Najib sparks demand for Sabah banana

Saba banana fritters

By Nurhafizah Yusof
Pictures by Ille Tugimin
Sabah’s ubiquitous banana is aptly named Saba. But it did not find favour with the people on the peninsula until Najib Razak, the prime minister, had a taste of it. Now demands for Sabah banana or Pisang Sabah in Malay have outstripped supply, according to Yahya Hussin, a deputy chief minister who heads the ministry of agriculture and food industry.

Saba is a hybrid of the genera Musa acuminata and balbisiana of the Cavendish group. Thus it has a mild tangy Cavendish taste. It stands out from other bananas because of its angular sides. It is between 8 and 13 cm long, about the length of a ballpoint pen, and looks rather stubby with a girth of between 2.5 and 5.5 cm. As a plantain, it is usually used to make fritters, chips and cakes.

Sebastian Chew

Christians not wrong if Perkasa's allegations true

By Joe Fernandez

Perkasa's latest allegations on the Christians, given undeserved space by malaysiakini, are going viral on the net.

This is the first time that a Muslim, Ibrahim Ali, has threatened to launch a Crusade -- Perang Salib or War of the Cross -- against Christians. So far, all Crusades in world history have been launched by Christians against Muslim occupation of the Holy Land.

If Perkasa wants to fight for the Cross, Christians would no doubt welcome it.

Pope Benedict Likely To Allow Breakaway SSPX to Rejoin Church

Pope Benedict XVI is about to heal a rift with the Society of St. Pius.Zoom
AFP

Pope Benedict XVI is about to heal a rift with the Society of St. Pius.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to allow the Society of St. Pius X, a controversial, ultraconservative splinter group, back into the Catholic Church, it is learned. But Holocaust denier Richard Williamson, an SSPX bishop, opposes the agreement, which is likely to be reached before the end of May.
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Sabah land tussle: Villagers hear chainsaws again

By Luke Rintod of FMT

BELURAN: Villagers at a remote settlement near here are again being squeezed by Sabah Forestry Department officers who want the Dusun farmers to clear out of a ‘forest’ or risk arrest and being hauled to court for encroaching into government land.

The leader of some 150 affected families, Jaipin Mohigal, said the villagers were warned by two forestry officials who came to their settlement at Kg Koiboton Darat, Tangkarason on May 3 to leave the place as it is forest reserve land.

Najib's London speech drowned by chants of Bersih

A flower girls welcoming Najib in London with yellow flowers.

LONDON : Prime Minister Najib Razak’s speech to overseas Malaysians at a get-together in London a few days ago was interrupted by repeated chants of “Bersih! Bersih!” from the floor.

The chanting started when Najib took to the stage, and it continued when he began his speech.

Minimum wage not the entire story

Judging from the howls of protest from employers in Sabah in particular, the minimum wage culture will take much more time, expense and explanation before it can filter down through society and the business community. Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsudin Baradan has also been quoted as saying: “If I were to be born again, I will never agree to a minimum wage.”

The Federation of Sabah Manufacturers (FSM), for one, is blowing hot and cold on the Minimum Wage Act and has predicted inflation and other dire consequences for workers, businesses and the economy. It claims that it was not consulted on the Act, a point which the Sabah MTUC disputes and cites FSM membership in the tripartite National Wage Consultative Council by way of proof.

Star dares Sabah CM to debate on 'colonialism'

KOTA KINABALU:  Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has stirred a hornet's nest by his statement in the local media on Tues on "the Opposition lying about the state being colonised by the Malaya-run Federal Government".

 

The State Reform Party (Star), for one, wants Musa to prove his allegations of the Opposition lying instead of "hiding beyond vague, sweeping and meaningless statements".

 

Reforming Malaysia: The Big Issues In The 13th General Elections

By Dr Kua Kia Soong of SUARAM

Watching the Prime Minister playing Santa Claus daily, it is evident the 13th general election is just round the corner. And yet the big reform issues that Malaysians want to be met by the political parties and independent candidates are still not being discussed in the mainstream or online media.

We all know that Bersih 3.0 has been an awesome success in bringing about the Malaysian Spring. The Anti-Lynas movement has been just as encouraging. But free and fair elections are supposed to be ensured BEFORE the 13^th general election and Lynas cannot be the only other issue in this election!

Star dares Sabah CM to debate on 'colonialism'

KOTA KINABALU:  Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman has stirred a hornet's nest by his statement in the local media on Tues on "the Opposition lying about the state being colonised by the Malaya-run Federal Government".

 

The State Reform Party (Star), for one, wants Musa to prove his allegations of the Opposition lying instead of "hiding beyond vague, sweeping and meaningless statements".

 

The state cabinet holding meetings, the state government co-operating with the Federal Government or being pawned off with announcements of measly fund allocations by the latter "does not mask the reality that Sabah has been colonised", according to Star in a prepared press statement. "The evidence of internal colonization is all around us."

 

"We challenge him to a public debate on the topic: Is Sabah still a colony?" said Star deputy chairman Daniel John Jambun. "Demokrasi Sabah (Desah) the NGO can make the arrangements."

 

Sabah in dire need for wider triple-lane roads to connect KK to major towns

By Jalibin Paidi of STAR Ranau
RANAU :  The in-coming Federal Government must allocate more funds for a better and wider roads in Sabah, including all roads that connect the state capital Kota Kinabalu and the other major towns like Sandakan, Tawau, Keningau and Kudat.

Time and again we saw a mere landslip on our small double-lane roads would cripple traffic for days just like the one that happened very recently in Ranau. Virtually all traffic from Ranau, Sandakan, Tawau and Lahad Datu to the state capital were halted for very long hours.