Jeffrey, Yong fail to settle seats issue

Both disagreed with each other's presumed strength in
many Kadazandusun areas, where both want to break into.

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah-based opposition party leaders Yong Teck Lee and Jeffrey Kitingan were in discussions last night in a last- ditch effort to stitch together a pact to give Sabah voters a clear choice between a local opposition front and a peninsula-based one.

But the two pivotal figures in Sabah’s opposition power play, however, again failed to reconcile their overlapping claims for Sabah parliamentary and state seats.

According to sources, the secrecy surrounding the meeting caused some delay in the arrival of representatives – from both parties – at the rendezvous point in the city.

Is Taib-Jeffrey alliance in the making?

Will wily old Taib Mahmud, who has kept Sarawak
out of Umno’s greedy clutches all these decades,
outmanoeuvre Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak?

By Joseph Tawie and Pushparani Thilaganathan

KUALA LUMPUR: Speculations of covert conversations between “cornered” Chief Minister Taib Mahmud and Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) chief Jeffrey Kitingan gained ground in Kuching following Jeffrey’s call to Sarawakians to “support local parties”.

During a recent visit, Jeffrey advised Sarawakians not to support peninsula-based Pakatan Rakyat but instead to give their backing to local parties.

The call, while confusing to some, has lent credence to rumours that Taib was keen on Jeffrey’s Borneo Agenda and had met with him to discuss an “alliance”.

Opposition leaders ‘not from heaven’

By Luke Rintod and Pushparani Thilaganathan of FMT

A widespread whisper campaign may end Umno's reign in
Sabah, given the RCI revelations and Prime Minister
Najib Tun Razak's desperate need for his own
loyalists in the next GE.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno is bracing itself for back-to-back visits next week by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Najib, who is to pay a two-day visit to Sabah on Feb 13-14, is expected to meet local Umno warlords and Barisan Nasional coalition partners in the state.

Though the visit has not been officially announced, sources said the prime minister is expected to call a BN meeting to formally notify the Sabah BN partners of the list of candidates for the on-coming 13th general election as well as the distribution of both state and parliamentary seats.

The prime minister’s visit comes after he reportedly met, last month, with Sarawak Chief Minister Taib Mahmud who handed him his list of those who will be contesting the impending election under the BN ticket.

Shahrizat blows it for Umno in S’wak?

By Joseph Tawie of FMT

Umno Wanita chief Sharizat Abdul Jalil's arrogance and
ignorance has made her a laughing stock in Sarawak.

KUCHING: If Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil had been observant, she would have noticed the incredulous looks on the faces of the crowd when she recently warned Sarawakians to be “wary” of peninsula-based opposition leaders who stoke racial and religious issues.

Here was former Women, Family and Community Development Minister, who seemed oblivious to the fact that it was her bosses in Umno who had fine-tuned the art of stoking and perpetuating racial and religious disharmony in their bid to stay in power.

“If you talk about propagating racial politics and religious issues, Umno is the worst.

Sarawak snubs hero’s last wishes

Joseph Tawie, FMT

KUCHING: The state government’s refusal and dismissal of an Iban hero’s last wish to be buried at the Heroes Grave in Jalan Budaya here has angered his family, fellow police officers and the Dayak community in the state.

Retired Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Wilfred Gomez Malong, 63, died of colon cancer on Saturday and the family was forced to bury him at Kampung Entingan Cemetery after their bid to honour his last wishes was rejected by the state government without a reason.

Gomez, who was awarded the Panglima Gagah Berani (PGB) medal at a young age of 24, was buried this morning with full police honours.

Malaysia that was and is, by Joe Fernandez

By Joe Fernandez

KOTA KINABALU : Sabah and Sarawak did not become independent on 16 Sept, 1963 through Malaysia, as the history books keep telling our students.

Sabah obtained independence on 31 Aug, 1963 when it opted for self-determination.

Sarawak obtained independence on 22 July, 1963 when it opted for self-determination.

No referendum was held in Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya on independence.

The Malayan Government opted for independence. The individual states in Malaya did not join Malaysia. So, Sabah and Sarawak cannot be referred to as the 12th and 13th states.

Health mistakes you are making right now

Sadly none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes from time to time, but did you know you could be putting your health in jeopardy right this second? From sitting to slouching and even the simple act of breathing, check out the 5 worst health mistakes you are making right now.

Incorrect breathing
Breathing is something that most of us do without much thought. However, did you know that there is a ‘correct’ way to breathe, and – more importantly – that you are probably not doing it? The fact is, many of us go through life breathing incorrectly, yet experts believe that learning to breathe properly could help prevent many conditions including asthma, high blood pressure and anxiety.

Most of us take shallow breaths and breathe from our chests; however, breathing from the abdomen is considered to be a healthier way to breathe as it provides us with more oxygen with each breath. To help boost your physical and mental health, spend some time each day concentrating on your breathing technique, trying to focus on abdominal breathing. Incorporating regular breathing exercises into your routine is a good way to stay energised, healthy and stress-free.

KENYATAAN MEDIA PEMUDA PAS SABAH (AKTA LAUT WILAYAH 2012 CABUL KEDAULATAN SABAH DAN SARAWAK)

Persidangan Dewan Rakyat yang bersidang pada April tahun 2012 lalu telah meluluskan penggubalan Rang Undang-Undang Laut Wilayah 2012. Menurut Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz semasa sesi penggulungan rang undang-undang ini, telah mengatakan sebab penggubalan undang-undang tersebut adalah kerana memandangkan tiada undang-undang persekutuan lain yang menetapkan lebar laut wilayah Malaysia selain daripada Ordinan N0.7 1969 yang dibuat di bawah Proklamasi Darurat 1969 dan Akta Zon Ekonomi Ekslusif 1984 (Akta 311).

Brunei, Sulu sultans had no territory to cede to British North Borneo Chartered Company

By Joe Fernandez

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN : It's interesting that your reader Mr Chong Tet Loi should write in the DE Forum on Sunday 3 Feb, 2013 -- "Ancestors of Migrants came via front door" -- that the Brunei and Sulu Sultans ceded territory in Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company and/or its predecessors.

I beg to differ.

The westerners found early on that their idea of territory and land ownership was not as practised by many other cultures especially the Islamic, the Maori and Indians (America).

RPK: For God, King and Racism

Malaysia Today editor blasts Umno for its distorted
version of the country's history and debunks its
claim of having fought for independence

CAMBRIDGE: Raja Petra Kamarudin debunked Umno’s version of Malaysian history and detailed Tunku Abdul Rahman’s sorrow at the destruction of his vision of a multiracial Malaysia, when he spoke at Cambridge University South East Asia Forum (CUSEAF), first Lent term event on Wednesday evening.

Within a stone’s throw of the Tunku’s alma mater, St Catherine’s College Cambridge, Raja Petra told the audience of 90 people, comprising mainly students in their 20s that, “the Tunku used to say he was the happiest PM in the world, but in a later interview, said, ‘I wish I had died earlier…living to this age and seeing my fellow Malayans killing one another. It saddens me. This is not what I planned for my country.’”

According to the Malaysia Today editor, the Tunku died a heartbroken man and neither spoke to, nor forgave the person whom he blamed as the architect of the mess – Dr Mahathir Mohamad.