Monday, March 16, 2009
Friday, July 4, 2008
Sabah and the 20 Point Agreement
Educated and politically aware Sabahans resent it when arrogant West Malaysians tell them these few things:
"Sabah joined Malaysia in 1963."
"Islam is the official religion of Sabah."
"So, when are you coming over to Malaysia?"
"We are in Malaysia so speak Malay."
Of course there are many other things West Malaysians mutter which we Sabahans get a lil uptight about but forgive them in the end. Afterall, it's not really their fault that they end up misinformed on the political history of Sabah, what with the Malaysian history syllabus.
My girlfriend's KL friend came over for a visit the other day and she just couldn't understand why she could only stay for 3 months. Isn't Sabah just a Malaysian state, she asks. Why all the fuss?
Having been brought up with the totally bias Malaysian education system, one wonders how much history have been wiped off. Malaysian history syllabus tells you there is such a thing called the 20-point agreement but doesn't really tell you what it's all about. It tells you that Sabah and Sarawak together with Singapore 'joined' the Malaysian Federation on 16th September 1963 but doesn't tell you the real reason why it's held on the 16th September not 31st August as originally planned. All they say is there was some kind of glitch and they postponed it to two weeks later. Neither does it tell you that the Malaysian Federation didn't exist prior to 16th September 1963 so there wasn't any sort of federation for Sabah to 'join'.
Sabah, or North Borneo as it was known then, was a British colony. It's populace were happy. Education levels were good. People generally spoke good English and there was an equal balance in the social fabric in terms of race and religion. In any case, the populace have assimilated well with each other. Cross marriages were common, some Chinese could speak Bajau and Kadazandusun, and vice versa. People were free to practice whatever religion they professed and that includes the animists in the rural areas. Economically, Sabah was picking itself up sourcing funds from controlled logging. Cheap oil was coming in from Brunei. Sandakan had the most millionaires per square kilometres in the whole world. The British sought to establish good governance, good education, good public delivery system etc etc.
Then Malaya's Prime Minister came up with the idea to form Malaysia. Malaya will come together as one with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore as partners to form a new country, a new federation. This is why Sabah and Sarawak in modern day Malaysia is not just another state. We are a partner. We are the same as Malaya, and not Selangor, not Perak, not Johor.
Sabahans were reluctant at first. After all, why should we trust the Tunku? Life was good under the British. True enough the British did siphoned off some riches but progress was guaranteed and basic civicness, education and services were there and growing. Then PM of Singapore Mr. Lee Kuan Yew managed to convince Tun Fuad Stephens. Now Malaysian history books will tell you that the UN organized a referendum on whether Sabahans and Sarawakians agreed to the formation of Malaysia. They also tell you that Sabahans and Sarawakians agreed overwhelmingly. That is far from the truth. And even if it was the truth, it could only have been with the 20-point agreement which convinced or rather conned Sabahans into accepting the formation of Malaysia.
Whatever happened then doesn't matter now. North Borneo decided to go ahead with the partnership under one condition - in fact, 20 conditions rolled into one - the 20 point agreement.
This 20 point agreement is very straight forward. It would have guaranteed the rights of Sabahans.
Point 1: Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo
Point 2: Language
a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.
Point 3: Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo (Sabah) was of course essential.
Point 4: Head of Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation
Point 5: Name of Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”
Point 6: Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.
Point 7: Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation
Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.
Point 9: British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo
Point 10: Citizenship
The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:
a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence
b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”
c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.
Point 11: Tariffs and Finance
North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.
Point 12: Special position of indigenous races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo
Point 13: State Government
a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo
Point 14: Transitional period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government
Point 15: Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control
Point 16: Constitutional safeguards
No amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo
The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people in the state. (Note: The United Party, The Democratic Party and the Pasok Momogun Party considered that a three-fourth majority would be required in order to effect any amendment to the Federal and State Constitutions whereas the UNKO and USNO considered a two-thirds majority would be sufficient)
Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore
Point 18: Name of Head of State
Yang di-Pertua Negara
Point 19: Name of State
Sabah
Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.
And there you have it. Here are Sabahan answers to arrogant West Malaysian statements.
Islam is not our official religion and the Feds have NO rights to impose on us any bullshit on religious issues because we are a SECULAR state within Malaysia.
Malay is not our official language so don't force us to speak Malay. We'll speak Malay when we deal with you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with learning the English language.
Sabah did NOT join Malaysia. Sabah is an equal partner with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in the Federation of Malaysia.
The reason why Malaysia Day falls on 16th September 1963 and not August 31st as originally planned is this; Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore insisted on gaining independence and self-governance BEFORE partnering with Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. On 31st August 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore gained self-government from the British. Two weeks later, the independent governments of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore agreed to the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya and thus Malaysia was formed. Some of you may think it's not that important but to us Sabahans it actually means a lot. It reaffirms our status as a partner. An equal to Malaya. Not just another Malayan state.
Oh and one last statement which we get the most "Do you guys live on trees?"
A polite Sabahan will tell you 'No, we don't. Please feel free to visit us to see what Sabah is actually like'.
But most Sabahans will tell you this (and laugh at you at the same time) "Yea we do. We even have escalators going up our tree house." And to our surprise, some of you even believe it!
p.s. your Petronas Twin Towers and Putrajaya won't exist without our oil money together with Sarawak's.
"Sabah joined Malaysia in 1963."
"Islam is the official religion of Sabah."
"So, when are you coming over to Malaysia?"
"We are in Malaysia so speak Malay."
Of course there are many other things West Malaysians mutter which we Sabahans get a lil uptight about but forgive them in the end. Afterall, it's not really their fault that they end up misinformed on the political history of Sabah, what with the Malaysian history syllabus.
My girlfriend's KL friend came over for a visit the other day and she just couldn't understand why she could only stay for 3 months. Isn't Sabah just a Malaysian state, she asks. Why all the fuss?
Having been brought up with the totally bias Malaysian education system, one wonders how much history have been wiped off. Malaysian history syllabus tells you there is such a thing called the 20-point agreement but doesn't really tell you what it's all about. It tells you that Sabah and Sarawak together with Singapore 'joined' the Malaysian Federation on 16th September 1963 but doesn't tell you the real reason why it's held on the 16th September not 31st August as originally planned. All they say is there was some kind of glitch and they postponed it to two weeks later. Neither does it tell you that the Malaysian Federation didn't exist prior to 16th September 1963 so there wasn't any sort of federation for Sabah to 'join'.
Sabah, or North Borneo as it was known then, was a British colony. It's populace were happy. Education levels were good. People generally spoke good English and there was an equal balance in the social fabric in terms of race and religion. In any case, the populace have assimilated well with each other. Cross marriages were common, some Chinese could speak Bajau and Kadazandusun, and vice versa. People were free to practice whatever religion they professed and that includes the animists in the rural areas. Economically, Sabah was picking itself up sourcing funds from controlled logging. Cheap oil was coming in from Brunei. Sandakan had the most millionaires per square kilometres in the whole world. The British sought to establish good governance, good education, good public delivery system etc etc.
Then Malaya's Prime Minister came up with the idea to form Malaysia. Malaya will come together as one with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore as partners to form a new country, a new federation. This is why Sabah and Sarawak in modern day Malaysia is not just another state. We are a partner. We are the same as Malaya, and not Selangor, not Perak, not Johor.
Sabahans were reluctant at first. After all, why should we trust the Tunku? Life was good under the British. True enough the British did siphoned off some riches but progress was guaranteed and basic civicness, education and services were there and growing. Then PM of Singapore Mr. Lee Kuan Yew managed to convince Tun Fuad Stephens. Now Malaysian history books will tell you that the UN organized a referendum on whether Sabahans and Sarawakians agreed to the formation of Malaysia. They also tell you that Sabahans and Sarawakians agreed overwhelmingly. That is far from the truth. And even if it was the truth, it could only have been with the 20-point agreement which convinced or rather conned Sabahans into accepting the formation of Malaysia.
Whatever happened then doesn't matter now. North Borneo decided to go ahead with the partnership under one condition - in fact, 20 conditions rolled into one - the 20 point agreement.
This 20 point agreement is very straight forward. It would have guaranteed the rights of Sabahans.
Point 1: Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply to North Borneo
Point 2: Language
a. Malay should be the national language of the Federation
b. English should continue to be used for a period of 10 years after Malaysia Day
c. English should be an official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal, without limitation of time.
Point 3: Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of a free association of states and should not be a series of amendments to a Constitution drafted and agreed by different states in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo (Sabah) was of course essential.
Point 4: Head of Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation
Point 5: Name of Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”
Point 6: Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Central Government but entry into North Borneo should also require the approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movements of persons other than those in Federal Government employ from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.
Point 7: Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation
Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public service should proceed as quickly as possible.
Point 9: British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public service until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo
Point 10: Citizenship
The recommendation in paragraph 148(k) of the Report of the Cobbold Commission should govern the citizenship rights in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments:
a) sub-paragraph (i) should not contain the proviso as to five years residence
b) in order to tie up with our law, sub-paragraph (ii)(a) should read “7 out of 10 years” instead of “8 out of 10 years”
c) sub-paragraph (iii) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be federal citizen.
Point 11: Tariffs and Finance
North Borneo should retain control of its own finance, development and tariff, and should have the right to work up its own taxation and to raise loans on its own credit.
Point 12: Special position of indigenous races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malays’ formula in this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo
Point 13: State Government
a) the Prime Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council
b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo
Point 14: Transitional period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative power must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not be merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government
Point 15: Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under state control
Point 16: Constitutional safeguards
No amendment modification or withdrawal of any special safeguard granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo
The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people in the state. (Note: The United Party, The Democratic Party and the Pasok Momogun Party considered that a three-fourth majority would be required in order to effect any amendment to the Federal and State Constitutions whereas the UNKO and USNO considered a two-thirds majority would be sufficient)
Point 17: Representation in Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its seize and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore
Point 18: Name of Head of State
Yang di-Pertua Negara
Point 19: Name of State
Sabah
Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc.
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the powers of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.
And there you have it. Here are Sabahan answers to arrogant West Malaysian statements.
Islam is not our official religion and the Feds have NO rights to impose on us any bullshit on religious issues because we are a SECULAR state within Malaysia.
Malay is not our official language so don't force us to speak Malay. We'll speak Malay when we deal with you. There's absolutely nothing wrong with learning the English language.
Sabah did NOT join Malaysia. Sabah is an equal partner with Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore in the Federation of Malaysia.
The reason why Malaysia Day falls on 16th September 1963 and not August 31st as originally planned is this; Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore insisted on gaining independence and self-governance BEFORE partnering with Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia. On 31st August 1963, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore gained self-government from the British. Two weeks later, the independent governments of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore agreed to the Federation of Malaysia with Malaya and thus Malaysia was formed. Some of you may think it's not that important but to us Sabahans it actually means a lot. It reaffirms our status as a partner. An equal to Malaya. Not just another Malayan state.
Oh and one last statement which we get the most "Do you guys live on trees?"
A polite Sabahan will tell you 'No, we don't. Please feel free to visit us to see what Sabah is actually like'.
But most Sabahans will tell you this (and laugh at you at the same time) "Yea we do. We even have escalators going up our tree house." And to our surprise, some of you even believe it!
p.s. your Petronas Twin Towers and Putrajaya won't exist without our oil money together with Sarawak's.
Sabah Leaders Against Giving PR Status to Filipinos
KOTA KINABALU, July 4 ─ Sabahans are against the proposal to give Filipinos who have stayed in Malaysia for some time permanent resident (PR) status.
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the Philippine government should not make such a proposal, but instead cooperate in resolving the problem by taking them back.
"Both countries should discuss and finds ways to resolve the problem," he said in response to a statement by Philippine Migrant Affairs Assistant Secretary Esteban Conejos that Filipinos in Sabah be given PR status.
Yong described the proposal by the Philippine government as shirking its responsibility to the 200,000 Filipinos working in Sabah's plantation and construction sectors.
He urged the Malaysian government to take an aggressive approach to the problem and not wait for the Philippine government to act.
Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Bersatu (UPKO) deputy president Datuk Wilfred Bumburing said the party was also against the proposal to give PR status to Filipinos.
"Even those from Peninsular Malaysia are not given automatic residence. The government must be careful in this and must protect the local population."
Bumburing proposed that illegal immigrants, including those with the IMM13 document, be deported.
IMM13 is a document issued by the Immigration Department allowing Filipino refugees temporary stay in Sabah.
Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said the government should firstly consider the interest of locals before giving PR status to foreigners.
"Foreigners who apply for PR status must meet the stipulated conditions. There must not be automatic issuance or flexibility in this," he said.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk V.K. Liew is also against Manila's proposal on the PR status.
"Length of stay in the country is not an automatic qualification for an applicant of PR. All applications must satisfy the requirements laid down by our laws.
"Those who come to Sabah illegally must be deported to their country of origin without delay," he said. ─ Bernama
Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the Philippine government should not make such a proposal, but instead cooperate in resolving the problem by taking them back.
"Both countries should discuss and finds ways to resolve the problem," he said in response to a statement by Philippine Migrant Affairs Assistant Secretary Esteban Conejos that Filipinos in Sabah be given PR status.
Yong described the proposal by the Philippine government as shirking its responsibility to the 200,000 Filipinos working in Sabah's plantation and construction sectors.
He urged the Malaysian government to take an aggressive approach to the problem and not wait for the Philippine government to act.
Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Bersatu (UPKO) deputy president Datuk Wilfred Bumburing said the party was also against the proposal to give PR status to Filipinos.
"Even those from Peninsular Malaysia are not given automatic residence. The government must be careful in this and must protect the local population."
Bumburing proposed that illegal immigrants, including those with the IMM13 document, be deported.
IMM13 is a document issued by the Immigration Department allowing Filipino refugees temporary stay in Sabah.
Former Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak said the government should firstly consider the interest of locals before giving PR status to foreigners.
"Foreigners who apply for PR status must meet the stipulated conditions. There must not be automatic issuance or flexibility in this," he said.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Datuk V.K. Liew is also against Manila's proposal on the PR status.
"Length of stay in the country is not an automatic qualification for an applicant of PR. All applications must satisfy the requirements laid down by our laws.
"Those who come to Sabah illegally must be deported to their country of origin without delay," he said. ─ Bernama
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sabah's Power Woes
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/6094/84/
The recent decision by the Sabah State Government to scrap the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant project in Silam, Lahad Datu has once again put the spotlight on the perennial power shortages which the people in this state have long suffered.
For many, these disruptions to daily economic and social activities can only be suffered in silence as it seems to be the norm.
The sole power utility in Sabah is the Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB), 80% owned by national utility giant Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), with the remaining 20% being owned by the Sabah State Government.
The manner in which the Silam IPP project was awarded last year leaves much to be desired in the way of transparency and fair evaluation on the part of the Federal Government, and corporate governance on the part of TNB. For the first time, the Federal Government decided to undertake a tender exercise with a supposed view to obtain the best possible technical and commercial proposals. When the tender closed, sometime in June 2006, a total of 13 bids were received, including one from a TNB subsidiary i.e. TNB REMACO.
The chronology of events subsequent to tender closing gives substance to my earlier comments regarding transparency and corporate governance, as shown below:
* The evaluation committee, though comprising independent technical and financial experts, was headed by TNB, even though a TNB subsidiary was one of the bidders;
* The evaluation committee then proceeded with a detailed evaluation of EACH of the 13 bids received, such bids being evaluated against their individual and specific merits and demerits;
* The bidders were bidding for only 60% of the project’s equity as the bid documents clearly stated that the remaining 40% had been reserved for “Sabah bumiputera” interests;
* When the Federal Government finally announced the award of the project almost a year after bids had closed, it awarded 80% of the equity of the project to a consortium comprising three of the original 13 bidders i.e. TNB REMACO, Eden- Nova Nusantara and Maser. How could evaluation of 13 unique, specific and individual bids lead to an award to a group of 3 of them? Was this group ever asked to submit a fresh proposal as a consortium? Why weren’t other bidders encouraged to team up as consortia and submit fresh proposals on the basis of consortia and not individual bidders? Why was the portion reserved for Sabah bumiputera interests inexplicably reduced from 40% to 20%?
Now that the Sabah State Government has scrapped the project on environmental grounds, what will happen to this consortium? Will the same consortium be asked to propose a more environmentally-friendly power project and site? Wasn’t there any coordination between Federal and State governments prior to the implementation of this project?
The sad saga of how the Federal Government continues to mismanage the award of power projects does not end here.
In the mid-1990’s, the Federal Government awarded a 120MW open-cycle gas-fired IPP project in Kota Kinabalu to a consortium comprising Time Engineering, EPE, Sabah Energy Corporation and Aras Setia (an unheard of, local Sabahan political crony outfit). The consortium called itself Powertron Resources Sdn. Bhd. A few years down the road, Ranhill Berhad bought over the equity holdings of Time and EPE, thereby becoming the major shareholder in Powertron, subsequently re-naming it Ranhill Powertron.
Towards the end of 2005, the Federal Government approved the conversion of Ranhill Powertron’s 120MW open-cycle plant to a 190MW combined-cycle plant to benefit from the efficiencies of such a conversion. The completion date stated in the revised PPA which Ranhill Powertron signed with SESB was March 2007. As of April 2008, this project is yet to be fully completed. Word has it that when Ranhill became slow in payments to the Japanese sub-contractor, they left site. Ranhill brought in a bunch of retired power engineers from India to complete the project, and whilst in the process of pre-commissioning tests, one of the new steam turbines suffered major damage. Even without such an event, Ranhill would not have been able to complete the project by the required date of March 2007.
In parallel with obtaining Federal Government approval to convert its Powertron plant to a combined-cycle plant, Ranhill submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Federal Government for a new 190MW combined cycle IPP plant, to be located adjacent to its Powertron plant. The supposed benefits of this project were that it would enjoy economies of scale with the Powertron project and as such Ranhill would be able to offer the lowest IPP tariffs in Sabah. Yet again, the Federal Government gave its approval to the new Ranhill Tuaran IPP project. The completion date stipulated in Ranhill Tuaran’s PPA with SESB is July 2008.
Ranhill Tuaran ran into problems right from the start, facing problems with the private owners of its proposed power plant site, eventually leading to these landowners filing court action. Why did the Government approve this project when Ranhill could not even show proof of ownership of the proposed project site? As of today, nothing much has been done physically at the proposed site, apart from some initial piling works.
The protracted delays in all of the above projects will lead SESB to facing acute generation adequacy shortfalls in the short term. Whilst the lobbyists and UMNO/BN cronies play out their own power games within the corridors of Putrajaya, the ordinary, tax-paying rakyat of Sabah will be left facing more dark nights and hot, sweaty days and incalculable economic loss.
By treeman
The recent decision by the Sabah State Government to scrap the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant project in Silam, Lahad Datu has once again put the spotlight on the perennial power shortages which the people in this state have long suffered.
For many, these disruptions to daily economic and social activities can only be suffered in silence as it seems to be the norm.
The sole power utility in Sabah is the Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd. (SESB), 80% owned by national utility giant Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), with the remaining 20% being owned by the Sabah State Government.
The manner in which the Silam IPP project was awarded last year leaves much to be desired in the way of transparency and fair evaluation on the part of the Federal Government, and corporate governance on the part of TNB. For the first time, the Federal Government decided to undertake a tender exercise with a supposed view to obtain the best possible technical and commercial proposals. When the tender closed, sometime in June 2006, a total of 13 bids were received, including one from a TNB subsidiary i.e. TNB REMACO.
The chronology of events subsequent to tender closing gives substance to my earlier comments regarding transparency and corporate governance, as shown below:
* The evaluation committee, though comprising independent technical and financial experts, was headed by TNB, even though a TNB subsidiary was one of the bidders;
* The evaluation committee then proceeded with a detailed evaluation of EACH of the 13 bids received, such bids being evaluated against their individual and specific merits and demerits;
* The bidders were bidding for only 60% of the project’s equity as the bid documents clearly stated that the remaining 40% had been reserved for “Sabah bumiputera” interests;
* When the Federal Government finally announced the award of the project almost a year after bids had closed, it awarded 80% of the equity of the project to a consortium comprising three of the original 13 bidders i.e. TNB REMACO, Eden- Nova Nusantara and Maser. How could evaluation of 13 unique, specific and individual bids lead to an award to a group of 3 of them? Was this group ever asked to submit a fresh proposal as a consortium? Why weren’t other bidders encouraged to team up as consortia and submit fresh proposals on the basis of consortia and not individual bidders? Why was the portion reserved for Sabah bumiputera interests inexplicably reduced from 40% to 20%?
Now that the Sabah State Government has scrapped the project on environmental grounds, what will happen to this consortium? Will the same consortium be asked to propose a more environmentally-friendly power project and site? Wasn’t there any coordination between Federal and State governments prior to the implementation of this project?
The sad saga of how the Federal Government continues to mismanage the award of power projects does not end here.
In the mid-1990’s, the Federal Government awarded a 120MW open-cycle gas-fired IPP project in Kota Kinabalu to a consortium comprising Time Engineering, EPE, Sabah Energy Corporation and Aras Setia (an unheard of, local Sabahan political crony outfit). The consortium called itself Powertron Resources Sdn. Bhd. A few years down the road, Ranhill Berhad bought over the equity holdings of Time and EPE, thereby becoming the major shareholder in Powertron, subsequently re-naming it Ranhill Powertron.
Towards the end of 2005, the Federal Government approved the conversion of Ranhill Powertron’s 120MW open-cycle plant to a 190MW combined-cycle plant to benefit from the efficiencies of such a conversion. The completion date stated in the revised PPA which Ranhill Powertron signed with SESB was March 2007. As of April 2008, this project is yet to be fully completed. Word has it that when Ranhill became slow in payments to the Japanese sub-contractor, they left site. Ranhill brought in a bunch of retired power engineers from India to complete the project, and whilst in the process of pre-commissioning tests, one of the new steam turbines suffered major damage. Even without such an event, Ranhill would not have been able to complete the project by the required date of March 2007.
In parallel with obtaining Federal Government approval to convert its Powertron plant to a combined-cycle plant, Ranhill submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Federal Government for a new 190MW combined cycle IPP plant, to be located adjacent to its Powertron plant. The supposed benefits of this project were that it would enjoy economies of scale with the Powertron project and as such Ranhill would be able to offer the lowest IPP tariffs in Sabah. Yet again, the Federal Government gave its approval to the new Ranhill Tuaran IPP project. The completion date stipulated in Ranhill Tuaran’s PPA with SESB is July 2008.
Ranhill Tuaran ran into problems right from the start, facing problems with the private owners of its proposed power plant site, eventually leading to these landowners filing court action. Why did the Government approve this project when Ranhill could not even show proof of ownership of the proposed project site? As of today, nothing much has been done physically at the proposed site, apart from some initial piling works.
The protracted delays in all of the above projects will lead SESB to facing acute generation adequacy shortfalls in the short term. Whilst the lobbyists and UMNO/BN cronies play out their own power games within the corridors of Putrajaya, the ordinary, tax-paying rakyat of Sabah will be left facing more dark nights and hot, sweaty days and incalculable economic loss.
By treeman
Of Corruption & The Corrupted
Yesterday's newspapers reported that a senior Education Dept. official in Sabah was being charged for alleged corrupt practices involving RM92,800. Today, the guy's been charged with a another involving RM6,800. By doing simple maths, this guy would have accumulated a total of about RM100,000. Of course, this is just the money they found out about. Perhaps he managed to stash nearly RM1million before he got caught no-one will know.
Anyway, RM100,000 is relatively a small amount for a government official to 'eat'. I don't look down on money and if someone gives me that amount for free I'd gladly take it. But the money can at most be used to send your kids for one year of education in Australia and that's it.
My main point is this. Why is the ACA catching all these small fries? Why is ACA wasting tax-payers money going after all these poor scapegoats? I mean it is a good thing to see corrupt officials getting charged but what about the big guns eating millions and billions of ringgits?! And the first person to charge in court isn't all these low-level officials eating RM100,000. The first person to be charged for corruption is Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. With undisclosed wealth amouting to tens of billions of ringgits courtesy of Petronas (i.e. Malaysian citizen money), this guy could be one of the richest former leaders in the world! He's the best friend of Robert Mugabe going to the extend of urging Malaysia's government to offer the latter a place in Malaysia should he decide to go into exile. Absolutely ridiculous.
When it comes to politicians, the ACA will always say 'oh yea..we're investigating him' but charges are never made. There are so many obvious candidates to be investigated and charged too! If ACA has any legitimate reasons not to charge Dr.M, they could easily charge Rafidah Aziz for her part in the AP scandal, Najib for receiving millions for defense contracts, Daim Zainuddin for siphoning out billions of ringgit to buy African and Eastern European banks, and the guy who started Project IC giving illegals MyKads, bla bla bla..there's too many! Now these people will say 'PROVE IT' because they are so confident that they will be let off the hook. Even if there is evidence, they will say 'this case is closed' or 'It looks like me, sounds like me but nobody can 100% say it's me'. In the totally impossible scenario where the ACA does eventually want to charge a big croc, the AG will say 'nope, the evidence isn't enough'. Who does the ACA work for? Who does the AG work for? Barisan? UMNO? Or the people?
The ACA will say 'hey, we've charged somebody before, just look at Kasitah Gaddam'. So what happened to the case now? Isn't he a free man? And what about the rich businessman who got charged at the same time? Isn't he still walking around free?
The scenario gets worse. I got this article from The Star Online today.
A bribe no less, state ACA probes RM9 pay-off
KOTA BARU: The amount may be small but a bribe is still a bribe.
That was what Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Deputy Director-General Datuk Zakaria Jaffar emphasised when he revealed that the lowest bribe amount the agency investigated in Kelantan was RM9, in 2004.
“The measure of culpability is not in the amount ... the amount may be small, but it’s still an offence under the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 ... for giving a bribe,” he told reporters here.
Earlier, he attended the handing over of duties by state ACA director Md Yusof Md Zain, who will assume the post of Johor ACA director, to Mohd Jaafar Hussin.
Zakaria said the highest bribe amount the agency investigated in Kelantan in the last five years was RM1,500.
He also said that during that period the Kelantan ACA received 1,931 tip-offs and investigation papers were opened on 218 cases.
“A total of 60 people were arrested and charged with corruption in those five years.” – Bernama
So they're investigating and charging people guilty of bribes of RM9 (roughly USD2.80) to RM100,000 but the big crocodiles gobbling up millions and billions are still running loose.
I say chop off the head first. Go for the top. Then again I'm not ACA. I'm just the boss of ACA who can't do anything as UMNO rapes the country over and over again.
God save Malaysia.
Anyway, RM100,000 is relatively a small amount for a government official to 'eat'. I don't look down on money and if someone gives me that amount for free I'd gladly take it. But the money can at most be used to send your kids for one year of education in Australia and that's it.
My main point is this. Why is the ACA catching all these small fries? Why is ACA wasting tax-payers money going after all these poor scapegoats? I mean it is a good thing to see corrupt officials getting charged but what about the big guns eating millions and billions of ringgits?! And the first person to charge in court isn't all these low-level officials eating RM100,000. The first person to be charged for corruption is Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. With undisclosed wealth amouting to tens of billions of ringgits courtesy of Petronas (i.e. Malaysian citizen money), this guy could be one of the richest former leaders in the world! He's the best friend of Robert Mugabe going to the extend of urging Malaysia's government to offer the latter a place in Malaysia should he decide to go into exile. Absolutely ridiculous.
When it comes to politicians, the ACA will always say 'oh yea..we're investigating him' but charges are never made. There are so many obvious candidates to be investigated and charged too! If ACA has any legitimate reasons not to charge Dr.M, they could easily charge Rafidah Aziz for her part in the AP scandal, Najib for receiving millions for defense contracts, Daim Zainuddin for siphoning out billions of ringgit to buy African and Eastern European banks, and the guy who started Project IC giving illegals MyKads, bla bla bla..there's too many! Now these people will say 'PROVE IT' because they are so confident that they will be let off the hook. Even if there is evidence, they will say 'this case is closed' or 'It looks like me, sounds like me but nobody can 100% say it's me'. In the totally impossible scenario where the ACA does eventually want to charge a big croc, the AG will say 'nope, the evidence isn't enough'. Who does the ACA work for? Who does the AG work for? Barisan? UMNO? Or the people?
The ACA will say 'hey, we've charged somebody before, just look at Kasitah Gaddam'. So what happened to the case now? Isn't he a free man? And what about the rich businessman who got charged at the same time? Isn't he still walking around free?
The scenario gets worse. I got this article from The Star Online today.
A bribe no less, state ACA probes RM9 pay-off
KOTA BARU: The amount may be small but a bribe is still a bribe.
That was what Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Deputy Director-General Datuk Zakaria Jaffar emphasised when he revealed that the lowest bribe amount the agency investigated in Kelantan was RM9, in 2004.
“The measure of culpability is not in the amount ... the amount may be small, but it’s still an offence under the Anti-Corruption Act 1997 ... for giving a bribe,” he told reporters here.
Earlier, he attended the handing over of duties by state ACA director Md Yusof Md Zain, who will assume the post of Johor ACA director, to Mohd Jaafar Hussin.
Zakaria said the highest bribe amount the agency investigated in Kelantan in the last five years was RM1,500.
He also said that during that period the Kelantan ACA received 1,931 tip-offs and investigation papers were opened on 218 cases.
“A total of 60 people were arrested and charged with corruption in those five years.” – Bernama
So they're investigating and charging people guilty of bribes of RM9 (roughly USD2.80) to RM100,000 but the big crocodiles gobbling up millions and billions are still running loose.
I say chop off the head first. Go for the top. Then again I'm not ACA. I'm just the boss of ACA who can't do anything as UMNO rapes the country over and over again.
God save Malaysia.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
If I Was The Prime Minister Of Sabah
Be warned, this post is just going to be my personal ramblings and complains. I will just type as I feel and will not even attempt to structure it properly.
Even before they read this post, some may already ask 'Huh? Prime Minister? Wouldn't Chief Minister be the correct term?'.
This was exactly what Malaysia under Tunku Abdul Rahman faced. An aggressive Lee Kuan Yew proclaiming to be the Prime Minister of Singapore at a time when Singapore was still a partner in the Federation of Malaysia. How could Malaysia have two Prime Ministers? In fact, it could very well have been FOUR Prime Ministers.
In 1963, four separate governments decided to join together as one nation. The already independent Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak. Of course we all know what happened to Singapore in 1965 and although Minister Mentor Lee was pretty much saddened, he decided to move on and today Singapore is many steps ahead of Malaysia. Anyway, let's focus back to Sabah. Today, Sabah and Sarawak is just treated as 'another' Malaysian state.
Lesson no. 1: Not many people know that Sabah and Sarawak DID NOT join Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak, together with Singapore and Malaya, are equal partners in the formation of Malaysia.
What? Does this mean that Sabah and Sarawak isn't just a state in Malaysia? That's correct. In fact, Sabah and Sarawak are equals to Malaya. THey are not equals to Selangor, Perak and definitely not Malacca. Many Sabahans and Sarawakians don't know this because the history books in Malaysia try to water-down the significance of this. Why not? The Feds i.e. UMNOputras need to control Sabah and Sarawak. They control the Education Ministry. Education falls under the Federal Govt. And thus, the Federal Government, through the Education Ministry wipes out the political and historical strength of Malaysian Borneo. Only recently when Malaysian Borneo delivered the backbone of Barisan Nasional parliamentary seats have they realized the need to take our views and opinions in regard.
So if I were to be sitting in Musa Aman's seat presumably with Sabahan support, then I would push for my position to be termed 'Prime Minister' instead of 'Chief Minister'. Okay I was kidding, but seriously, I would ensure Sabahan MPs fight for recognition of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian history books instead of just trying to drum up pride on things like Ketuanan Melayu-related issues. Perhaps if pushed to the extreme by UMNOputras in the Parliament, I will also push for history books and all relevant textbooks to include the full 20 points agreement which was promised to Sabah. This includes the point that the constitutional clause stating Islam as the official religion in Malaya does not apply to Sabah. In short, Ketuanan Melayu DOES NOT EXIST IN SABAH.
Personally, I don't see it as a big problem in Sabah either since Malays are not the majority in Sabah. Yes, the Muslim Bumiputera population in Sabah is pretty huge but a lot of them are not Melayu. They are Bajaus, Suluks, etc etc. And if you really want to play up the ketuanan issue, then I think the Kadazan-Dusun-Muruts have the most rights to that. But of course Sabahans are all friendly and nice people. We don't really care about racial and religious problems. Orang kita orang Sabah is truly multi-racial so ketuanan doesn't really come up that much. It only happens in West Malaysia where UMNOputras just LOVE to play it up to ignite sentiments. Wave the keris, protesting pig farms although it was the UMNO-led govt which approved, you know those sort of things. Now UMNO has come into Sabah for about roughly more than a decade. Sabahans are worried. We are now subjected to the divide and rule policy as espoused by UMNO so that UMNOputeras can continue to suck our petroleum dry. And now our palm oil too (through FELDA)!
So moving on from fighting for the education of ALL MALAYSIANS on the 20 point agreement, I will also fight to ensure that ketuanan Melayu and other UMNO-related cancers does not creep into the State. To start that of, I will fight to strike off the 'Bangsa' section of ALL forms except for crucial ones such as those related to land.
Okay wait, I havent finished with the 'education' part. Secular and unbiased education shall be available to all Sabahans free up to secondary school if possible. Funds from Yayasan Sabah shall be used to buy milk and provide basic school equipment and stationery to all Sabahans just like in the good ol' days. Education will be my utmost worry for Sabah. Because it is with education that we equip future Sabahans to protect themselves from Malayan colonialism.
Our leaders have done enough to prostitute the State for the benefits of their pockets and have done nothing to improve the education system here. It is now time to fight for our rights. For that to occur, education shall be the key and this will require greater autonomy to be demanded for Sabah education. All Malayan propaganda shall be removed and history books shall include a significant amount of Sabah history. There shall be no bias towards any race or religion and students in Sabah will not be forced to learn in detail a certain civilisation only. Other major civilisations shall be included as well. Pendidikan Moral will be removed and replaced with a more practical civics (only recently did the Malaysian Education MInistry decided to do this). Sabahans will be taught proper manners e.g. not spitting everywhere, keeping toilets clean and dry, charity, basic good and bad. It is only with this kind of education can we produce Sabahan ladies and gentlemen who are respected. It is also with these kind of practical moral education can we start to even think of eradicating corruption.
Teachers are to be well-paid with benefits at the expense of tax-payers. If there are not enough competent teachers, the Government of Sabah under my watch will not hesitate to bring in foreign educators while at the same time establish a good and reliable Teachers' College to replace the ones we have in Sabah because those have been indoctrinated with Malayan propaganda. We will ensure that the stigma of relying on foreign help is removed because only with an open mind can we learn from other people. We must ignore all UMNO propaganda saying the West is evil and that if we seek help from them we are selling ourselves. The Japanese opened up to the West but did not sell themselves. They ended up stronger.
We will send all bright and young students overseas without discriminating them based on race and/or religion. Neither will they be sent overseas on scholarships just because their parents know someone up there. As long as they deserve it, and that they worked hard for it, then they will be on their way to higher education in good and reputable universities. Sabah's education system needs to be rebuilt from the very core. Hopefully with all these new and open education system, the level will improve to that of Singapore, Hong Kong and the likes.
Education is the key to a stronger Sabah in all aspects such as politically, economically etc etc.
In terms of infrastructure, I will spend a lot of money to provide the basics to all Sabahans. Basics meaning clean water, uninterrupted electricity, good roads, and efficient sewerage system. The rest I will leave it to the population of Sabah.
I can go on and on and on dreaming actually. But all these will need a will strong enough to move a nation. And actually all it requires is common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense comes short in this part of the world. Leaders are blinded with greed and corruption. Common sense will tell you that the ACA needs to be independent and not controlled by the PM. Common sense which is from a sincere love for the nation that is. However, our Tun Dr. M obviously doesn't care. All he cares about his power and how to multiply his wealth so he uses the ACA not to weed out corruption but to strengthen his position as PM. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Okay let's just focus on Sabah first.
For common sense to prevail over greed, Sabah will have it's own ACA which is independent and answerable to the people of Sabah. It will be something like the ICAC in Hong Kong and will have full powers to weed out corruption in the whole government system.
Lastly before I end this post, I would also say that as the Prime Minister or Chief Minister of Sabah, I will try to lobby for Sabahans such as the AG and Mr. Bocor to step down from their federal positions before they make Sabahans look like uneducated, corrupt and uncivilized barbarians. It is because we have all these people in the Federal Government representing Sabah, the Feds love to play us around because they think Sabahans are stupid like them.
And one final thing. Musa Aman was not chosen by Sabahans to lead Sabah. Musa Aman was chosen by Dr. M who sat quite comfortably in the PM's office at that time. One day, with all the education and political and economical strength, Sabah will finally be able to choose their own leaders again without interference from the Feds and the likes of Dr. M.
Even before they read this post, some may already ask 'Huh? Prime Minister? Wouldn't Chief Minister be the correct term?'.
This was exactly what Malaysia under Tunku Abdul Rahman faced. An aggressive Lee Kuan Yew proclaiming to be the Prime Minister of Singapore at a time when Singapore was still a partner in the Federation of Malaysia. How could Malaysia have two Prime Ministers? In fact, it could very well have been FOUR Prime Ministers.
In 1963, four separate governments decided to join together as one nation. The already independent Malaya, Singapore, British North Borneo (now Sabah) and Sarawak. Of course we all know what happened to Singapore in 1965 and although Minister Mentor Lee was pretty much saddened, he decided to move on and today Singapore is many steps ahead of Malaysia. Anyway, let's focus back to Sabah. Today, Sabah and Sarawak is just treated as 'another' Malaysian state.
Lesson no. 1: Not many people know that Sabah and Sarawak DID NOT join Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak, together with Singapore and Malaya, are equal partners in the formation of Malaysia.
What? Does this mean that Sabah and Sarawak isn't just a state in Malaysia? That's correct. In fact, Sabah and Sarawak are equals to Malaya. THey are not equals to Selangor, Perak and definitely not Malacca. Many Sabahans and Sarawakians don't know this because the history books in Malaysia try to water-down the significance of this. Why not? The Feds i.e. UMNOputras need to control Sabah and Sarawak. They control the Education Ministry. Education falls under the Federal Govt. And thus, the Federal Government, through the Education Ministry wipes out the political and historical strength of Malaysian Borneo. Only recently when Malaysian Borneo delivered the backbone of Barisan Nasional parliamentary seats have they realized the need to take our views and opinions in regard.
So if I were to be sitting in Musa Aman's seat presumably with Sabahan support, then I would push for my position to be termed 'Prime Minister' instead of 'Chief Minister'. Okay I was kidding, but seriously, I would ensure Sabahan MPs fight for recognition of Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian history books instead of just trying to drum up pride on things like Ketuanan Melayu-related issues. Perhaps if pushed to the extreme by UMNOputras in the Parliament, I will also push for history books and all relevant textbooks to include the full 20 points agreement which was promised to Sabah. This includes the point that the constitutional clause stating Islam as the official religion in Malaya does not apply to Sabah. In short, Ketuanan Melayu DOES NOT EXIST IN SABAH.
Personally, I don't see it as a big problem in Sabah either since Malays are not the majority in Sabah. Yes, the Muslim Bumiputera population in Sabah is pretty huge but a lot of them are not Melayu. They are Bajaus, Suluks, etc etc. And if you really want to play up the ketuanan issue, then I think the Kadazan-Dusun-Muruts have the most rights to that. But of course Sabahans are all friendly and nice people. We don't really care about racial and religious problems. Orang kita orang Sabah is truly multi-racial so ketuanan doesn't really come up that much. It only happens in West Malaysia where UMNOputras just LOVE to play it up to ignite sentiments. Wave the keris, protesting pig farms although it was the UMNO-led govt which approved, you know those sort of things. Now UMNO has come into Sabah for about roughly more than a decade. Sabahans are worried. We are now subjected to the divide and rule policy as espoused by UMNO so that UMNOputeras can continue to suck our petroleum dry. And now our palm oil too (through FELDA)!
So moving on from fighting for the education of ALL MALAYSIANS on the 20 point agreement, I will also fight to ensure that ketuanan Melayu and other UMNO-related cancers does not creep into the State. To start that of, I will fight to strike off the 'Bangsa' section of ALL forms except for crucial ones such as those related to land.
Okay wait, I havent finished with the 'education' part. Secular and unbiased education shall be available to all Sabahans free up to secondary school if possible. Funds from Yayasan Sabah shall be used to buy milk and provide basic school equipment and stationery to all Sabahans just like in the good ol' days. Education will be my utmost worry for Sabah. Because it is with education that we equip future Sabahans to protect themselves from Malayan colonialism.
Our leaders have done enough to prostitute the State for the benefits of their pockets and have done nothing to improve the education system here. It is now time to fight for our rights. For that to occur, education shall be the key and this will require greater autonomy to be demanded for Sabah education. All Malayan propaganda shall be removed and history books shall include a significant amount of Sabah history. There shall be no bias towards any race or religion and students in Sabah will not be forced to learn in detail a certain civilisation only. Other major civilisations shall be included as well. Pendidikan Moral will be removed and replaced with a more practical civics (only recently did the Malaysian Education MInistry decided to do this). Sabahans will be taught proper manners e.g. not spitting everywhere, keeping toilets clean and dry, charity, basic good and bad. It is only with this kind of education can we produce Sabahan ladies and gentlemen who are respected. It is also with these kind of practical moral education can we start to even think of eradicating corruption.
Teachers are to be well-paid with benefits at the expense of tax-payers. If there are not enough competent teachers, the Government of Sabah under my watch will not hesitate to bring in foreign educators while at the same time establish a good and reliable Teachers' College to replace the ones we have in Sabah because those have been indoctrinated with Malayan propaganda. We will ensure that the stigma of relying on foreign help is removed because only with an open mind can we learn from other people. We must ignore all UMNO propaganda saying the West is evil and that if we seek help from them we are selling ourselves. The Japanese opened up to the West but did not sell themselves. They ended up stronger.
We will send all bright and young students overseas without discriminating them based on race and/or religion. Neither will they be sent overseas on scholarships just because their parents know someone up there. As long as they deserve it, and that they worked hard for it, then they will be on their way to higher education in good and reputable universities. Sabah's education system needs to be rebuilt from the very core. Hopefully with all these new and open education system, the level will improve to that of Singapore, Hong Kong and the likes.
Education is the key to a stronger Sabah in all aspects such as politically, economically etc etc.
In terms of infrastructure, I will spend a lot of money to provide the basics to all Sabahans. Basics meaning clean water, uninterrupted electricity, good roads, and efficient sewerage system. The rest I will leave it to the population of Sabah.
I can go on and on and on dreaming actually. But all these will need a will strong enough to move a nation. And actually all it requires is common sense.
Unfortunately, common sense comes short in this part of the world. Leaders are blinded with greed and corruption. Common sense will tell you that the ACA needs to be independent and not controlled by the PM. Common sense which is from a sincere love for the nation that is. However, our Tun Dr. M obviously doesn't care. All he cares about his power and how to multiply his wealth so he uses the ACA not to weed out corruption but to strengthen his position as PM. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Okay let's just focus on Sabah first.
For common sense to prevail over greed, Sabah will have it's own ACA which is independent and answerable to the people of Sabah. It will be something like the ICAC in Hong Kong and will have full powers to weed out corruption in the whole government system.
Lastly before I end this post, I would also say that as the Prime Minister or Chief Minister of Sabah, I will try to lobby for Sabahans such as the AG and Mr. Bocor to step down from their federal positions before they make Sabahans look like uneducated, corrupt and uncivilized barbarians. It is because we have all these people in the Federal Government representing Sabah, the Feds love to play us around because they think Sabahans are stupid like them.
And one final thing. Musa Aman was not chosen by Sabahans to lead Sabah. Musa Aman was chosen by Dr. M who sat quite comfortably in the PM's office at that time. One day, with all the education and political and economical strength, Sabah will finally be able to choose their own leaders again without interference from the Feds and the likes of Dr. M.
Keep Ketuanan Melayu Out Of East Malaysia
ONCE HARMONIOUS SOCIAL FABRIC OF SABAH TORN TO PIECES BY BARISAN NASIONAL
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/5987/84/
Dear Pakatan Rakyat and all concerned citizens,
I would like to convey my deep frustration with what is going in the state of Sabah, my home.
I was born and raised in Kota Kinabalu. I am a half KDM guy, but I mainly identify myself as a Malaysian and a Sabahan, however I still am a very proud of both halves of my ethnicity. My dissatisfaction arose beginning 1994 when Sabah fell to BN in the most dirtiest disgusting manner: when BN bought over elected MPs from PBS to cross over to BN following their loss in the election. Thus began the UMNO chapter in the political history of Sabah. Or if you like, the Sabah chapter of UMNO.
At that time, the BN coalition consisted a number of parties. I do not recall all the parties or the number of seats they obtained in the election. Then came the rotation system. Every 2 years a representative from 3 communities, namely, the non-Muslim Bumis, Muslim Bumis and the Chinese take turn to govern the state. Soon, UMNO began taking most seats in the states. Finally, it was decided that the rotation system would end, with Musa Aman conveniently at the helm of the government. He has been the CM for 5 years already, with unbelievably, no apparent dissent at all. Even ex-CM Chong Kah Kiat seem to have endorsed this idea.
There are actually many issues bugging me right now, but shall only express one that has been bugging me the most. We all know the central ideology of UMNO is 'Ketuanan Melayu', the racialist belief that the Malays are the boss in this land. Historically, this idea seemed to apply only in Peninsula Malaysia in tandem with the Social Contract. However it seems this idealogy has appeared to have reached our shores in East Malaysia. As you might know, there are not many ethnic Malays in East Malaysia, and they are not normally regarded as being indigenous to Borneo. However pockets of so called Malay communities does appear in southern Sarawak, who are often linked to, or associated with the Melanaus, and also in Sabah, who typically identify themselves as Brunei Malays.
Before I carry on, I strongly believe that Ketuanan Melayu (KM) is an egotistical propaganda created to further the agenda of UMNO to suppress the non-Bumis, in many aspect of life. This is the UMNO version of KM. However, I do also believe in the existence of an alternative and milder definition of "Ketuanan Melayu", whereby the special rights of the Malays, such as having a Malay Agong and sultans in Malay states, the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia, and perhaps also having a Malay PM, are protected. The UMNO version of this ideology is more extreme, in that, it seeks to extend Malay supremacy in almost every arena of governance and even social life. For example, that the head of judiciary, head of police, head of military, head of major corporate companies, even principals of secondary schools, et al, has to be Malay. I can subscribe to the milder version of KM (at a national level, not state level) but I cannot subscribe to UMNO's version of it.
Going back to Sabah, I have actually witnessed that many Muslim Sabahans are beginning to identify themselves as Malays. These Sabahans could either be Bajaus, Bugis, Suluk, Malay, even Kadazan Muslims, etc. How it all started I'm not sure, whether certain Malays from Peninsula wanted to extend their sphere of influence by proposing that they are also Malays and that they should begin seeing themselves as Malays, or whether the Muslim community themselves who thought it is the next logical thing to do. I think it is the former which is the more plausible explanation. My question is WHY? They already have so many 'identities' to hold for themselves: a Sabahan, a Bajau, a Muslim, a Malaysian, a Human. Why must they also be a Malay? Its not really a big problem for me if they want to call themselves "Malays", by all means go ahead. But when they begin to shout 'Ketuanan Melayu' here, then it shows an ulterior motive in the adoption of this new identity, which I am against.
As if this is not enough, they have also begun acknowledging immigrants from Indonesia and perhaps also Philippines as "Malays". I have heard a lot about this 'conspiracy' called "Project IC" a.k.a "Project M", but I never brought myself to 100% believe in its truth since most of the things I heard about it is just hearsay. But attitudes of UMNO members of late made me believed more in the existence of Project M. But a statement floated in by one Malay forummer in an online forum recently, where he suggested we embrace these immigrants as our brothers provided they adopt Islam and Malay, is the one that confirmed my suspicion on both counts. That is, that Project M exists, and Ketuanan Melayu is a racist propaganda that has reached Sabah and has been entrenched in the minds of some Sabahans here. (for more information please read "When States Prefer Non-Citizens Over Citizens: Conflict Over Illegal Immigration into Malaysia" written by Professor Kamal Sadiq of University of California - Irvine)
Malay is clearly defined in the constitution as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay customs and professes Islam. Clearly as a KDM, I am not a Malay. Though UMNO sometimes insists that we are also Malays which is plain bullshit. Seriously, who are they trying to bluff. So what is the result of this? Soon, the Muslims in Sabah may unite under the Malay banner and we are no longer seen as brothers in this land of ours. KM is slowly turning the Muslim against the non-Muslims. A clear example of this is the 1986 riots around Sabah. The rioters were seeking to oust the appointment of Pairin Kitingan. Why? Did he cheat in the elections? No. The only reason this riot happened in my opinion is that because Pairin is a Christian. Of course, upon being provoked by certain leaders.
We have always been multiracial yet united society in Sabah. That is why since our independence we have had KDMs, Bajaus, Chinese, Suluks, Malays, etc. (or Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian) as Chief Minister in this state. Compare this to, say, Johor, Terengganu, or Penang, which only had a CM from one particular race only. But ideologies such as KM is destroying our unique open social mentality. We could have been a role model on how racial relations should work in Malaysia. Sadly, communal mentality has seeped into the mainstream society of Sabah. We never cared much about race, but now it seems we must bow down only to Malays. We are also told to fear the Chinese as they are only interested in stealing our money and exploiting us. Is it a coincidence that both Sabah and Sarawak have Muslims and somewhat "Malay" person as the CM? When in fact there is a significant population of non-Muslims (mainly Dayaks) here? I seriously don't care if Malays (from Sabah) get to be the CM of Sabah, but when they are impliedly telling us that from now on only "Malays" can be the CM, then you are no longer welcomed in Sabah. Sabahans should not bow to anyone. If one day a KDM leader should declare that from now only a KDM can be a CM, and that central ideology of the state is "Ketuanan KDM", I would strongly oppose this as well, even though I am a KDM, because this is bullshit.
The recent election is strongly influenced by money politics, desperate need for development, poverty, lack of education, lack of exposure to the alternative media, loss of hope, weak opposition, and phantom voters. Sabahans also easily fall for superficial developments which does not even bring in much benefits. Intangible developments in the form of education, moral, and ethics, are often overlooked. I do not believe that the true people of Sabah have freely sanctioned Barisan Nasional to govern this state.
I hope you get the message I am trying to convey, and not dismiss me as a racist. It is the KDM who are on the receiving end of racism. Even the Bajaus are feeling the heat and are fearing that their identity would soon be usurped by another "Malay" identity. The KDM are too soft and scared. The leaders are only interested in their own personal gains. UMNO is dividing and destroying Sabahans. They are flooding the state with immigrants and christening them as Malays and Bumis to distort our demography in their favor. So my appeal to Pakatan Rakyat is: PLEASE SAVE SABAH BEFORE ITS TOO LATE. Put your differences aside for the sake of the rakyat in Sabah. For now, we need a strong viable opposition which is currently non-existent in Sabah. Even though you are a Peninsular-based coalition, we are putting our faith and trust in you. We need CAPABLE and GENUINE Sabahans regardless of race to lead this state. Give us back our autonomy and other rights enshrined in the 20-point agreement. The 20% oil royalty would be a great icing on the cake. God bless Sabah. God bless Malaysia. God bless Pakatan Rakyat.
Dissatisfied Malaysian
***
The Jesseltonite Review
This dissastisfied Malaysian isn't the only one. I stand with him fully and it is high time that Sabahans remember the days when politics did not come with race and the race card was rarely played up in Sabah. And the day when Sabahans stood together without looking at the skin colour and religious background. The person who systematically destroyed Sabah with the rotation system was none other than Tun Dr. Mahathir. In fact, I wouldn't understand why people will call him Tun because he fully does NOT deserve the title. He had in his time as PM withheld federal funds to the state and even after BN came to power in Sabah he refused to return what is rightfully Sabahans blood and sweat (i.e. taxed paid). Dr. M should shut up and resign gracefully instead of criticizing his successor because his days are over and God willing, there will be no more future Dr. Ms around to destroy the entire state. At least PM AAB didn't do shit like Dr. M.
Dr. Mahathir, I detest you and your arrogance. You should be brought to trial for your interference in the drive to rid Malaysia of corruption. You should be brought to trial for destroying the lives of Sabahans. You should be brought to trial for Operasi Lalang. You should be brought to trial for swallowing up Petronas money and siphoning it off to your cronies. Take your UMNO and Ketuanan Melayu OUT OF SABAH and GIVE US BACK WHAT PETRONAS OWES US AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL FUNDS OWED TO US!
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/content/view/5987/84/
Dear Pakatan Rakyat and all concerned citizens,
I would like to convey my deep frustration with what is going in the state of Sabah, my home.
I was born and raised in Kota Kinabalu. I am a half KDM guy, but I mainly identify myself as a Malaysian and a Sabahan, however I still am a very proud of both halves of my ethnicity. My dissatisfaction arose beginning 1994 when Sabah fell to BN in the most dirtiest disgusting manner: when BN bought over elected MPs from PBS to cross over to BN following their loss in the election. Thus began the UMNO chapter in the political history of Sabah. Or if you like, the Sabah chapter of UMNO.
At that time, the BN coalition consisted a number of parties. I do not recall all the parties or the number of seats they obtained in the election. Then came the rotation system. Every 2 years a representative from 3 communities, namely, the non-Muslim Bumis, Muslim Bumis and the Chinese take turn to govern the state. Soon, UMNO began taking most seats in the states. Finally, it was decided that the rotation system would end, with Musa Aman conveniently at the helm of the government. He has been the CM for 5 years already, with unbelievably, no apparent dissent at all. Even ex-CM Chong Kah Kiat seem to have endorsed this idea.
There are actually many issues bugging me right now, but shall only express one that has been bugging me the most. We all know the central ideology of UMNO is 'Ketuanan Melayu', the racialist belief that the Malays are the boss in this land. Historically, this idea seemed to apply only in Peninsula Malaysia in tandem with the Social Contract. However it seems this idealogy has appeared to have reached our shores in East Malaysia. As you might know, there are not many ethnic Malays in East Malaysia, and they are not normally regarded as being indigenous to Borneo. However pockets of so called Malay communities does appear in southern Sarawak, who are often linked to, or associated with the Melanaus, and also in Sabah, who typically identify themselves as Brunei Malays.
Before I carry on, I strongly believe that Ketuanan Melayu (KM) is an egotistical propaganda created to further the agenda of UMNO to suppress the non-Bumis, in many aspect of life. This is the UMNO version of KM. However, I do also believe in the existence of an alternative and milder definition of "Ketuanan Melayu", whereby the special rights of the Malays, such as having a Malay Agong and sultans in Malay states, the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia, and perhaps also having a Malay PM, are protected. The UMNO version of this ideology is more extreme, in that, it seeks to extend Malay supremacy in almost every arena of governance and even social life. For example, that the head of judiciary, head of police, head of military, head of major corporate companies, even principals of secondary schools, et al, has to be Malay. I can subscribe to the milder version of KM (at a national level, not state level) but I cannot subscribe to UMNO's version of it.
Going back to Sabah, I have actually witnessed that many Muslim Sabahans are beginning to identify themselves as Malays. These Sabahans could either be Bajaus, Bugis, Suluk, Malay, even Kadazan Muslims, etc. How it all started I'm not sure, whether certain Malays from Peninsula wanted to extend their sphere of influence by proposing that they are also Malays and that they should begin seeing themselves as Malays, or whether the Muslim community themselves who thought it is the next logical thing to do. I think it is the former which is the more plausible explanation. My question is WHY? They already have so many 'identities' to hold for themselves: a Sabahan, a Bajau, a Muslim, a Malaysian, a Human. Why must they also be a Malay? Its not really a big problem for me if they want to call themselves "Malays", by all means go ahead. But when they begin to shout 'Ketuanan Melayu' here, then it shows an ulterior motive in the adoption of this new identity, which I am against.
As if this is not enough, they have also begun acknowledging immigrants from Indonesia and perhaps also Philippines as "Malays". I have heard a lot about this 'conspiracy' called "Project IC" a.k.a "Project M", but I never brought myself to 100% believe in its truth since most of the things I heard about it is just hearsay. But attitudes of UMNO members of late made me believed more in the existence of Project M. But a statement floated in by one Malay forummer in an online forum recently, where he suggested we embrace these immigrants as our brothers provided they adopt Islam and Malay, is the one that confirmed my suspicion on both counts. That is, that Project M exists, and Ketuanan Melayu is a racist propaganda that has reached Sabah and has been entrenched in the minds of some Sabahans here. (for more information please read "When States Prefer Non-Citizens Over Citizens: Conflict Over Illegal Immigration into Malaysia" written by Professor Kamal Sadiq of University of California - Irvine)
Malay is clearly defined in the constitution as a person who habitually speaks Malay, practices Malay customs and professes Islam. Clearly as a KDM, I am not a Malay. Though UMNO sometimes insists that we are also Malays which is plain bullshit. Seriously, who are they trying to bluff. So what is the result of this? Soon, the Muslims in Sabah may unite under the Malay banner and we are no longer seen as brothers in this land of ours. KM is slowly turning the Muslim against the non-Muslims. A clear example of this is the 1986 riots around Sabah. The rioters were seeking to oust the appointment of Pairin Kitingan. Why? Did he cheat in the elections? No. The only reason this riot happened in my opinion is that because Pairin is a Christian. Of course, upon being provoked by certain leaders.
We have always been multiracial yet united society in Sabah. That is why since our independence we have had KDMs, Bajaus, Chinese, Suluks, Malays, etc. (or Muslim, Buddhist, and Christian) as Chief Minister in this state. Compare this to, say, Johor, Terengganu, or Penang, which only had a CM from one particular race only. But ideologies such as KM is destroying our unique open social mentality. We could have been a role model on how racial relations should work in Malaysia. Sadly, communal mentality has seeped into the mainstream society of Sabah. We never cared much about race, but now it seems we must bow down only to Malays. We are also told to fear the Chinese as they are only interested in stealing our money and exploiting us. Is it a coincidence that both Sabah and Sarawak have Muslims and somewhat "Malay" person as the CM? When in fact there is a significant population of non-Muslims (mainly Dayaks) here? I seriously don't care if Malays (from Sabah) get to be the CM of Sabah, but when they are impliedly telling us that from now on only "Malays" can be the CM, then you are no longer welcomed in Sabah. Sabahans should not bow to anyone. If one day a KDM leader should declare that from now only a KDM can be a CM, and that central ideology of the state is "Ketuanan KDM", I would strongly oppose this as well, even though I am a KDM, because this is bullshit.
The recent election is strongly influenced by money politics, desperate need for development, poverty, lack of education, lack of exposure to the alternative media, loss of hope, weak opposition, and phantom voters. Sabahans also easily fall for superficial developments which does not even bring in much benefits. Intangible developments in the form of education, moral, and ethics, are often overlooked. I do not believe that the true people of Sabah have freely sanctioned Barisan Nasional to govern this state.
I hope you get the message I am trying to convey, and not dismiss me as a racist. It is the KDM who are on the receiving end of racism. Even the Bajaus are feeling the heat and are fearing that their identity would soon be usurped by another "Malay" identity. The KDM are too soft and scared. The leaders are only interested in their own personal gains. UMNO is dividing and destroying Sabahans. They are flooding the state with immigrants and christening them as Malays and Bumis to distort our demography in their favor. So my appeal to Pakatan Rakyat is: PLEASE SAVE SABAH BEFORE ITS TOO LATE. Put your differences aside for the sake of the rakyat in Sabah. For now, we need a strong viable opposition which is currently non-existent in Sabah. Even though you are a Peninsular-based coalition, we are putting our faith and trust in you. We need CAPABLE and GENUINE Sabahans regardless of race to lead this state. Give us back our autonomy and other rights enshrined in the 20-point agreement. The 20% oil royalty would be a great icing on the cake. God bless Sabah. God bless Malaysia. God bless Pakatan Rakyat.
Dissatisfied Malaysian
***
The Jesseltonite Review
This dissastisfied Malaysian isn't the only one. I stand with him fully and it is high time that Sabahans remember the days when politics did not come with race and the race card was rarely played up in Sabah. And the day when Sabahans stood together without looking at the skin colour and religious background. The person who systematically destroyed Sabah with the rotation system was none other than Tun Dr. Mahathir. In fact, I wouldn't understand why people will call him Tun because he fully does NOT deserve the title. He had in his time as PM withheld federal funds to the state and even after BN came to power in Sabah he refused to return what is rightfully Sabahans blood and sweat (i.e. taxed paid). Dr. M should shut up and resign gracefully instead of criticizing his successor because his days are over and God willing, there will be no more future Dr. Ms around to destroy the entire state. At least PM AAB didn't do shit like Dr. M.
Dr. Mahathir, I detest you and your arrogance. You should be brought to trial for your interference in the drive to rid Malaysia of corruption. You should be brought to trial for destroying the lives of Sabahans. You should be brought to trial for Operasi Lalang. You should be brought to trial for swallowing up Petronas money and siphoning it off to your cronies. Take your UMNO and Ketuanan Melayu OUT OF SABAH and GIVE US BACK WHAT PETRONAS OWES US AS WELL AS THE FEDERAL FUNDS OWED TO US!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Pandikar Vows To Be Fair To All As Speaker
Kota Kinabalu: Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, the former Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, has pledged to be fair to all in discharging his duties if he is chosen as the new Dewan Rakyat Speaker.
Pandikar Amin, who was informed by Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Tuesday that he would be nominated for the post, said there was no denying that the sitting for 12th parliamentary term would be more challenging than previously as the number of opposition members had increased to 82 as against BN's 140, with many new faces among them.
"First and foremost, it's necessary to be fair to both sides, meaning we should listen, and listen well, to the voice of both sides," he said here Thursday.
Pandikar Amin, who obtained his law degree from Lincoln's Inn, London, was the Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker for nearly two years between 1986 and 1987.
His experience in Parliament was as a Senator in 1988, and again between 1999 and 2002 when he was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
"To me, it will be a challenging task but it should not be a problem," said Pandikar Amin, who is from Kota Belud, the Bajau heartland of Sabah.
Pandikar Amin, 52, admitted that the parliamentary sessions this time around would be more lively.
"We can't avoid heated discussions in parliamentary sittings but this doesn't mean that members of the House would all be quarrelling," said Pandikar Amin, who is former State Agriculture and Fisheries Minister.
The Parliament sitting this time around would also be aired live over RTM for 30 minutes from 10am, covering the question-and-answer session.
Pandikar Amin was confident that the Dewan Rakyat proceeding would go on as normal even with the live telecast because similar telecast was also being practised in other countries like India, England and Australia.
"If there are members of the House who go overboard, it's the duty of the Speaker to tell the members to behave," he said.
The nomination for the Speaker's post should be forwarded 14 days prior to the swearing-in of Members of Parliament, scheduled for April 28.
Meanwhile, former Secretary to the Parliament Datuk Abdullah Abdul Wahab said apart from the criteria stipulated under the Standing Order, a Dewan Rakyat Speaker must also be a respected person and accepted by both the Government and the opposition.
He said this would enable a Speaker to discharge his duties effectively and ensure the smooth-running of the proceeding.
"He must be respected by both sides as he will be the one who decides, in which the House must agree upon.
"When a Speaker is respected by members of the House, his decision will also be respected," said Abdullah, who held various posts in the more than two decades of service in Parliament before retiring in May 2006.
Abdullah said a Dewan Rakyat Speaker would also be representing the country in international fora, thus it was important for a speaker to be someone who is respected internationally, he said.
"The candidate for the post should be a person of high integrity, fair and able to interpret the law," he said.
Apart from Pandikar Amin, five-term MP Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Santubong, Sarawak) and three-term MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee (Beluran, Sabah) were also said to be among those being eyed for the post.
Wan Junaidi and Ronald had confirmed that they were told about it unofficially and expressed their willingness to fill the post.- Bernama
***
We'll see how it goes Mr. Pandikar. It's too early to say at the moment because we haven't seen you perform. Let's hope you're not one of those people that make Sabahans look like uneducated and uncivilised fools e.g. Mr. Bocor.
Pandikar Amin, who was informed by Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Musa Aman on Tuesday that he would be nominated for the post, said there was no denying that the sitting for 12th parliamentary term would be more challenging than previously as the number of opposition members had increased to 82 as against BN's 140, with many new faces among them.
"First and foremost, it's necessary to be fair to both sides, meaning we should listen, and listen well, to the voice of both sides," he said here Thursday.
Pandikar Amin, who obtained his law degree from Lincoln's Inn, London, was the Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker for nearly two years between 1986 and 1987.
His experience in Parliament was as a Senator in 1988, and again between 1999 and 2002 when he was appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.
"To me, it will be a challenging task but it should not be a problem," said Pandikar Amin, who is from Kota Belud, the Bajau heartland of Sabah.
Pandikar Amin, 52, admitted that the parliamentary sessions this time around would be more lively.
"We can't avoid heated discussions in parliamentary sittings but this doesn't mean that members of the House would all be quarrelling," said Pandikar Amin, who is former State Agriculture and Fisheries Minister.
The Parliament sitting this time around would also be aired live over RTM for 30 minutes from 10am, covering the question-and-answer session.
Pandikar Amin was confident that the Dewan Rakyat proceeding would go on as normal even with the live telecast because similar telecast was also being practised in other countries like India, England and Australia.
"If there are members of the House who go overboard, it's the duty of the Speaker to tell the members to behave," he said.
The nomination for the Speaker's post should be forwarded 14 days prior to the swearing-in of Members of Parliament, scheduled for April 28.
Meanwhile, former Secretary to the Parliament Datuk Abdullah Abdul Wahab said apart from the criteria stipulated under the Standing Order, a Dewan Rakyat Speaker must also be a respected person and accepted by both the Government and the opposition.
He said this would enable a Speaker to discharge his duties effectively and ensure the smooth-running of the proceeding.
"He must be respected by both sides as he will be the one who decides, in which the House must agree upon.
"When a Speaker is respected by members of the House, his decision will also be respected," said Abdullah, who held various posts in the more than two decades of service in Parliament before retiring in May 2006.
Abdullah said a Dewan Rakyat Speaker would also be representing the country in international fora, thus it was important for a speaker to be someone who is respected internationally, he said.
"The candidate for the post should be a person of high integrity, fair and able to interpret the law," he said.
Apart from Pandikar Amin, five-term MP Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (Santubong, Sarawak) and three-term MP Datuk Ronald Kiandee (Beluran, Sabah) were also said to be among those being eyed for the post.
Wan Junaidi and Ronald had confirmed that they were told about it unofficially and expressed their willingness to fill the post.- Bernama
***
We'll see how it goes Mr. Pandikar. It's too early to say at the moment because we haven't seen you perform. Let's hope you're not one of those people that make Sabahans look like uneducated and uncivilised fools e.g. Mr. Bocor.
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