Malaysian king's palace to cost millions

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – A massive new palace being built for Malaysia's king is expected to be completed next June, at a total cost of 258 million dollars, parliament has been told. The "Istana Negara", or national palace, which is taking shape on a hilltop in a Kuala Lumpur suburb is an enormous complex of dome-topped buildings linked to the city's highways with special access roads.

The palace sprawls over a 100,000 square metre (one million square foot) site which was annexed in the 1990s in what has since become a prime residential area. Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor said the palace is expected to be completed on June 30 next year, at a total cost of 797 million ringgit (258 million dollars).

File photo shows Malaysian royal, Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin (C) flanked by Queen Nur Zahirah (R) alongside former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lumpur. A massive new palace being built for the Malaysian royal family is expected to be completed next June, at a total cost of 258 million dollars, parliament has been told.

RM22,500 to chop down one tree in Kuching

By Joseph Tawie

KUCHING: Did you know that it costs RM22,500 to chop down a tree in Kuching, Sarawak? That was the shocking disclosure by DAP secretary Chong Chieng Jen who said it was ridiculous for the Kuching South City Council to pay tycoon Ting Phek King's company RM22,500 to chop down a tree. 

Ting's company had apparently demanded from the council a payment of RM7.5 million to cut down about 300 trees along the one-kilometre stretch of Tun Jugah road.

Although Ting came under heavy criticism for cutting down the trees, the Mayor of Kuching James Chan in a recent statement defended Ting’s claim saying that the trees needed to be cut down as they posed a danger to road users.

5 Minutes Management Course

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.
The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.'
After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob, after a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.
When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks,
'Who was that?'
'It was Bob the next door neighbour,' she replies.
'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Nasir Sakaran, the soft-spoken leader who does not seek publicity speaks to Borneo Herald...

By Fauzan Mydin

KOTA KINABALU: Political stability is the winning formula in Sabah's quest for greater achievement and continued progress, that is what Datuk Haji Nasir Tun Sakaran, always believes, ardently...

The Minister in the Chief Minister's Department said the people of Sabah have to appreciate and strengthen political stability at all costs as this is the formula that had allowed them to live in peace and harmony since times immemorial.

Datuk Haji Nasir Tun Sakaran, Minister in the Chief Minister Department of Sabah.

He stressed that respecting each others' belief, religion and race is as paramount and prerequisite to preserving stability in a diverse culture like Sabah. 

The soft-spoken Nasir stressed these points in an exclusive interview with Borneo Herald at his office here recently. In the interview, he was asked for his views on a broad issues touching on Sabah general achievements, his own experience as a leader and a glimpse of how he managed to tackle various challenges he had faced... 

Taib Mahmud's sister Raziah gets RM880,000,000.000 bank loan !

Cause to celebrate? Raziah Geneid - sister of Taib Mahmud

By Correspondent of Sarawak Report
KUCHING: We can reveal that Malaysia’s RHB Bank has just lent Raziah Mahmud, the Chief Minister’s sister and her third husband, Robert Geneid, a whopping RM 880 million ringgit!

This breath-taking hand-out (the equivalent of US$ 285 million) was discovered by Sarawak Report in the public records of  Malaysia’s Companies Commission.  It was registered last June as a charge against one of the couple’s privately owned companies, Kumpulan Construction.

Kumpulan Construction is registered as having RM1 million share capital, 5% owned by Zaleha Binti Mahmud Hajjah (her elder sister) and the rest by Mastim Sdn Bhd, which in turn is jointly owned by Raziah and Robert, an Australian national.

The vast size of the loan, particularly in relation to the relatively modest assets recently posted by Kumpulan Construction, raises a number of questions for the couple and the bank, as well as the Chief Minister of Sarawak, who has repeatedly abused his position by granting his sister’s companies lucrative state-funded projects which they are not equiped to carry out.

Sabah and Sarawak, the East Malaysia, Zaid Ibrahim wishes them to be...

By Datuk Zaid Ibrahim
KUCHING: It has been 53 years since Malaya became independent; and 47 years since Sabah and Sarawak and Malaya combined to form the Federation of Malaysia. The imperative word here is “formed”. Sabah and Sarawak distanced not join Malaysia.

But for too long, people in Sabah and Sarawak have been made to feel like they are the children of a lesser God. And for too long, even in Semenanjung, many of us have been made to feel like the children of a lesser God – just because we do not agree with the Barisan Nasional’s policies.

Since the political tsunami of March 2008, when Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds majority and also five states in the Semenanjung, suddenly East Malaysia has become a very important battlefield for politicians. Suddenly, every Datuk, Datin, Tan Sri and Puan Sri from Barisan Nasional is making frequent trips to Sabah and Sarawak. 

Suddenly, in a by-election in Sibu, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister come and go as if Kuala Lumpur and Sibu were the same distance as Kuching and Petra Jaya. And only now they know how to say: “Lu tolong gua; gua tolong lu.”

Dr Jeffrey refuses to run for elected offices in PKR, will give others chances instead

By Jurly Dong
KOTA KINABALU: PKR Vice President, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan announced in a press conference in Kota Kinabalu today, he is pulling out from the race to be in the Party national line-up, citing giving others chance to serve as VP as reason.

Jeffrey, told a press luncheon at Magellan Sutera Harbor here, he duly acknowledged the about 40 nominations for him to vie for the post of vice president but said he would not be in it this time.

This has fueled speculation the maverick politician has something up his sleeves.

Talks of him leaving PKR resurfaced in recent days with some claiming he is eyeing a dormant Parti Setia, teaming with Datuk Lajim Ukin, currently an UMNO deputy minister in Najib Razak cabinet.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey's trusted aide Evelyn Gobile who was among those present at the press conference, also announced her decision to pull out from contesting a slot as PKR  Woman Exco.

The dilution of Christians in Sabah

By Raja Petra Kamarudin
LONDON: Many probably did not take too much interest in the story about seven Immigration Department officers being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

You can read The Star and Bernama news items below.

Many also probably did not realise that this is the second time that Immigration Department officers, plus National Registration Department officers (the state director included), are being detained under the ISA.

The first round of detentions was some years ago, soon after PBS was ousted from Sabah and Barisan Nasional took over the state. Now we are seeing a second round of detentions.

Invitation to participate in Borneo Safari II

Borneo Safari II, a KPSU - Sosek Malindo event, will be held on 5-11 December, 2010, covering Lubok Antu, Badau, Putussibau, Danau Sentarum, Sintang, Sanggau, Ngabang, and Pontianak, is being held by the Dayaks community of Borneo. Those Dayaks (that includes the KDMs) who wish to participate are advised to log on http://paklimonavie.blogspot.com or contact Mr Alim Mideh of SDNU at 013-8374178.

Halal? Haram? Heck if I know…

OCT 12 — It’s really surprising that people want to talk about halal and haram, but not just in Penang. It’s truly impressive, in Penang, how a bunch of geriatrics say that they don’t want money from any source that is considered haram.

It seems as if we are back to the same holier-than-thou mentality in politics that was visible in the 70s, where even graveyards and grieving for a dead relative were politically segregated. This was the age when Umno and PAS supporters were so passionate to the point that the arguments clearly extended after death.