Skeletons in Sabah’s closet

Already reeling from a spate of scandals, the
revelation that foreign authorities have been
scrutinising the bank accounts of some
well-connected Malaysians adds a new twist
to the power struggle in the country.

(FMT) - The spotlight on large sums of unaccountable money linked to Chief Minister Musa Aman going in and out of bank accounts overseas is threatening to crack open the Barisan Nasional’s “fixed deposit” state of Sabah.

Allegations and investigations of shady timber deals and money laundering may be the proverbial ‘last straw’ to shatter the ruling coalition’s hopes of hanging on to power.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has announced that investigations into the alleged money laundering by Sabah timber tycoon Michael Chia has been completed and handed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

“The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has conducted investigations into the Michael Chia case which is linked to the Sabah chief minister.

Long-serving PBS branch chairman quits to join Star

(From left) Sidil Tangkangau (with cap), James Bagah,
Suwah Buleh, Dr Jeffrey Kitingan and Rubin Guribah.

KOTA BELUD : Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) lost its long-serving pioneer branch chairman from Tempasuk when he quit the party to join opposition State Reform Party (Star).

Sidil Tangkangau, 54, PBS branch chairman for Ulu Kukut, Tempasuk, handed over his membership application form to Star Sabah chairman, Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan during a Star function at Kampung Ulu Kukut in Tempasuk near here today.

When your sins can be cleansed

Raja Petra Kamarudin

On 24th June 2006, Malaysia Today organised a dialogue session with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Kelab Century Paradise. Many of the PAS and DAP leaders attended this dialogue, which was the platform that Dr Mahathir used to launch his attack on Umno and Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Basically, it was Dr Mahathir’s version of the ABU or ‘anything but Umno’ campaign.

Only a few of the PKR leaders attended, though, and later that year, during the PKR convention in Penang, Azmin Ali attacked me while Anwar Ibrahim looked on with a smirk on his face. Azmin called me a collaborator and in not so many words told me to go to hell. They were pissed big-time because I was now ‘working’ for Dr Mahathir. Well, I continued to ‘work’ for Dr Mahathir right up to November 2007 when we launched the now historical Bersih rally, which, incidentally, was also supported by Umno people, in particular those aligned to Dr Mahathir. They donated loads of T-shirts and caps as well.

Foreign traders in Sabah flouting law

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: The Consumer Affairs and Protection Association of Sabah (CAPS) wants the Sabah state government to explain how a burgeoning number of newly-arrived Pakistanis have been allowed to literally set up shop around the state.

CAPS’ deputy treasurer, Donny Yapp, said it was now quite easy to find Pakistani shopkeepers all around the city and its immediate outskirts.

He said CAPS had since last year been receiving reports and complaints both from consumers and local retailers that more and more foreigners, especially Pakistanis, had been given a free-hand to run groceries in many places that local retailers would normally have problem setting up business.

MoCS proposes new Borneo Airways for Sabah, Sarawak

KUALA LUMPUR: The Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) has supported the proposal by an Umno MP to the government to award another low-cost carrier licence.

It also suggested that the new licence be given to the Sarawak and Sabah governments to jointly establish an airline to serve the interests of East Malaysians.

“Since Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is beyond salvation and AirAsia has become a ‘bully airline’, East Malaysia should start thinking seriously of the increasing demands of their travelling citizens,” MoCS leader Francis Paul Siah said today.  

‘Money talk’ from Sabah muddles SWP picture

By Joe Fernandez

The latest talk along the political grapevine in Kota Kinabalu and the local media is that the Sabah People’s Front Party (SPF) might be more than willing to “accommodate” the so-called Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) on one condition: that the SWP fields and finances SPF candidates in Sabah under its (SWP’s) banner.

The alternative is that SPF, led by Deputy President Osman Enting, would apparently “go all out to destroy SWP”.

The prime-movers behind SWP aren’t taking the bait so far and are unlikely to do so since that would be tantamount to their admission of being complicit in an alleged illegality. It would have been quite a different matter if the story had not gone public. In that case, the prime-movers would have been more than willing to throw money at the problems to make them all go away.

American caught a big pre-historic fish in Texas lake

By Pete Thomas
TEXAS : Whether Brent Crawford has captured the world's largest alligator gar will never be known -- his scale bottomed out emphatically at 300 pounds and he filleted the prehistoric-looking fish after attempting to obtain its weight.

But this much is clear: The gar Crawford landed while bow-fishing recently in Texas' Lake Corpus Christi is among the largest specimens ever captured -- and it was captured in a manner like no other gar captured beforehand.

(The largest-known alligator gar caught while bow-fishing weighed 365 pounds. The largest caught on rod and reel weighed 279 pounds.)

Crawford, who has lived on the lake for 20 years, was alerted to the presence of several giant gar in a wide canal feeding into the lake: an enormous female swimming with about five smaller males.

Persatuan Pengguna bangkit isu rakyat Pakistan bina kedai runcit merata tempat di Sabah

By Donny Yapp of CAPS
KOTA KINABALU : Sejak tahun lalu, CAPS telah menerima banyak aduan dan laporan dari kedua-dua golongan pengguna dan pekedai runcit tempatan berhubung semakin banyaknya kedai runcit yang dibina dan dan dioperasi oleh rakyat asing terutama Pakistan.

Kedai-kedai runcit Pakistan ini dikatakan tumbuh agai cendawan selepas hujan, dibina di merata tempat dan selekoh, di tempat-tempat yang biasanya rakyat tempatan tidak dibenarkan membuatnya ataupun pasti akan mengalami gangguan pihak berkuasa tempatan.

Egypt's Mubarak reported in coma, off life support

By HAMZA HENDAWI | Associated Press 

FILE - In this Saturday, June 2, 2012 file photo, Egypt's ex-President Hosni Mubarak lays on a gurney inside a barred cage in the police academy courthouse in Cairo, Egypt.

CAIRO (AP) — Hosni Mubarak was in a coma on Wednesday but off life support and his heart and other vital organs were functioning, according to security officials.

Overnight, state media reported that the 84-year old former president, ousted in last year's uprising and now serving a life sentence in prison, suffered a stroke and was put on life support. He was transferred to a military hospital from the Cairo prison hospital where he has been kept since his June 2 conviction and sentencing for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising.

Clean water, dirty loan

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KENINGAU: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s sudden announcement of a RM235 million loan from the federal government to Sabah to upgrade water supply for Keningau alone has caught many here by surprise.

Most people here were sceptical of Najib’s announcement during his trip here last weekend.

One economist from Kuala Pemyu, Dr James Alin, questioned the motive behind the abrupt decision to grant Sabah a loan and not a federal grant, as was the normal procedure.