “If the money allocated for festival occasion, why bill it to other maintenance projects?” I do believe maintenance of roads, buildings and other developments had its own allocation. In short, The MP of Tenom misused the resources and cannot be trusted to handle people money. That’s the taxpayer money for God’s sake!

It’s time for people who responsible to manage the funds to be more dependable towards the people. Their dealings should be more transparent and the public should be in the know with what the government is planning to do with their money. It is the role of our elected Member of Parliament to analyze every project that involves the people’s money, not simply bouncing the money from one project to another. or is it? yet we do not know this.

UNDILAH UMNO!!

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UMNO and the Muruts of Tenom

javis — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:57:00 +0000

Tenom Wanita chief’s declaration questioned
07 November, 2008
Tenom: Tenom Umno information chief Mohd Rezuan Abdullah @ Ansabong (pic) questioned the claim by Tenom Wanita Umno chief Datin Ramahjan Sulaiman Khan declaring herself being retained for the post during the division’s delegates meeting here on Oct 12. Source

UMNO = UNITED MURUT NATIONAL ORGANIZATION??

I am not referring to the news posted in Daily Express about the umno divisional meeting in Tenom recently.

This is my question? Since when the Muruts become malay? I don’t really understand how the Muruts actually become members of umno. Yes, they have the rights to participate in whatever political party they eligible to. But why umno? Don’t we have our own local based political party that we can contribute just as the same while we are in umno? Or is it about the bling bling?! Let us get this straight; umno is a race based political party and it was established to protect the interest and rights of the malays. If you are a converted Muslim, did that makes you a malay?

I remember this controversial quote by Datuk Ali Rustam (the Malacca CM) during the BN assembly in Kota Kinabalu long time ago. He said “If you are a Muslim, eat, talk and act like one then you are malay”. My A**! I don’t know how an educated politician and a leader can actually say something stupid like that. Does that also make Ahmad Chong Abdullah a malay? Funny isn’t it?

Back to Tenom. I have lots of relatives and friends who are a converted Muslim. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not against them. We lived happily having each other around. Race and religion are two different things. You talk about it by means of your intelligence, bukan mengikut perasaan. Because it tends to lead us to a rough circumstances.

Joining umno for me, is like giving up your own pride and dignity, and lost the battle whilst the game isn’t started yet. Because you are fighting for the rights of others and assuming that you actually fought the right of your own. It is like, this kind of people is having an identity conflict. Born as a Murut lives as a malay?

“Consider this situation; you’re a delegate representing Tenom’s umno in umno’s annual assembly in PWTC, while they are shouting “hidup melayu, hidup melayu” will you do the same? Keeping mum is not the best solution because you know, at that very time, you don’t belong there.”

Umno should have never set foot in Sabah in the first place. It’s the Sabahan that grant them the gold. Take Sarawak for example, which part of its population are Sarawak Malays, they don’t even have the umno flag reserved in their closet. I urge my fellow keMurutan especially the Timugons, to reconsider their involvement in umno and enough of being fooled! Like the old saying “Dusun senang disusun, Murut senang diurut” bukan begitu Om?!

Rondo ralan, rondo guang. Only my 2 Cents!

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MP Writes

javis — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:51:00 +0000

MP Writes: Agriculture is vital for my constituency
Raimi Unggi, BN-Tenom

WHEN you compare my constituency with others, it is obvious that it is rather backward in terms of development. Tenom is a rural area populated mostly by subsistence farmers who for generations toiled the land.

“gagaukon says: Indeed!! The UMNOed Tenom BN should realize this long ago. It has been 2 terms the BN goverment captivating (as i may say) the tenom constituency since Rizalman Abodollah. its a plus minus 10 years. And yet, theres not so much different to compare Tenom years ago. and now you are talking about how undeveloped the Tenom District is compared to others… now the people granted BN another term and we are hoping its worth it.”

This is why I believe agriculture is the most important vehicle for taking my constituency and its people forward.
In an era where the world is facing a food crisis, it makes sense to invest in agriculture in places where there is potential and ample land such as Sabah.

“gagaukon says: We really love to see how the govt. will invest in agri sector in tenom. do people selling paddy these days? makan sendiri lagi bagus.“

A well-developed agricultural sector will help ease our balance of trade, particularly in terms of food supply, and at the same time free-ing countless families from poverty.
We are thankful for the various government initiatives aimed at giving agriculture a boost in Sabah, such as the agropolitant project launched by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and the Sabah Rural Development Ministry.

“gagaukon says: Free-ing countless family from poverty. what happened to the PPRT? i heard the distribution of fund was mishandled. is it true?”

However, there is still much the government needs to do to help the people if long-term positive effects are to be achieved.The government needs to focus on developing agriculture beyond traditional practices and turning it into a profitable enterprise.This would include developing the necessary infrastructure such as roads and irrigation, incorporating high technology and machinery and human capital development through education.

“gagaukon says: all i can see with my bare eyes is two really funny roundabout in town. ehh sdh siap ka yg dakat padang tu?“

Of course, there is no point in having a well thought out plan if no equal efforts are made in its delivery.

“gagaukon says: This one i finally agreed! good..good..”

This is where I hope the government can come up with a systematic and reliable delivery chain to ensure that the elements of supply and demand remain in balance.
At the end of the day, I believe this is the best means for the government, under the Barisan Nasional to deliver its promise of poverty eradication in rural areas.

“gagaukon says: it still piss me off, just to have in mind that there is Umno in Sabah. Esp in Tenom. how in the first place the umno set foot in tenom. wakil MP tenom lg tu.”

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Pangkaraan

javis — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:15:00 +0000

Circulated heavily through emails, this one reach my mailbox today and i think it is a good reading. This article can be found in Borneo Post front page. Read on…..

What do Sabahans and Sarawakians want?
By James Chin, Borneo Post, July 4th, 2008.

EAST Malaysia is very much in the news lately. With more than a quarter of MPs coming from there, it is generally acknowledged that they were the key to Barisan Nasional’s continued hold on power.

Since March 8, MPs and other politicians from Sabah have grown more vocal about the ‘neglect’ of East Malaysia since independence, making subtle references to the possibility that they could easily switch their support to Pakatan Rakyat if the federal government does not resolve their grievances.

There are several main grievances and their resolution may not be forthcoming in the short term.The first issue is the date of independence. In the peninsula, independence is often taken to be 1957 when self-government was put in place. In East Malaysia, they see the proper date of independence as 1963 when the Federation of Malaysia was established.

Additionally, there is some unhappiness with the term Sabah and Sarawak ‘joining’ Malaysia when in fact Malaysia did not exist before 1963. For East Malaysians, Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya came together as equal partners to form the Federation of Malaysia. Using the term ‘join’ implies that East Malaysia joined an existing political entity as junior partners.The second big issue is the federal government’s commitment to a set of state rights guarantees attached to the Malaysia Agreement, commonly referred to as the ‘20 Points’.

Among the key points were:

• Islam’s status as the national religion was not applicable to East Malaysia;

• Immigration control was vested in the state governments;

• Borneonisation of the civil service would be a high priority and English can be used as an official language;

• No changes to the ‘20 Points’ guarantees can be made without the agreement of the Sabah and Sarawak state governments. A clause was inserted giving all the parties the right to review the 20 Points after 10 years, ie, 1973.

• The natives of East Malaysia would be on par with the Malays and other indigenous groups in the peninsula, ie full Bumiputera status.

Taken as a whole, the 20 Points, if read in their entirety, give the East Malaysian states considerable political autonomy. However, the public view in East Malaysia is that there has been considerable dilution of the 20 Points for the past 45 years.

For Sabahans, the issue of immigration control is widely seen as a joke given the large number of illegal migrants in the state. Depending on who you talk to, the number of illegals in the state is between 1-1.5 million combined with ‘legal’ immigrants, those who managed to get IMM13 certificates or MyKad, the number of non-Sabah born residents may actually be equal to the local born.

Official government statistics showed that one quarter of the state’s population is now made up of foreigners and that since 1963, the state’s population has increased by more than 300 per cent! This sort of increase can only happen with some sort of official collaboration at the highest level in Putrajaya. Hence the call for a Royal Commission to get to the bottom of the infamous ‘Project IC’. The make-up of the civil service is also a sore point. While it is true that both states have their own civil service, it is also true that since independence, more and more functions of the state civil service have been transferred to the federal service.

There is popular perception that non-Muslim Bumiputera (NMB) civil servants from East Malaysia are being discriminated in terms of recruitment and promotion.

Then there are Bumiputera rights.

There is widespread feeling among the NMB of East Malaysia, despite being the majority numerically in both states, are treated as ‘third class’ Bumiputera when it comes to government help.

The unhappiness across the board on subjects such as jobs in the civil service, Public Services Department overseas scholarships, business licences and government procurement contracts.

They also feel that their language and culture is relegated to ‘second class’ when compared to Malay culture and Islam.

The official culture promoted is based largely on the Malay and Islamic cultures although the rhetoric is otherwise.

Moreover, many in East Malaysia are unhappy that government-supported cultural groups mismatch their traditional costumes by ‘modernising’ them with new colours and patterns. The same applies to traditional dances.

Until recently, there were cases of East Malaysian Bumiputeras denied the housing discount when they buy property in the peninsula.

In Sabah, the NMB unhappiness is compounded by the large number of foreigners holding MyKad and IMM3. Almost all these new ‘Malaysians’ are Muslims and NMB leaders suspect that there is a conspiracy to dilute the numerical superiority of NMBs.

It is no secret that the federal government was unhappy with Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) for most of the 1980s to the early 2000s.

PBS came into power largely on NMB and Chinese votes.

A former Sabah chief minister has said openly that the Kadazans will never achieve power again because of official policy to raise the number of Muslims in Sabah.

Fifth, overall there is also a widespread perception that East Malaysia contributes more to the federal coffers than what is given back in development grants. There are still thousands of rural people in both states with no access to clean water and electricity

Official statistics showed Sabah as persistently having one of the highest poverty rates in the country.

Yet Sabah and especially Sarawak contributed billions to the federal coffers through oil and gas revenue.

Many think that the 5 per cent royalty is an insult, and even the 20 per cent offered by the opposition is inadequate.

Many want at least 50 per cent. That may sound like a lot, but given the under-development since independence, it does not sound so unreasonable if you are from Sabah or Sarawak.

Sixth, perhaps the greatest problem is the loss of political autonomy.

When Umno and other BN parties moved into Sabah in 1990, it signalled the end of Sabah political autonomy. From 1994, all Sabah chief ministers were selected based on the strength of their ‘cables’ with Kuala Lumpur. In Sarawak, since the direct federal intervention to remove the chief minister in 1967, all chief ministers are known to have served at the federal level. One of the greatest fears among Sarawakian politicians is the entry of Umno into the state. There is every reason to believe that this will happen sooner rather than later.

Sarawakians have seen how BN parties have created political upheavals among the Sabah population, and they are not impressed.

Recent gestures by the prime minister, such as appointing a Sabahan as Dewan Rakyat Speaker, more development funds and appointing East Malaysians to senior positions in the bureaucracy are unlikely to end the unhappiness, which has simmered for three decades.

It cannot be undone in a matter of months.

In summary, what East Malaysians want is respect for political autonomy as promised in the 20 Points, a respect for the different history, understanding of the plural settings, and a helping hand to bring development on par with peninsula states.

It’s as simple as that. While the political realities dictate that political autonomy will have to go if we want closer relations, simply exporting the peninsula’s ethnic politics model to East Malaysia will spell only trouble. — theSun

Okou ak ra guang

javis — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:15:00 +0000

Since i have some spare time today, i have been browsing the malaysia-today, and do some readings. This kind of article, is a worth shared material. This posting is not based of me being an opposition or a supporter , but just as a reminder for my fellow Sabahan of how in some way or another we actually being a dumbass! While reading stick with the 20-point agreement. Happy reading…. : )

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FREEDOM OF RELIGION IN SABAH.
Malaysia Today, Thursday, 19 June 2008

The term “Allah” in reference to God has been used for generations; it has become part of the cultural heritage. Despite this fact, churches, from time to time, face harassment from the local authorities for using Christian literature containing the word “Allah”.

Article 153 of the Federal Constitution provides for the natives of Sabah the special position and privileges as that of the Malays. Sabah joined Sarawak, independent Malaya and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963. A 20-point agreement was made as part of the condition to join the Federation, and among the points are:

1. There should be no state religion and the provisions relating to Islam in Federal Constitution should not apply.

2. English should be an official language for all purposes without limitation of time.

3. The natives should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays.

4. The power to amend the Constitution of Sabah belongs exclusively to the people of Sabah.

In the 1985 elections, the then opposition Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), led by Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, form the state government. PBS ruled Sabah until 1994 when an internal agitation made way for UMNO to enter Sabah politics. Datuk Seri Musa Aman from UMNO was the Chief Minister from 2003 when the two-year rotation system was abolished.

In 2002, PBS’ joining the Barisan Nasional coalition rendered Sabah a state with no competitive opposition. Regardless, there have been palpable tensions and occasional calls for withdrawal from the Federation.

An added impetus is the token 5% royalties for oil and gas. The Federal Government takes 95% of the profits, contributing very little to the state in return. Sabahans feel that the federal policies have generally been unfair and unfavourable to the state development. There have been calls for the review of these federal policies. Many believe that the NEP has not benefitted the Sabahan bumiputeras.

Despite the rich natural resources and the Prime Minister’s assurance that “no community is left behind in the mainstream of development” (The Star, 7/11/07), Sabah falls greatly behind the mainstream in economic development.

Sabah, together with Sarawak, contributed to BN’s simple majority in Parliament at the 2008 general elections in March. The recent political realities have prompted the various opposition parties to form a coalition called Pakatan Rakyat Sabah (The Star, 7/7/08).

Islamisation

Before 1963, Sabah and Sarawak were guided by their native customs and British laws. The influence of Islam was minimal. In 1967, the new state government under Chief Minister Mustapha Datu Harun embarked on vigorous religious activities. Mustapha strongly believed that the Malay language and Islam should be used to unite the people.

There have been reported mass conversions, particularly in the rural areas.

The most devastating blow came when Mustapha used his emergency powers to expel expatriate Christian missionaries with the reason that imperialist mentality and outlook should not be allowed to continue after independence, whether in relation to politics or religion (Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, 1977, p. 266).

The Project IC or Project M, a political scandal relating to systematic granting of citizenship to immigrants, was reported to have begun when UMNO entered Sabah politics in the 1990s. The immigration policy favouring Muslims had resulted in an influx of immigrants from the Philippines and Indonesia, both legal and illegal. It is widely believed that this exercise was implemented to weaken the indigenous Kadazan-Dusun Christians and to enhance UMNO powerbase.

At a seminar in June 2007, the Chief Minister claimed that Malays formed more than 50% of the population, although the state’s statistics showed only 11.5%.

Supporting the claim, his counterpart, the Chief Minister of Melaka, said, “Even if that person is Chinese or Indian or Kadazan, if they are Muslim or have converted, converse in Malay and follow the Malay tradition, then they are Malays” (Daily Express, 10/6/07).

Religious Freedom

In April 2007, a businesswoman complained to the then Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, that her loan application was rejected because her unisex styling business was in conflict with Islam (Daily Express).

The Sabah Fatwa Council issued a decree banning all activities related to Rufaqa Corporation (The Star, 15/12/06). The Mufti said the movement had gone against Islamic teaching and caused confusion among the Muslim community. In May 2007, 11 people were arrested under the ISA for alleged involvement in an Islamist group known as Darul Islam Sabah.

There is no provision on conversion out of Islam. Muslims who wish to renounce Islam may face either punishment or mandatory detention at rehabilitation centres.

According to the 1995 Sabah Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment, “A Muslim who intends to or attempts to convert out of Islam is subject to be detained in the Islamic rehabilitation centre for a term not more than 36 months for ‘rehabilitation’ purpose.” Further, a Muslim declaring himself to be a non-Muslim is guilty of ridiculing the religion and thus subjects himself to punishment.

Bahasa Malaysia is the medium of communication among the natives in the state and the Alkitab is the principal Scripture used by Christians.

Last 15 Aug, three boxes of Christian educational publications containing the word “Allah” and belonging to SIB Sabah were detained at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang by the Customs. The Internal Security Ministry subsequently took over the matter. After several unsuccessful appeals, the SIB church turned to legal redress at the civil court. The lawsuit against the Federal Government is ongoing.

Last year, a lawsuit was filed against the Sabah Chief Minister concerning a stop-work order on the Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue in Kudat. The project was said to have been approved in Dec 2005 but a stop-work order came after the state mufti in July 2006 issued a fatwa saying that the construction was contrary to Islamic teaching.

Administrative error on Sabahans’ MyKad in relation to religious status has caused hardship to the people in recent years. The state registration department has presumptuously entered Islam to the MyKad of non-Muslim applicants simply because their names had the word “bin” or “binti”. It has refused to make correction when mistakes were highlighted. Applicants have been asked to fly to Putrajaya in Kuala Lumpur for any amendment to their MyKad.

The entry of “Islam” on the MyKad has grave effects on, among others, the non-Muslims’ marriage, children’s registration, burial and inheritance.

Others

Sabah’s migrant population has been estimated to be anywhere from 600,000 to 1.7 million (Nov 2007). Political expediency and the state’s historical ties have created longstanding illegal immigrant problem.

Without proper documentation and no access to educational opportunity, the stateless children of the migrants are facing bleak futures. Many of them were born locally and become street children once their parents are deported.

Statistics show that Sabah has the highest number of poor households in the country, especially in the interiors. Groups say that Sabahan non-Malay bumiputeras are marginalised and have not benefitted from the NEP. The Federal Government has recently introduced measures to improve their lives.

Some NGOs have chided the Sabah authorities for their apathy when issuing identity cards (IC) to indigenous people. It is an irony that many bumiputeras do not have ICs while foreign workers receive PR status soon after they enter the state.

Today, some of the indigenous children in the most remote areas do not go school. Many rural schools are small and do not even have basic facilities. The Federation of Chinese Sabah has claimed that some 250,000 Chinese are living along poverty margin (Daily Express, 9/2/08). (By courtesy of Berita NECF/ MySinchew)

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Power to the people!