Pragmatism will win in Sibu

By Keruah Usit

Voters in Bandar Sibu’s May 16 by-election are less likely to be concerned about the ethnic and religious fault-lines that have shaken peninsular politics over the past 40 years, than about issues of material development and livelihood.

Pragmatism will decide the winner, rather than the ethnic voting patterns that peninsular politicians constantly bang on about. Sibu residents, Iban, Malay, Orang Ulu, Chinese and Melanau alike, are stricken by chronic, crippling ailments of under-employment, economic monopolies by Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) and other companies linked to the Chief Minister Abdul Taib (right) Mahmud, and poor infrastructure and social services.

‘Little’ Robert expected to win big

By MC Wong

The by-election machine of BN switched on right on the day (April 9th) the incumbent five term MP of Sibu, Robert Lau, passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 66.

Already waiting in the wing was his replacement, 45-year-old Robert Lau Hui Yew . He is actually the cousin (not the son, as some might assume), of the late deputy transport minister.

He has introduced himself as ‘little Robert’ or xiao luobo in Chinese, to emphasise his lineage.

Sibu offers Pakatan a new focus

By Terence Netto

After having lost Hulu Selangor by a narrow margin, the parliamentary by-election for the Sibu seat looms as a test of Pakatan Rakyat’s ability to mount a coordinated campaign, something that was said to have eluded them in the earlier poll.

The auguries for a campaign of greater focus and coordination were good in that top Pakatan leaders – Anwar Ibrahim of PKR, Lim Kit Siang of DAP and Nasharuddin Mat Isa of PAS – got together in Sibu two Sundays ago to hammer out an agreement about intra-coalition cooperation for the Sibu poll.

NEM: What’s in a name?

What’s in a NEM? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet, we are told.

The New Economic Model (NEM) preserves the race-based affirmative action policies that went under the former names of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and New Development Policy (NDP). Privatisation and divisive quotas that feed corruption and racial prejudice like the NEP, by any other name, would smell as foul.

“Practices that support the behaviour of rent-seeking and patronage that have long tarnished the altruistic aims of the New Economic Policy” – as Prime Minister Najib said – will continue to dominate the NEM, because there is no prospect of any change in political will in the present government.

Gangsters haunt Sibu by-election

By Keruah Usit

The parliamentary by-election on May 16 in Sibu is expected to be a close contest, a straight fight between BN and Pakatan Rakyat.

We may witness the usual fistful of ‘independent’ candidates, perhaps even one from the oddly named Parti Cinta Malaysia, on nomination day May 8. Some independents will of course be hoping to cash in by being spoilers, but these are unlikely to affect the outcome.

Thanks to a new-born, slightly wobbly-kneed agreement among Sarawak Pakatan parties – DAP, PKR, PAS and now Snap – three-cornered fights between the ruling BN and two opposition parties may now be avoided for the upcoming state elections, expected within the next couple of months, and the 13th general elections. Sarawak is the only state that currently holds staggered state and parliamentary elections.

Balls + Nuts = BN? Not likely

By Pak Bui

Fifty young men and women from the New Era College turned up at a press conference on April 22 to support their sifu, part-time lecturer and journalist Joshua Wong. Wong announced that he had resigned as NTV7 programme producer of a popular television discussion show, Editor’s Hour, in protest over censorship and interference by gutless NTV7 “executives” and Umno puppeteers.

We should salute Wong and the young college students. They have stood up for their principles, against the managers at NTV7 and the Umno political masters. These managers have broadcast to the world that they are servile mouthpieces for racist politicians.

Umno politicians insist on trying to control the mainstream media, even though the internet cannot be grasped in their hands. They know they must do so, for they cannot remain in power using the legitimate means of political debate. Why? They are simply too corrupt, lazy and stupid.

IS THE JHEOA THE NEW COMPONENT PARTY OF THE BARISAN NASIONAL?

This article appeared originally in the website of the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)

This is what one Jah Hut campaigner in the ongoing Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election asked reporters at a press conference held on 22.4.2010 in Kuala Kubu Baru. The press conference was called by the 60-odd Orang Asli campaigners for the PKR candidate to disclose the unfair and illegal tactics used by the Barisan Nasional side to secure the Orang Asli votes in this by-election.

In all the 17 Orang Asli villages, with a total of 841 voters, the JHEOA has been camping out, dishing out goodies and karaoke music, with even senior staff (including the Director-General himself) going out of their duty to work for the BN.

All this despite, not claiming to be campaigning for the party. This is why all their vehicles have the JHEOA logos covered with masking tape or even replaced with the BN logo.

But at the same time, they say they are there to conduct some normal JHEOA ‘ramah mesra’ programmes, or to give out food baskets (which they have never done so in the past in this area).

Hulu Selangor, What a Mess!

By Bunga Pakma

“Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

Winston Churchill, Speech in the House of Commons 11 November 1947

On Sunday the people of Hulu Selangor go to the polls to choose a new MP.

You knew that already.

We have been inundated with news, propaganda and commentary. I was curious to look up the word “news” in the great big Oxford English Dictionary and I was not surprised that from the word’s first appearance, news has simply meant “stuff that happens,” and that if it is not qualified with some positive adjective, such as “good” or “happy” the word generally means “bad news.” Consider the modern proverb: Sh*t happens.

The damned ‘race’ challenge in Malaysia

By Apang

Even after 47 years of Malaysia, we can envision that there will be many more years (but not decades, we hope) to come, before race-based, divisive politics will be eliminated from the country.

There have been active anti-race, but pro-class, ideology and struggles mounted by the progressive few, after the demise of communist armed struggle in Malaysia. These included the Socialist Party of Malaysia (Parti Sosialis Malaysia), Parti Rakyat Malaysia and the like.

But these were too isolated and limited to be mass-based. It took the birth of reformasi in 1998 to challenge the BN race-based division of society and since then, the political division of race has been crumbling. Only the degree of its decline is the main point of contention now.

Why rural Sarawak realities work against reform

By Apang

This piece is going to be a hard one. This is because Sarawak is the general context for this analysis, with rural Sarawak the particular focus, along with an examination of the various key factors working against the people and their aspirations.

Notice I am not saying these factors work against the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, for one simple reason – it will not be the opposition or the government who wins or loses in any election, but it will be the people of Sarawak whose future is at stake.

For those who know the socio-economic, physical, political and legal context of rural Sarawak, perhaps this knowledge is the first clue to what not to expect in the upcoming Sarawak elections. No, I am not a pessimist, but a realist, endowed with limited knowledge. True, I have only been to some small parts of the vast reaches of rural Sarawak, but it is not hard for me to identify the inhibiting factors working against the people. So I am able to offer some generalisations, but also certain specific observations.

Ignored Bidayuh spell trouble for SUPP

By Terence Netto

As SUPP gears up to defend its stronghold of Sibu in the parliamentary by-election on May 16, discontent in its Bidayuh-dominated state wards near Kuching threatens to veer out of control.

The state seats of Bengoh and Opar, located near Kuching, are held by members from SUPP’s Bidayuh faction, Dr Jerip Susel(right) and Ranun Mina respectively.

These wards, together with the parliamentary constituency of Serian, held by another Bidayuh, Richard Riot, are said to be rife with the community’s discontent over unfulfilled promises made to them by the Chinese-dominated SUPP, which is the second ranked member of the ruling BN state coalition.

Hulu S’gor: A crucial political litmus test

By Bridget Welsh

The Hulu Selangor campaign has begun in earnest as Malaysia heads into a record 10th by-election since March 2008.

Admittedly, many Malaysians are fed-up – they are tired of the empty promises that by-elections bring, the disappointments that come with politicians on both sides of the political divide not delivering on electoral promises, the pettiness of the campaign mud-slinging and the distraction from addressing the problems the country is facing.

This election, however, is one where people should take notice. The fact of the matter is that more than any other by-election since March 2008, this is a critical political litmus test for the country’s future. It is a national contest, with national stakes.

Another stand-off against logging giant

By Keruah Usit

Besieged Penan communities in Baram, Sarawak, have set up two new blockades against multinational logging firm Samling.

The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), a Swiss NGO advocating Penan rights, reported that local communities had asked Samling surveyors to stop working on their lands, but their pleas were ignored.

“We know that we are weaker than the Samling bulldozers. But we are determined to fight for our next generation because we cannot survive without the forest.

“If we let the company in (to) do some logging, they will want to take all of our forest,” said Long Sabai spokesperson Aya Luding(right).

The two new blockades have been mounted across logging access tracks near Long Sabai and Ba Keramau, on the Akah River, for over a fortnight.

Mr Smile goes to Washington

By David S Ling

Twelve national leaders held carefully orchestrated one-on-one meetings with Barack Obama in Washington. Many politicians yearn for this photo opportunity, to be seen shaking hands with the US president, especially if they are struggling in domestic politics.

We recall Tony Blair was grateful to be seen next to the American president, even if it was the cretin George W Bush, after they had waged war on Iraq.

The national leaders allowed individual meetings with Obama were declared “winners” by the Washington Post. These included China, Armenia, Jordan, Egypt, Nigeria and Ukraine.

Let’s Get Out of this Hot Sun and into a Cold Beer

By Bunga Pakma

Many, many years ago at a certain August Institution of Learning here I made the acquaintance of a post-graduate student from Oxford working towards a doctorate in anthropology. She had come to Malaysia to do her fieldwork. “Which people?” I asked. “Semai, Bateq, Temuan?”

“No, no,” she replied, “Nothing like that at all. I am going to be studying the wealthy, urban Malay élite.”

The world has about run out of primitive tribes. The Penan wear trousers and t-shirts, Amazonians listen to iPods, and those truly remote natives who haven’t yet been introduced to the blessings of consumer… sorry, civilization—want to be bloody well left alone. Anthropology has adapted well, as a discipline to this state of affairs. Scholars now study mainly what is happening to us, whether we’re in the city, the suburbs or the country, as we all face unprecedented changes and try to cope with them.

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The end of the jungle?

The Malaysian government and the palm oil industry has been accused of laying waste to last remaining rainforests of Borneo in what has been described as a corporate land grab.

The Malaysian government and the palm oil industry has been accused of laying waste to last remaining rainforests of Borneo in what has been described as a corporate land grab.

A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence of the latest jungle clearance – where vast tracts of land are being bulldozed to make way for plantations. Indigenous tribes say they are being driven from their lands.

Bloated by glut of apologies for racist slurs

By Pak Bui

The latest Malaysia Airlines in-flight magazine greets readers with an apology. Going Places has appended an insert, admitting offensive mistakes made in a previous issue. Going Places had stated confidently in February that Kadazans are from Sarawak, and accept dowries for their daughters.

It is ironic that the article appeared in a section entitled “To Know Malaysia”. Azliza Ahmad Tajuddin, CEO of Blu Inc Media, publisher of Going Places, announced she is “truly sorry”, while a senior manager for communications for Malaysia Airlines, Indira Nair, declared just beneath Azliza’s letter that she is “truly, truly sorry”.

A few members of the KadazanMurutDusun ethnic groups still do practise giving and receiving dowries, but the practice has almost disappeared. The errors in the article are so comical that it would hardly be surprising if the writer had done all her research on Wikipedia, and then still managed to confuse Sarawak and Sabah.

Dayaks battle against gangsters and spin doctors

By Keruah Usit

Sarawak’s natives are fighting hired thugs to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR) land. According to the Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (Brimas), an NGO campaigning for NCR, gangsters have been trying to intimidate Iban villagers who blockaded a road against a timber company on March 12.

Brimas says the Iban communities of Sungai Tepus, Balingian, midway between Sibu and Bintulu, have lodged three police reports against the loggers, Bitani Maju, but their NCR land has not been protected.

Instead, their blockade across the logging road has been removed by the police. Even worse, the villagers allege that a group of gangsters, traveling in ten cars, have been threatening them since the blockade began.

Sarawak MP thinks Penan rape survivors’ suffering is a “perception”

By Rosita Maja

Is Hajah Nancy Shukri, MP for Batang Sadong, trying to water down the issue of the allegations of sexual abuse of Penan girls and women in Parliament?

Hajah Nancy Shukri claims to be the people’s representative or wakil rakyat for Sarawakians, and is Chairperson of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus. Yet we have never seen or heard her speak for the plight of the Penan girls and women, and rural girls and women as a whole.

The worst disappointment is this extract from the Malaysian Hansard.

Extract from Parliament Hansard between YB Zuraida Kamaruddin (Member for Ampang) and YB Hjh Nancy Shukri (Member for Batang Sadong) dated March 24, 2010, page 63.

RK Nathan Kena Kantoi

By Fahri Azzat

Can a judge who previously presided over a matter then take up the case as counsel after his retirement from the bench? If you don’t know the answer because you recently had a lobotomy, consider the High Court decision of Perbadanan Pembangunan Pulau Pinang v Tropiland Sdn Bhd [2010] 2 CLJ 1061.

Most judges who retire from service from the Bench (i.e.: the Judiciary) often end up as consultants or arbitrators if they don’t stay retired. For those with drama in their career would sometimes end up compiling legal reference books of little import for several years before emerging many years later to speak publicly about their the injustice that befell them.

The exalted few end up like NH Chan who despite retiring from legal authority has gained far more in moral authority if not fame. Others disappear as soundlessly and without any notice like dew that hug the blades of glass in the late morning sun.

Robbie Robinson kena’ pengingat

By Bunga Pakma

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone! Politicians, big-shots and tycoons, scram! You have no business here with an event this solemn and meaningful.

A great and beloved Sarawakian has passed away. D. H. Robinson—whom everyone affectionately addressed as “Robbie”—died at 1315 hrs(8:15 p.m. Kuching time) on Monday 5 April.

Robbie did not suffer a lingering end. In the few weeks before his death he and his friend/secretary Janet (who had come from Kuching to visit him) had taken a motor-tour of France, Spain and Italy. A few days after their return to Robbie’s house in Duras, Robbie came down with bronchitis. He entered hospital, grievously disappointed that he could not return to Sarawak, as he had planned, on the 4^th. Robbie was determined to fight through to health and complete his plans. He was, however, 93, and his fiery, feisty soul had worn out his poor body.

The reluctant suicide

By Pak Bui

I remember my first visit to Lina, the only child of an acquaintance, when she found herself warded in a small district hospital. She was sitting upright in bed, trying to smile at me. She looked a little embarrassed.

Lina was fifteen at the time. She was a well-liked student, bright and cheerful. She was tall and slightly chubby, more a scholar than an athlete.

Her round, abashed face was tired. She had been admitted the night before and had not managed much sleep. The ward was quiet enough, with few fellow inmates, and with a cool evening forest breeze drifting through the windows. But she had been kept awake by nurses checking her blood pressure every hour.

From Judges To Gestapo Type Police: Tyranny of abuse of powers

By NH Chan

When powers are abused there is no tyranny like them. The abuse of powers by police is a consequence of the bad example set by judges when they refuse to apply the law as it stands or when they apply double standards in their judgments.

The Rise of Tyranny book cover. Source: Sentinel Press

I read with disgust, on 29 March 2010 in LoyarBurok about the manhandling and arrest of lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad by the Gestapo type police.

When powers are abused, there is no tyranny like them.

Zaid ready to zap Hulu Selangor

By Shah A Dadameah

IN OCTOBER last year, Zaid Ibrahim told the media he was taking a six months’ break from the PKR. Well, his leave is due to end soon and the timing is just about perfect for him to be involved in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election. Nomination is on April 17 while polling day is April 25.

Zaid is touted to be the most suitable candidate for the PKR, which is seeking to defend the seat.

By extension, he would also be the flag-bearer for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which also includes the DAP and PAS.

The seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad on March 25. A former deputy Selangor mentri besar, he had contested as a PKR candidate after leaving Umno in 2005.

Dr Zainal Abidin had won the seat in 2008 with a majority of 198 votes over the Barisan’s G Palanivel.

How Ketuanan Melayu has dispossessed the Orang Asli

By Dr Boo Cheng Hau & Helen Ang

Malaysia is the Asia-Pacific’s “best model” in dealing with the rights of indigenous peoples – or so it is claimed. Last Saturday (incidentally the same day Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the Perkasa inaugural congress), BN MP Makcus Mojigoh said, in his paper presented at a regional conference, that the government is serious about the plight of the Orang Asli.

Really? The Orang Asli don’t think so.

Mojigoh’s comments follow on the heels of the march by more than 2,000 Orang Asli from all over the country on March 17 in Putrajaya. They had gathered to demand recognition of their customary rights to ancestral land – “Tanah kami, maruah kami” was the rallying cry.

Ketuanan Melayu: Am I alone?

By Mariam Mokhtar

When one reads about an organisation led by an insecure, attention seeking leader, who revels in obfuscating remarks to “defend Islam, the special rights of Malays and bumiputeras”, it does seem that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

So, am I alone in thinking that Malays should debunk ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy)? When challenging small, hate-filled groups we must be aware of the risks in talking up the threat they pose.

They may hope we would demonstrate or march to the police station and make reports (the police have better things to do) and give the group added gravitas.

Why Kartika would make a better PM than Najib

By Pak Bui

On the first anniversary of Najib’s ascent to power, we may pause, take stock, and look back on his strengths and his weaknesses.

On the plus side, Najib has been in charge of an economic recovery, from the 1.7% contraction in 2009 to the 4.5% growth in GDP expected by the Asian Development Bank in 2010. It must be admitted that the turnaround was contributed to partly by Najib’s stimulus budget, and partly by a global recovery, led by China, from the credit crunch.

Sarawak PKR has more toxic waste buried than in the open

By Apang

It is Good Friday today. But I am not feeling so good today, after reading a report of what PKR Sarawak Vice-Chairman, Granda Aing was quoted as saying. The report is on the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and its president’s dilemma regarding the party’s race-based candidacy for the Padawan Municipal Council chairmanship position.

Granda Aing weighted in on the race polemic about Bidayuhs in the SUPP not being wanted. Granda asked rhetorically what posts the SUPP’s three elected representatives had been given, as an indication of the importance SUPP places on Bidayuhs in politics. Granda even used Ibans to compare to the Bidayuhs.

Such is the toxic waste in PKR that the race-based Barisan Nasional is not alone in suffering disastrous contradictions, when talking about uniting Malaysians to face various critical challenges facing the country and the people.

Borneo natives win class action suit against Malaysian oil palm giant

By BMF, BASEL / SWITZERLAND

Controversial IOI group loses 12-year legal battle as Sarawak court declares its land leases “null and void”

MIRI, SARAWAK / MALAYSIA. More than twelve years after going to court, the Kayan native community of Long Teran Kanan on the Tinjar river in the Malaysian part of Borneo have won an important legal battle against the Sarawak state government and IOI Pelita, a subsidiary of the controversial Malaysian oil palm producer IOI.

In a judgement delivered earlier this week, the Miri High Court declared the land leases used by IOI “null and void” as they had been issued by the Sarawak state government in an illegal and unconstitutional way. According to the Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (BRIMAS), the court granted Long Teran Kanan headman Lah Anyie and his community compensation for the damage done by IOI to their land. The case had been handled by Miri-based lawyer Harrison Ngau.

Lords and Serfs

By Bunga Pakma

Boo-hoo. Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, and I didn’t meet anything funny. Oh yes, absurdity surrounded me in grotesque shapes gibbering and squeaking like so many imps of hell, tormenting me with their blasphemies, screaming at me: “Don’t talk sh*t!” You know what I mean so I won’t belabour the point.

A cousin of mine who was studying in the US used to send me clipping from the Weekly World News. This was a tabloid—now, alas, defunct—which specialized in the dubiously bizarre, whacky and weird. With a little imagination one can spice up the most ordinary things. Their international desk did not overlook Malaysia.

One item I received reported that our parliament passed a law that students caught cheating on exams were to be hanged! (Figure this joke out—hint, it’s linguistic—and I’ll send you a candy-bar of your choice.) Another gave a breathless account of a wild chase through the streets of Kuching after a woman with a tail. Naturally, Elvis was seen in Ipoh.

“Don’t talk sh*t! Don’t talk sh*t! i i i i i i i i i i i iDon’t talk sh*t!”

You Jump, I Sue: Can voters sue traitors?

By NH Chan

For their willful betrayal of trust, is there a cause of action against the turncoats who jumped ship? The answer is yes. Considering the principle of estoppel in determining a cause of action for affected voters and the political parties on whose ticket the turncoats were elected as their representatives in Parliament and in the Perak Legislative Assembly, to sue these traitors.

The other day someone gave me a copy of Harakah of 8-11 March 2010 and in the English section I came across this piece written by P. Ramakrishnan, Aliran President:

The … 12 February 2010 … marked the first PKR resignation – the MP for Bayan Baru – and [that] sparked the dishonourable exit of two more traitors of the voters who supported the Pakatan Rakyat by electing these renegades. On 1 March 2010 the MP for Nibong Tebal, Tan Tee Beng, and two days later on 3 March, the MP for Bagan Serai, Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri, announced their resignations respectively.

Police Inspector General can fly

By Pak Bui

Police Inspector General Musa Hassan will conduct an aerial tour of Sarawak, a helicopter “roadshow”, to explain the mysterious Third Force that he says has influenced the Malaysian police. Musa lamented that this Third Force has issued orders to his officers, bypassing the top brass of the police.

Musa made himself the laughing stock of police chiefs worldwide with his statement to Mingguan Malaysia that his authority may be compromised by a sinister cabal manipulating the officers under his command.

“If there is a third party giving orders and yet we do not know who they are, then if officers are doing things wrong, they will become the victims,” he said. Oddly enough, he did not see fit to mention that the citizens of Malaysia are the real victims - of police incompetence.

Apco: In mercenaries we trust

By Tian Chua

In this dynamic and ever-changing world, Apco Worldwide stands tall as the giant of the lobbying industry. The firm, in its own words, offers “professional and rare expertise” to governments, politicians and corporations, and is always ready to help clients to sail through troubled waters in the complex world of both international and domestic affairs.

Malaysia isn’t Apco’s only client. In my last article, I described Apco’s relationship with homeland security and risk management consultancy firm Asero Worldwide. Asero is almost like a retirement home for ex-Mossad and ex-Shabak secret services officials.