1869 and still growing

Oh really! Are you sure?

Pay attention to Bernama’s article highlighted in “Bold” and “Red”.

Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) today expressed its undivided support for Abdul Taib Mahmud to remain as the party president, saying this was necessary to maintain political stability and continuous development in Sarawak. PBB deputy president Alfred Jabu said the support was expressed by all the PBB supreme council members and all the leaders of the various segments of the 71 branches of the party.

The support was expressed via a pledge of loyalty and a resolution at the meeting of the PBB supreme council chaired by Taib himself, he said.

“We (PBB members) unanimously support the leadership of Pehin Sri (Tan Sri) Abdul Taib Mahmud and will continue to support his leadership and that of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak,” Jabu, who is a Sarawak deputy chief minister, told reporters this evening.

Taib, who is Sarawak chief minister, left 10 minutes earlier and declined to speak to reporters who had been waiting since morning. He left it to Jabu to attend to the newsmen. — Bernama

Read also:

Taib Must Go! Taib Must Go! Taib Must Go! @ Ahmad Nazib blog.

Taib, “You better go and not wait to be told” @ Cobbold John.

We’ll win, with or without Taib by Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

This page is created by caring citizen of Sarawak, Malaysia as a response to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud statement on Utusan Borneo (Aug 25, 2010). The state daily closely linked to Taib said:

“Taib had wanted to step down in 2006, but the people ‘rakyat’ of Sarawak want him to stay, so he had no choice but to stay.

Perhaps that is Taib’s perceptions, which obviously not reflecting the growing sentiment of all Sarawakians including those in his own party PBB – that he must go….

Taib Must Go. Tak Nak Taib.

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/taibmustgo

The spate of calls in the Main Stream Media is not reflective of Taib’s popularity and this has been mentioned in YB Dominique Ng’s blog. It is nothing more than reflecting the hypocrisy coming out from leaders of component parties in Sarawak Barisan Nasional. The most vocal among them is from PBB, mainly their youths and wanita and the few who were there because Taib put them there.

As it is, we are of the view majority of Sarawakian’s want Taib Mahmud to go and we certainly agree with the views of the follwing article at Free Malaysia Today

“If the people don’t need me, then I will step down.” And with that, Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud has set into motion the oldest political trick in the book. Scan the local newspapers and you will catch the outpouring of support for Taib to remain as the chief minister and leader of the state Barisan Nasional (BN). A fervour of support seems to have erupted from the masses for Taib. They all want to keep Taib at the helm.

It seems without Taib, Sarawak will go the way of the Titanic; without Taib, Sarawak is doomed.

Or so we are made to believe.

Read between the lines and you will see a pattern. The ones who are dancing round the totem of Keep-Taib-In-Power are those directly involved with the many political parties in the state BN.

The leaders are making the statements, and passing these statements off as a blanket opinion that the state’s voters are of the same mind too.

The state leaders cannot voice the true sentiment of the people. To do so would mark the demise of their own political reign. And rightly so, since it was Taib who put them there in the first place. As said by Mahathir Mohamad, “What we give, we can also take back.”

BN candidates are nominated by the various political parties and endorsed by Taib. The candidates then are voted in by the people and hence are now indebted to Taib for their very existence. There is something wrong with this and it is a fundamental flaw.

The people’s vote should be the most powerful element in any democratic government. The whole government is indebted to the mandate given by the people. It is the people who have full ownership of the government. What the people give, they can rightfully it take back. The elected candidates owe the people (not Taib) their allegiance.

So when Taib said, “If the people don’t need me, then I will step down,” it should be the people who have the right of say on whether they want him or not. The BN component leaders and their various Youth wings should just keep their mouths shut and allow the people to have their say.

Have a referendum and put the vote to the people. Let the people choose the government they want. Let the people decide in an out-right vote if they still want Taib to remain as chief minister.

Time for change
Tall order indeed, especially in Sarawak. The current administration will never allow the people to blatantly speak out their views. Instead, we are treated to cowardly party members making the assumption that ALL the peoples of Sarawak still want Taib in power.

And all this in light of revelation after revelation of Taib’s covert activities — amassing riches for himself and his associates; stripping natives of their customary land rights and Taib’s total monopoly of every business deal in Sarawak. It is an open joke in Sarawak that the Taib establishment has its tentacles in every industry conceivable except the funeral industry.

It is high time that the people of Sarawak made it clear that it is time for change. It is time for Taib to leave the scene and for his underlings to accept it. Nothing last forever and this also includes Taib.

It is interesting to note that Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has yet to issue a statement (as of the writing of this article) in support of keeping Taib in power and rightfully so.

As seen in Sibu, the Chinese have had enough. Would this translate into a bigger picture when the state election comes round? It would surely be a death note for SUPP to endorse Taib for another term because clearly the thoughts of the Chinese are different from that of their leaders.

But if BN thinks that by winning the Chinese over it has a clear shot at winning the coming election, then it is in for a surprise. The kingmakers for the next election, the ones that can topple Taib, do not belong to any exclusive ethnic group.

The kingmakers are the youths of Sarawak — educated, young Sarawakians who are capable of judging for themselves what is right and wrong and are not afraid of voicing their opinions.

And it is clear that Malaysian politicians do not have any inkling of the impact of this “hidden nation”. It is a nation of citizens sophisticated in social networking systems, readers of alternative media and who communicates via SMS and chats.

It is one that is fuelled by information, a nation that longs for the ideals of democracy after witnessing the mockery that Malaysian politics has become.

Suffice to say, the growing voice for reform will come from this hidden nation. It will be loud and clear.

Yes, the people do not want Taib. Yes, it is time he stepped down. And to think otherwise, to think that retaining Taib for another term would be beneficial to Sarawak would be pure mockery of the entire democratic process.

Free Malaysia Today

“Deemed Dirty”?. Just wondering what Krismuddin means.

Only in Malaysia an issue like this can be politicised by UMNO-Barisan Nasional.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today he was shocked that Serdang member of Parliament Teo Nie Ching had the support of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat over her visit to a surau (Muslim prayer hall) as it confused Muslims.

“Teo had no business to be inside Surau Al-Huda as she was deemed dirty but Nik Aziz said its alright, we are modern now. What disaster can we expect next?

He said it was clear that DAP was adopting an extreme approach by questioning the rights and privileges defended by Malay leaders and the rulers.

He was commenting a Selangordaily report that Selayang member of Parliament William Leong had entered the At-Taqwa Mosque in Selayang Baru yesterday to hand over donations.

On Aug 22, Teo Nie Ching spoke from the prayer area of Surau Al-Huda in Kajang Sentral (above).

She repeated the act yesterday when she was invited to the Al-Muhajirin Surau at Bukit Mahkota where she handed RM500 to People Volunteer Corps (Rela) personnel.

Hishamuddin, who is an Umno vice-president, said Muslims should know the context of visits to mosques and surau so that houses of worship were not used for political mileage.

He claimed the incident in Selangor recently showed that DAP gave aid to buy support of Muslims.

“The Malays will not be hurt if it was in the surau compound and not the prayer area.

“The surau committee could have received the aid without going against the sultan,” he said in a statement today. – Bernama

Click here to read what Netizens have to say at Malaysiakini.

This news will never appear in the Main Stream Media. As in most controversial issues surrounding NCR Land, Borneopost will never dare to report it!.

However there are exceptions to the rule. When news do appear in the Main Stream media, it is usually the chirppy bird showcasing their NCR Land Developments and how considerate they have been, and to us this are usually lies.

Lies Truth will never appear in the Main Stream Media and in most cases when they do appear, it is usually someone omitted to request the journalist to black out certain elements of the press conference and media briefing.

We were not wrong when we reported on Sime Darby’s Julau Oil Palm Plantation. We were not wrong when we queried why Nature Ambience with no experience in Oil Palm Cultivation were alienated more than 22,611 ha of NCR Land which they subsequently sold the piece of paper to Sime Darby for RM16.80 million.

Newly minted Chairman, Datuk Mohamad Bakke Salleh were perlexed that in Sime Darby’s Forensic Audit of the scandals that have surfaced in Sime Darby, they have discovered that there were some unsavory practices and there has been a trend of political considerations intruding into decision and political contributions! Is the Julau Oil Palm project one of them?

In The Malaysian Insider’s article which was quickly buried in other articles, perceived cronyism in Nature Ambience’s windfall of RM16.80 million was highlighted.

Screen shot of article at Malaysian Insider. Click to access article at The Malaysian Insider.

With the on going dispute with the NCR Land owners and since the land is found unsuitable for Oil Palm Cultivation as highlighted in the article, there remains many unanswered questions.

As Hantu Net (defined by Deputy Thief Minister, Alfred Jabu), we have just two simple questions to ask for now:

1. Is Sime Darby going to rescind the agreement entered into, between Nature Ambience and Pelita (some NCR Land owners are not a party to the agreement)?

2. If the agreement is rescinded, will Sime Darby be able to recover the RM16.80 million already paid (the money belongs to Sime Darby, a GLC. As such it is tax payers money and ultimate ownership of the RM16.80 million belongs to Malaysians)?

Chirppy Bird James Masing, Deputy Thief Minister Alfred Jabu have to answer this to the voters in Julau as well as all NCR Land owners in Sarawak.

We once again urge PM Najib to order the Sarawak State Government to cease all NCR Land Development until the rights are established via “Survey of NCR Land”.

Not only suspend and cease, MACC, PDRM should also investigate whether there is any inpropriety in Nature Ambience’s windfall of RM16.80 million and all NCR Land Dispute already decided in favour of NCR Land owners.

If Sime Darby do not want the RM16.80 million back, well at least they should consider what the RM16.80 million can do for the Dayak Community within the controversial 22,611 ha NCR Land and which are all within Barisan Nasional controlled “Kawasan”.

This may look like a proxy fight between James Masing and William Mawan! At least attempts have been made by some quarters in SPDP to sabotage the transaction and have William Mawan acting as the proxy and go between between Pelita, Sime Darby and NCR Land owners resisting Sime Darby’s forays into Julau! William Mawan knows what we mean here and who he has met to discuss the issues happening at Julau.

It is of no consequence whether MACC launch an investigation into Abdul Taib Mahmud’s allege corruption and abuse of power. Public’s perception and opinion on what is being alleged admist deafening silence from MACC, the Media and UMNO-Barisan Nasional is already a major victory for civil society groups, the rakyat and opposition politicians.

What next? The ball is in PM Najib’s feet. Even Rosmah will find it hard to convince Wanita Wing of Sarawak Barisan Nasional. Amnogst them are those who oppose Abdul Taib Mahmud and you know what, there may even be Trojan Horses!

Why the MACC will not touch Taib Mahmud
The perennial question in Sarawak, as elsewhere in Malaysia, is why the Malaysian Anti Corruption Agency (MACC) has not asked Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud so far to account for living beyond his means i.e. his known sources of income. The Inland Revenue Board (IRB), among others, can go after Taib as well but clearly nothing is happening from that direction.

Just two examples will suffice i.e. the Rolls Royce cars in his garage, one personal and the other owned by the state government. This is a reflection on accounting standards as well in Sarawak.

The question that arises here is how the Chief Minister of Sarawak can afford a personal Rolls Royce on his monthly salary of RM 20,000 even if he saves all of this as he literally starves to death at his residence in the proverbial rags.

In the case of the state government-owned Rolls Royce for the Chief Minister, this reeks of abuse of power and an exercise in absolute power. ***If the Chief Minister rides in a Rolls Royce, what about the Governor? Should he ride in a twice extended Rolls Royce? And all this when the people of Sarawak are wallowing in the depths of extreme poverty as the second most backward state in Malaysia after Sabah?*** This is a blot on Sarawak, the second poorest state in the country, and an even great blot on Malaysia.

The state government-owned Rolls Royce merits a class action suit against the Chief Minister but no lawyer in Sarawak will take such a case. Lawyers from outside the state will be barred by the Immigration Department from entering Sarawak or if they are allowed to enter, they will not be admitted even temporarily to the local bar or be given a work permit. The Sarawak Advocates Association, with an eye on state government and GLC jobs, will object.

So far, the MACC has only gone after the small fry in Sarawak and elsewhere in the country. The number under investigation for this year alone is impressive. However, the total sum in corruption money involved is a measly RM 6 million-odd. The administrative costs entailed in taking action against these small fry will be much more than the RM 6 million-odd involved.

Malaysian Mirror

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