Villagers may seek revenge at ballot box

Time has not healed the anger of displaced Beluran villagers
whose houses were destroyed and crops poisoned by
Sabah Forestry officials.

KOTA KINABALU: An infamous incident in 2006 that saw 33 houses belonging to the Dusun and Sungei natives in Kampung Koiboton set alight by Sabah forest rangers has returned to haunt the Barisan Nasional leaders in Kota Marudu.

Long-serving MP, Dr Maximus Ongkili, and his immediate boss, Joseph Pairin Kitingan, the president of Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) may be treading on shaky ground in the district if they thought the overzealous actions of Forestry Department staff had nothing to do with them.

Land tussle: Temporary relief for Kota Belud villagers

Rumours of widespread land grabs by the authorities in
Sabah has put local native communities on alert.

KOTA BELUD: Villagers in two kampungs here received a temporary respite from efforts to survey and take over their native customary rights (NCR) land despite their objections.

The Sabah government, already under pressure over accusations of land-grabs across the state, was forced to backdown temporarily in a tussle with the natives over a large parcel of land in two kampungs that have been earmarked for an agropolitan project.

DAP needs to stick to Chinese areas

By Daniel John Jambun

After the recent Sarawak general election, we have seen how the DAP managed to gain substantial number of new seats, causing an embarrassing upset for BN’s SUPP. This gain gave DAP a lot overconfidence and the party started thinking it could make inroads into the rural, native-majority areas. In a sort of a launch to spread its wings into the interior, DAP Sarawak ’s Dayak Consultative Council (DCC) organized a seminar to be held in Mile 17, Kuching on October 10, 2011 . The seminar was “aimed to prepare for DAP’s move from strictly urban Chinese-majority areas into Bumiputera and rural areas in the coming parliamentary election and to supposedly provide related consultative services to rural folk,” but embarrassingly, nobody turned up except for the organizers!

Umno should heed Dr M’s advice on seats: SAPP

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 14: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) agree to the remark by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that Umno should not contest more than 50 per cent Sabah parliament and state seats.

Hudud And The Death Penalty

By Kua Kia Soong, Director of SUARAM, 14 October 2011

 

It is truly admirable that Malaysians oppose the inoperable hudud laws for their dehumanizing forms of punishment but I am surprised that these same people do not likewise vehemently oppose the death penalty that has existed in our system for so long.

 

On 20 July 1986, I presented a paper entitled ‘The Quality and Equality of Mercy’ at a Bar Council Seminar (subsequently published in INSAF) soon after the hangings of Sim Kie Chon, followed by that of Barlow and Chambers.

 

Dangerous precedence in Selangor Sultan’s involvement in the Damansara Church case

By Daniel John Jambun

The decision to use the Sultan of Selangor to make decision with regards to the incidence of alleged proselytization at the Damansara Utama Methodist church dinner has set a dangerous precedence because of several reasons. The people of Malaysia, regardless of the ethnic background and creed are all directly involved and affected by this historic case in which the Sultan, as the head of Muslim affairs in Selangor, make a legal decision on the very sensitive matter.

Why the Lotuds are in decline

By Egon A. Ubit

I wish to express my worry about what’s happening in Tuaran. We cannot deny that the  district has developed quite a lot since independence in 1963. We have even seen how the district had produced a lot of leaders. It was the birthplace of the United Sabah Dusun Association (USDA) which had 80,000 members at one time. Tuaran was also the centre of the struggle of Pekemas with fearless and aggressive leaders like the late M. A. Rahman. Tuaran produced a charismatic leader in the person of OKK Indan Kari, who later became the governor of Sabah , then named Tun Hamdan Abdullah. We also had the famous Limbai Angkapon who would have been the Member of Parliament for Tuaran had he not died while campaigning, so giving victory by default to Buja Gumbilai in 1969.

 

Sarawak tycoon’s firm hired PNG cops to bash up locals, ABC reports

By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider

Papua New Guinea (PNG) police admitted they were paid by a company owned by Sarawak tycoon Tan Sri Tiong Hiew King to crack down on locals protesting against a controversial oil palm project there, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported today.

The state-owned media channel’s “The World Today” programme reported that villagers in PNG’s East New Britain province were arrested and beaten last week by a squad of police officers under orders from Rimbunan Hijau (RH).

More controversy with Taib-linked Ta Ann

An advert countering Ta Ann's claim to producing 'eco-wood' from Tasmania has drawn a response from the Australian Election Commission.

(Free Malaysia Today) - The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has dismissed a complaint by the Liberal Party about an advertisement which clarified the status of the Tasmanian wood produced and marketed by controversial Sarawak timber company Ta Ann.

Max may need many more terms as YB

DATUK Dr Maximus Ongkili has been the Assemblyman and Member of Parliament for Tandek and Kota Marudu for the 4th term now.

I have read his booklet distributed among PBS supporters and voters in 2004 entitled Perjuangan Belum Selesai "Wawasan dan Matlamat" Pemimpin yang Berjiwa Rakyat Prihatin & Berwibawa about his efforts in bringing development to Kota Marudu.