Political frogs: Jeffrey under attack

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU : State Reform Party (STAR) Sabah chairman Jeffrey Kitingan’s statement that “all Sabah politicians are frogs” in Bingkor last Sunday seems to have poked right into the hornet’s nest.

Politicians across the divide and coffeeshops are abuzz with arguments over who is or is not a “frog” in Sabah.

A barrage of defensive attacks against Kitingan by Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders made the local newspapers today, with vehement denials that Chief Minister Musa Aman and his deputy Joseph Pairin Kitingan ever were “frogs”, a term often used to demean politicians who ‘hopped’ from party to party.

Jeffrey extends olive branch to party ‘rebels’

By Joe Fernandez
Leaders and members in the State Reform Party (Star), Sabah chapter, are heaving a sigh of relief after chairman Jeffrey Kitingan extended an olive branch to known “rebels” in the party despite being humbled for the first time by them at an emergency meeting this morning (Fri) in Kota Kinabalu.

Falling short of waving the proverbial white flag, Jeffrey for starters reportedly did an about-turn with about 20 party leaders including rebels. He claimed that he had never issued a gag order recently against them. It was stressed that the gag order was a “mistake” on the part of some of his more “over-zealous” aides.

Possible Explanation Found For Why Eating Fish Improves Memory

We’ve all heard that eating fish is good for our brains and memory. But what is it about DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish, that makes our memory sharper?

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta discovered a possible explanation and just published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

Principal investigator Yves Sauve and his team discovered lab models fed a high-DHA diet had 30 per cent higher levels of DHA in the memory section of the brain, known as the hippocampus, when compared to animal models on a regular, healthy diet.

No indications Jeffrey is a game-changer

By Joe Fernandez
State Reform Party (Star) chairman Jeffrey Kitingan is once again in the news for the wrong reasons. He has stirred a hornet’s nest in Sabah by claiming that all politicians in Sabah, including his brother Joseph Pairin Kitingan, are frogs.

He thinks that this will explain him being discredited time and again by Sabahans as the King of Frogs. Jeffrey has, by most counts, moved through as many as six political parties but all this is water under the bridge and for the most part irrelevant.

Three-lane roads on all hilly parts in Sabah, says Star Jalibin

By Ezra Haganez
RANAU : The State Reform Party (Star) is of the opinion that all roads on hilly parts in Sabah, especially the lengthy stretches, must be upgraded into at least a three-lane road for safety and convenient usage.

Star state committee member, Jalibin Paidi, said Star leaders have received complaints and they have gone for close observation on these roads and indeed, the single-lane or even two lane roads on hilly parts like those in the Tuaran - Ranau and the Kota Belud - Kudat are in great need of upgrading.

Reaction on "all are frogs" story

PENAMPANG : Yet to a veteran politician, Fredoline Edwin Lojingki, 72, one must be judged on what he has been doing or trying to do in his leadership as a politician. "In Sabah, actually all are frogs, but who among these frogs are really fighting for the state rights and the people?" he argued.

Lojingki, who himself had been with Unko in 1960s and then with PBS for a long time until he quit from it recently to join Star, also is of the opinion that there is a great difference between what Dr Jeffrey is trying to achieve to that of the rest of his contemporary in Sabah's politics.

Pushed To ‘War’ – Ibans Threaten Traditional Combat Against The Curse Of Sarawak’s Cruel Evictions

Save our longhouse! The people of Ulu Niah demonstrating against today's eviction deadline from WTK who had given the 2 weeks notice.

To tell people they must give up their ancestral homes: to bulldoze whole longhouse communities and insist these families move elsewhere without fair cause or compensation, seems an inconceivable thing to allow.

Yet in Sarawak it is happening everywhere and often, just in the same way that native lands are being taken and sold from under the feet of the rightful owners.

Treason? No! T’reason why she has stepped forward to lead BERSIH is to selflessly serve the people

I had a chat over coffee with Ambiga last week.

In the course of our conversation, I asked her if, during the Walk for Justice in September 2007 where about 3,000 others and I joined her in Putrajaya to walk from the Palace of Justice to the PM’s department to demand a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the VK Lingam video scandal, she had for even a moment thought she would, 5 years on, lead a quarter of a million citizens on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand for free and fair elections?

Pairin’s magic touch

From left: Musa Aman, Najib Razak and Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

When the Huguan Siou speaks, the prime minister listens

Joseph Pairin Kitingan (left) and Najib Razak

It could be his magic touch or charisma. But by his quiet and gentle persuasion, Joseph Pairin Kitingan gets things done for Sabah’s indigenous Kadazandusuns and Muruts who make up about a fifth of the 3.2m people who include Malays, ethnic Chinese and Indians. Most importantly, he has the ear of Najib Razak, the prime minister.

Civil Litigation: Sabah phenomenon

Letter To The Editor

Dear Sir,

Not a day goes by without the newspapers in Sabah carrying pictures of grinning lawyers standing next to their Clients.

This is a scam by lawyers who “lose” 90 per cent of their cases except where they are photographed grinning ear to ear outside the courthouse with their Clients.

Jahid, Herbert and Rahman to jointly launch Kadamaian Youth Rally Friday

KOTA BELUD :  A big gathering called Kadamaian Youth Rally (Himpunan Belia Kedamaian) is being held in conjunction with a Tadau Kaamatan at Kampung Piasau Community Hall this Friday.

It would be jointly launched by Kadamaian Assemblyman Datuk Herbert Timbun Lagadan who is also State Comunity Development and Consumer Affairs Assistant Minister, Datuk Jahid Jahim, PBS Youth Head who is also Youth and Sports Assistant Minister, and Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the MP for Kota Belud. .

NASA's Voyager 1 probe poised to leave our solar system

By Clara Moskowitz | SPACE.com
A NASA space probe launched in 1977 is about to become the first manmade object to travel beyond the solar system, scientists report.

The Voyager 1 probe, a relic of the beginning of the Space Age, is still alive and kicking, and due to make history any day now. It's hard to tell exactly where the edge of the solar system lies, but scientists say Voyager 1 is measuring clues that suggest it's close.

‘We are all frogs, even Musa and Pairin’

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KENINGAU: Maverick politician Jeffrey Kitingan, often accused of being a political frog, launched a stinging attack on Sabah politicians for lacking integrity and being unable to fight for the state.

He rebuked those who claim he was a “political frog” for jumping from party to party, saying unlike him, all local leaders had switched allegiances and had forsaken their political principles.

Now the Sabah chairman of the State Reform Party (STAR), he said there were no Sabah politicians who could claim they were not “frogs” as it was well known that they had switched allegiances a number of times to gain or remain in power.

Pakatan’s shadow cabinet: A rush job?

Pakatan Rakyat should have announced its shadow cabinet soon after the 2008 general election. It is now too late, of course, with the next election expected within months.

Nevertheless, according to a Pakatan MP, the coalition is getting ready for taking over Putrajaya with a sort of tentative Cabinet line-up, as reported by FMT on June 23.

The list provided by the unnamed MP is so disappointing that it is doubtful that it comes anywhere near to being authoritative. It is as if Pakatan is so desperate to come up with a list that it has resorted to doing a rush job.

‘Shadow cabinet’ list backfires in Sabah, S’wak

KUCHING: Pakatan Rakyat’s so-called shadow cabinet has come under fire here with many declaring that it was a ‘reflection’ of how the peninsular-based opposition viewed the state’s importance.

Last week FMT columnist Selena Tay revealed, after speaking to a Pakatan MP who declined to be named, a list of people who formed Pakatan’s shadow cabinet.

Except for two posts – Deputy Prime Minister 3 and at Transport Minister – all positions were swept by peninsular-based Pakatan MPs from DAP, PAS and PKR.

Upko leader threatens ‘unsupportive’ villagers

By Luke Rintod of FMT

RANAU: A Sabah Barisan Nasional party has come under fire for blatantly linking government aid to political support in the remote interior of Sabah.

This time the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko), of which Federal Minister Bernard Dompok  is president, has been roundly criticised for attempting to browbeat village folks into supporting the party and the BN or risk losing government assistance.

Upko’s state assemblyman for Paginatan, Dr Ewon Ebin, allegedly threatened villagers in remote Kg Wakaku that he would not be able to help them if they continued to support the opposition.

Bersih runners 'infiltrate' Dataran Merdeka

 

All roads to Dataran Merdeka were cordoned off today, but it is not because of another Bersih rally.
Instead, the iconic square acted as the finish line for the annual  Standard Chartered KL Marathon, thus had to be closed off to vehicles.
Nevertheless, the event still attracted its fair share of Bersih supporters who used it as a legitimate reasons to be in Dataran Merdeka and make a point.

Back in April 28, about 100,000 Bersih supporters had surrounded the venue, only to be pushed back by the tear gas and water cannon fire.

This time round, Bersih supporters could freely wear yellow bibs which read "I run for Bersih 2.0" and rush into the square.