Brunei bans public Christmas celebrations to ‘protect’ Islamic faith

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Oil-rich Brunei has banned public celebrations of Christmas for fear of Muslims being led astray, its religious affairs ministry said today, in a country that last year controversially instituted tough Islamic sharia penalties.

The ban, instituted after Christmas last month when local children and adults were seen wearing clothes “that resemble Santa Claus”, raises fresh concerns of religious restrictions after last April’s announcement of the introduction of a penal code that will eventually include penalties such as the severing of limbs and death by stoning.

Practise True Federation – Dr. Jeffrey

Kota Kinabalu:     “The federal government need to decentralize to empower the States and reduce power concentration at its centre and practice true federation not only to reflect the basis of the formation of Malaysia but to ensure the Federation continue to exist with stable federal-state relations” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, commenting on the spat between Penang MP Zairil and Utusan on federalism.

The federal government should stop its agenda of turning the Malaysian federation into a unitary state with concentration of power and money at Putrajaya.

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The Best for 2015

By Briton Ryle | Monday, January 5th, 2015

Well, here we are in 2015. For Christmas this year, I got a touching handmade card from my 12-year-old son, and my dad sent me eight soft-shell crabs that I ate on New Year's Day. 

I rolled 'em in a little flour, flash-fried them crispy, and made sandwiches. They were delicious.

It amazes me that you can get truly fresh soft-shell crabs delivered overnight. These came packed in styrofoam, with ice packs to keep them cold, but not frozen.

Sabah seats proposal submitted – EC

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Election Commission (EC) has submitted the proposed delineation for Sabah to its headquarters, director Datuk Md Idrus Ismail said.

He however did not disclose the number of additional seats requested for Sabah in the proposal.

“We have submitted our proposal to the headquarters. The recommendations will be put on display at a later date for the public to scrutinize and give their feedback,” Md Idrus said this when asked if the state Election Commission would also be conducting a delineation review as is being done in Sarawak.

2015: Rise Above Partisan Politics to Solve Problems

Kota Kinabalu:     “Leaders should rise above individual and party political interests when tackling problems faced by the State in the common interest of Sabah or the general population” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, in his 2015 New Year message released today.

“Problems faced by Sabah such as security and the so-called Project IC can never be resolved if partisan political interest become the primary guiding principle of such solution” he said.

10 kampung di Kota Belud dinaiki air

KOTA BELUD: Sepuluh kampung di daerah ini dilanda banjir akibat limpahan air Sungai Tempasuk berikutan hujan lebat malam tadi.

Kampung terbabit ialah Linau, Menunggui, Gunding, Kota Belud, Bobot, Siasai, Taun Gusi, Lebak Engad, Kota Kerancangan dan Rangalau.

Ketua Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Kota Belud, Faizal Wahid, berkata air dikesan naik sejak subuh tadi dengan enam penduduk membabitkan sebuah keluarga dari Kampung Rangalau dipindahkan di Dewan Tun Said, Kota Belud jam 7.30 pagi tadi.

YB Jimmy Wong and DAP Welcome to Join Independent Monitoring and Action Committee

Kota Kinabalu:     "Sabah DAP Chairman, YB. Jimmy Wong Sze Phin, should "think local" instead of criticising the efforts of the 3 Sabah political parties and 21 NGOs for setting up an Independent Committee to push the federal government into taking actions to solve the illegals problems in Sabah" said the Secretary of the Independent Committee, James Stephens.

Umno made profits by selling Malay kampungs

BAYAN BARU: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told a Malay crowd in Bayan Baru yesterday that it is Umno Penang leaders who bought and sold their land.

Lim said Umno had slandered the DAP and Penang government, by saying the party had purchased land in Balik Pulau, whatever the cost, to "chase out the Malays".

THE UNHAPPINESS IN SABAH AND SARAWAK

There are not really that many issues to resolve — immigration, crime, oil royalty, autonomy, federalisation, and the 18-/20-Point Agreements. On the side, of course, are the Bible and Allah issues, which is not a Sabah/Sarawak problem but being exploited by the opposition as if they are.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The last Umno General Assembly can be said to have sent out mixed signals. Instead of replying to the many questions that people may have about what to expect in the run-up to the next general election expected in 2-3 years from now, it raised more questions than it answered. If people had followed the Umno general assembly with the hope of becoming enlightened, then they were disappointed because, instead, the reverse happened: they became more confused.

AirAsia planes in fresh incidents in Thailand and Philippines

A photo of AirAsia flight Z2272 which had overshot the runway at
Kalibo airport in Boracay island this evening. The photo is from
the Twitter account of Filipino journalist Jet Damazo-Santos.
 – Twitter pic, December 30, 2014. -

An AirAsia flight bound for northeast Thailand turned back to the capital Bangkok shortly after takeoff today when pilots detected an "irregularity" in the storage compartment, airline officials said.

Just hours later, another AirAsia jet – this time in the Philippines – skidded off the runway on arrival at a popular resort island, causing no injuries but shutting the small airport, the airline and police confirmed.