Sabah’s oil curse strikes again

Poverty-riddled Sabah is the sixth biggest contributor to
the national economy, contributing more than a quarter of
the total oil and gas produced in the country.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah lost control of its oil wealth more than 30 years ago but the fallout of the widely acknowledged cock-eyed contract is continuing to roil business dealings in the state.

The state Barisan Nasional government is now facing more questions over how it is managing the Petronas-sponsored Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT) project that began more than a year ago.

The Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has accused Chief Minister Musa Aman’s Umno-led BN government of failing to safeguard the interest of the local companies in the ongoing multi-billion-ringgit project.

Melanie Chia, the party’s outspoken women’s wing chief, said there appeared to be no attempt by the state government to ensure locals get a bigger share of the spin-offs from the SOGT project.

Mengapa perlu ubah kerajaan?

Penulis berkongsi pandangan bersama rakan-rakan di
Facebook mengenai isu penting menjelang PRU-13

Menjelang Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-13 (PRU-13), usaha-usaha yang diambil oleh Barisan Nasional (BN) untuk “mempertahankan” Putrajaya semakin rancak. Begitu juga usaha Pakatan Rakyat (PR) “merampas” Putrajaya.

Dalam keasyikan kedua-dua pihak merebut kuasa, kita jangan sesekali lupa bahawa “kuasa” sebenar terletak pada tangan Rakyat (huruf besar disengajakan). Dalam sistem pemerintah demokrasi, Rakyat yang berkuasa dan berhak memilih wakil yang akan membentuk kerajaan.

Di tengah-tengah keghairahan BN dan PR berebut bola di tengah padang, usah kita lupa walau sesaat bahawa keputusan mutlak sebenarnya terletak di tangan kita sebagai Rakyat; khususnya individu yang sudah mendaftar sebagai pengundi.

S'pore - thanks to Malaysia's Dr M, our water industry is now worth $9 BILLION!

Written by mevotex

Fresh water has always been a precious resource to Singapore. Being a tiny island with high urban population constrained by its land size, modern Singapore never have enough water of its own to support its population, but this is about to change....



In 1927, Singapore signed a water agreement with Johor to construct a pipeline transporting raw water from Johor to Singapore. During the Battle of Singapore in 1942, the pipeline was destroyed, which left Singapore with water reserves that could last at most two weeks. According to Lee Kuan Yew, this was one of his motives to envision water self-sufficiency for Singapore later when he became the city-state's Prime Minister.

Immediately after the British awarded self-governance in 1959, the Singaporean government under Lee signed 2 water agreements with Malaya in 1961 and 1962. Under these agreements, Singapore will build two water treatment plants in Singapore and a new, expanded pipeline from Johor at its expenses. Singapore will also supply treated water to Johor at far below the cost of treating the water, and in return, Malaya would also supply raw water to Singapore below market prices. The agreements would last till 2011 and 2061 respectively.

Work in plantation sectors, Sabah youths told

Plantation sector today is not the same as in the
past as planters are offering better wages, perks
and living conditions as well as other social
amenities, says Salleh Said Keruak.

KOTA BELUD: Local youths must give plantation and other agricultural jobs a chance as they are the mainstay of the Sabah economy and one that has about the most promising future at the moment.

Yayasan Kota Belud chairman Salleh Said Keruak indicated that local youths were not even considering these two sectors because they feared the hard work and perceived bad living conditions, thus forcing owners to opt for foreign labour.

But the plantation sector today is not the same as in the past as planters are offering better wages, perks and living conditions as well as other social amenities, said Salleh when met after the launching of the Kota Belud Education, Skills and Career exposition here.

“Plantation owners enjoying good receipts from high commodity prices and in turn they are offering better salaries to attract good local workers, while farming food crops can be turned into a lucrative venture with today’s modern technology,” he pointed out.

Standoff over world heritage sites

The Sabah state government is at odds with the federal
government, which want the places concerned federalised.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has found itself in a fix over its bid to gain World Heritage Site status for several extraordinary rainforest areas in the state harbouring unique flora and fauna.

The federal government has thrown a spanner in the works by claiming full jurisdiction over the sites but the state government has dug in its heels and refused to hand over the keys to its riches mindful that land is a “sensitive” state matter.

The Federal Ministry of Culture, Arts and Information which must endorse World Heritage Site applications has said that it will not do so if the places concerned are not “federalised”.

Tiba masa Orang Asli tuntut hak

Walaupun Orang Asli merupakan golongan minoriti
kerajaan tidak sewajarnya meminggirkan nasib
180,000 anggota masyarakat yang masih ada.

KUALA LUMPUR: Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli se-Malaysia (JKOASM) menuntut ahli Parlimen bangkit dalam Dewan Rakyat mempertahankan hak keistimewaan mereka termasuk pemilikan tanah adat.

Penyelaras JKOASM Tijah Yop Chopil berkata, walaupun Orang Asli merupakan golongan minoriti kerajaan tidak sewajarnya meminggirkan nasib 180,000 anggota masyarakat yang masih ada.

Katanya, walaupun RM3 bilion diperuntukkan kerajaan sejak Rancangan Malaysia Kelapan (RMK8) sehingga RMK10, namun mereka masih menjalani hidup yang sukar tanpa kemudahan asas yang mencukupi.

Malaysia Bankrupt By 2019

Confirmation By Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) That Malaysia Will Go Bankrupt By 2019 With Debt To GDP Ratio Of 100% Demonstrates The Importance Of Change Of Government At The Next General Elections For PR To Save Malaysia From Bankruptcy.

Malaysia will become a fully indebted nation before the end of the decade at the current rate of massive borrowing and irresponsible spending by the BN Government.

The Federal government debt to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ratio has increased yearly from 53.1% in 2010, 53.8% in 2011 and 54.8% in 2012. This is extremely alarming and nearly touching the national debt ceiling of 55%.

BOMBA should go back to school

 

KOTA KINABALU: It was about 12.49pm my friend tags me on Facebook regarding a fire happening at Lido. Then more pictures appeared, a tyre shop was burning fiercely releasing thick black smoke. When I return home from work at 6pm it is raining heavily. After a function, I can still smell it. To my curiosity I drive 5min from my home to the site and was shock that it was still burning at 11.50pm. 

‘AES not suitable for Sabah roads’

Sabah and federal authorities should first ensure that
state roads are in good condition before indulging in
road-safety campaigns.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah roads may not be suited for the expensive and controversial Automatic Enforcement System (AES) which the government is planning to install nationwide to reduce road accidents.

A Sabah MP pointed out that the poor infrastructure and conditions of roads in the east Malaysian state should be addressed first before the expensive AES project is implemented.

“It is pointless for the government to spend a huge sum of the taxpayers’ money to install such a sophisticated system, when in the first place it can’t even provide a good and safer road for the people to drive on,” said Kota Kinabalu MP Hiew King Cheu.

“We all know that our roads are bad, unsafe, not up to the required standard and in many places it is a killer.

Muslihat Nazri larang guna ruang akhbar Parlimen – Rafizi

Tindakan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu dan
pengurusan Parlimen menghadkan akses rakyat biasa
untuk ke Parlimen dan bersuara melalui sidang
media hanya akan merendahkan martabat dan
kedudukan Parlimen.

PETALING JAYA: Pengarah Strategi PKR Rafizi Ramli mendakwa larangan menggunakan ruang sidang akhbar di Parlimen oleh bukan anggota parlimen yang berkuatkuasa serta merta sengaja dibuat untuk menghadkan pergerakannya.

“Saya memang sudah menjangka tindakan seterusnya yang akan diambil oleh Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz adalah dengan menggunakan kuasanya untuk menghalang saya dari membuat sidang media di Parlimen.

“Beliau seharusnya sedar bahawa Parlimen adalah institusi tertinggi milik rakyat di negara ini. Ia wajar disemarakkan dengan isu rakyat baik di dalam atau luar dewan,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan media hari ini.

Tegas beliau, “tindakan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri itu dan pengurusan Parlimen menghadkan akses rakyat biasa untuk ke Parlimen dan bersuara melalui sidang media hanya akan merendahkan martabat dan kedudukan Parlimen.