Jabu: I will not be distracted by bloggers

By Churchill Edward

KUCHING: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang said he will not fall prey to bloggers who are trying to keep him away from his constituents.

Jabu, who holds the portfolios of Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications, said bloggers’ criticism of him would not prevent him from maintaining his personal touch with the grassroots.

He said what the bloggers were trying to do was to confine him to his desk answering their accusations and allegations, which he would never do because he needed to know the feel of the ground.

He said as a minister he would be too busy just to sit down at his desk responding to bloggers’ criticisms, particularly those levelled against him, the state government and the Barisan Nasional (BN).

“If I am confined to my desk at my office answering to the blogs, I will be falling into the trap of this people (bloggers) who are trying to entrap me or to immobilise me so that I will not be in contact with the people who depend on the portfolios assigned to me,” Jabu said to reporters in his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia after receiving a courtesy call from The Netherlands Ambassador to Malaysia, Lody Embrechts, yesterday.

He said: “I don’t have any intention to reply (to the bloggers) otherwise I will end up not being mobile. My portfolios require that I look after rural development apart from visiting rural areas. These are my priorities,” he said.

Jabu, who is Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) deputy president said: “I have my own conscience and programmes. If the best of what I have done are still not good to the people who disagree with me, then it is up to them to make their interpretations.”

He said he would rather leave it to the general public (or the electorates) to make judgment on his performance.

“Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. They can do what they like as long as it is within limits. But I believe nobody, including the bloggers, are perfect,” he said. He said he would not copy his critics by setting up his own blog just to counter them.

Of late blogs set up by some Dayak intellectuals have mushroomed. Some of the articles published by these blogs are not so kind to the government.

Jabu said he could not tell if the criticisms would affect the election result of the next State polls which could be held before 2011.

Jabu yesterday went on to relate what he had done since becoming minister in the 1970s.

“One of the things that I do is to consistently believe that it was indeed a good thing that I am entrusted by the government to pursue an organisation, Salcra. It started in 1976 after I introduced the Salcra Bill in the State Legislative Assembly,” he said.

“I tell you about my experience. Since 15 years ago there were already a lot of criticisms levelled against me and most of them were from my own people and community (the Iban) and I don’t expect it to end. Even now we have the blocking and blogging which I don’t have any control over,” he said.

By ‘blocking’, it could only be assumed that Jabu was referring to illegal blockades aimed at stopping land development.

“But my conscience tells me that when I do my job, I will do it well. As chairman of Salcra, despite all the criticisms from the opposition, the bloggers and blocking included, last year I was successful in distributing RM52 million dividends to 16,000 participants of Salcra,” he said.

“And in spite of it I didn’t get any credit from them including those from my own community. But I don’t mind that. It was not that I wanted credit or praise. No. But it is my duty to serve and if I can help a lot of people - more people would be happy. There were few people (who are) not so happy but then such is the order of the world,” he said.

He said should he stop becoming Salcra (Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority) chairman 15 years ago, he could not imagine as to what would happen to the participants now.

“Now Salcra has managed to pay out dividends to last year’s 16,000 participants who were among the more than 80,000 people benefitting from dividends worth a total RM295 million,” he said.

“If there are people still criticising me for that, I advise them to name any organisation which can performed 10 per cent of what Salcra - the organisation that was entrusted to me to lead - had done,” he said.

“I leave it to the general public to make judgment. I think, in whatever we do and for as long as we got clear conscience, commitment to people, to get results, practising social corporate responsibility and being accountable to the Salcra Board as well as to government, my conscience is clear,” he said.

Jabu also commented on the request by the blog dayakbaru.com to the government to set up ‘Dayak Centre for Community Change’.

He said the blog may come up with whatever name they wished for such centre.

“It may sound palatable (pleasant) but no name can be impressive enough unless they (proposers) can proof themselves by delivering the goods,” he said.

Jabu said he had endured criticisms for the last 35 years, including those coming from the blogs now, and that he was not about to throw in the towel.

HOPE FOR SARAWAK?

Malaysiakini

“It looks like there is now hope for Sarawak.”

MCPX

This was the text of a SMS from a KL-based senior bank manager, a Lun Bawang, after reports on Saturday night that PAS had crushed the Barisan Nasional and won the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat with a 2,631-vote majority in a by-election.

This would be the second win for the Pakatan Rakyat after the March 2008 general elections, confirming waning support for the country’s ruling coalition.

The Orang Ulu senior bank manager, a PKR supporter, was referring to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat’s (PKR/DAP/PAS) campaign already underway to wrest control of Sarawak from the BN in the next state elections due at the latest by 2011.

He said: “The KT result confirmed for the second time, after Permatang Pauh, that the wind of change that swept the country on March 13, 2008 is real and here to stay.”

“In fact it is gathering strength instead of dying out as the BN would hope!”

He added: “To the Sarawakians it says the moment of truth is now. It’s time the voters show (Chief Minister) Taib Mahmud the final curtain.”

There has been talk that long-serving Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud may call the state elections earlier. Although he has publicly ruled out elections this year, many believe it will be to pave the way for his son Sulaiman, 39, the Samarahan MP and deputy tourism minister, to eventually take over from him.

‘Change in the making’

Almost without any exception local PKR party leaders and supporters said the Kuala Terengganu by-election result which many people had believed would be won by the BN would be a big boost to the morale of Pakatan Rakyat, believing it to reflect the national mood for change.

In its major roadshows so far in places like Kuching, Sibu and Miri, PKR has proclaimed that “Change We Can” and “Change in the Making” as their campaign theme in both urban and rural areas of Sarawak.

Sarawak has 71 state assembly seats , of which eight are in the hands of the Opposition (DAP 6, PKR 2) and one Independent (pro-BN).

Senior leaders of state BN component parties Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) and Sarawak United People’s Party(Supp) have already warned their BN colleagues to take the threat from Pakatan, especially PKR, seriously.

Even within Taib’s own party Parti Pesaka Bumiputera (PBB) some senior leaders – all Malays – have told the chief minister not to take the threat from PKR lightly.

But Taib doesn’t seem worried or seem to care, said several political observers.

PKR has already penetrated far and deep into Dayak areas which represent a total of 28 state seats while DAP’s support among the Chinese, especially in the urban centres, is growing too.

This will be at the expense of largely SUPP. DAP’s six state assemblypersons won in urban areas, and political observers say DAP is likely to make greater impact the next round in more areas in central (Sibu) and northern (Miri) Sarawak regions.

DAP eyes Chinese majority areas

There are 17 Chinese majority and mixed state constituencies ,most of which are likely to be contested by DAP with a few going to PKR’s Chinese candidates.

The Malay/Melanau areas with a total of 25 state seats are going to prove to be a tough nut to crack. Taib’s PBB has a strong hold on the Malay/Melanau seats.

But the vulnerable ones are said to be in and around Kuching ,in Simunjan, Gedong and Sibu, largely because of local issues and problems. In the last state elections, PAS lost narrowly in one of the Malay seats in the Simunjan area.

A combined Pakatan Rakyat campaign could have a significant impact, just as what has been seen in Permatang Pauh and Kuala Terengganu.

If the Pakatan Rakyat were to win also in Pensiangan (a by-election will be held if PBRS leader Joseph Kurup lost his appeal), that would further confirm a swing among the rural constituents towards the Opposition and spell big trouble for Sabah BN in the next general elections as well.

In Sarawak, the Opposition has played up to great effect, various issues regarding the growing disquiet over the land issue, Taib’s leadership, amassed wealth of top politicians in the state, cronyism, nepotism, corruption and marginalisation of various groups in business, civil service and other economic opportunities.

PKR will continue with its roadshows ahead of the state elections and will bring in their bigwigs, including Pakatan Rakyat’s chief minister and mentris besar, to meet the locals and give a boost to their local party leaders’ efforts to shore up support for their respective parties.

The three major dinner gatherings in Kuching, Sibu and Miri have attracted thousands to come and listen to such leaders as Anwar Ibrahim and Selangor Mentri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

Other road shows will be held in other major towns in Sarawak with seminars in between to prepare party members for election work.

A senior party leader told Malaysiakini that they will expose their potential candidates at such gatherings and seminars to the grassroots. “We believe the state elections could be held this year and so we must be prepared,” he added.

COULD THIS BE DUE TO RIVER POLLUTION?

I strongly believed that the death fishes that found floating in Sungai Tiau Mujong Kapit was caused by river pollution. Many of the fishes are protected species (Empurau and Semah). If no effort to stop our forest destruction there will be no more of these special fish in future.

I urge the relevant authority to look after this problem seriously. Stop all the forest destruction activities, that activity only benefit those intruder but not the people.

Stop giving the concession to those intruders! That land should be belonged to the indegenous people.

LANGRIMBA

DELICIOUS IKAN EMPURAU RM300 PER KILO

Oleh Churchill Edward

KUCHING: An investigation team with better equipment will be sent to probe the cause of death of fishes found floating in Sungai Tiau in Munjong, Kapit.

This assurance came from State Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) yesterday.

Yesterday its Environmental Quality Controller Dr Penguang Manggil told The Borneo Post that this time around they just have to probe deeper into the matter.

“At this point of time, I cannot tell what has happened. At the same time, we couldn’t pin-point the cause. We will have to send a probe team over there (Sungai Tiau, a tributary of Sungai Baleh) but they will be better equipped this time around,” he said.

He revealed that the last time, his team of investigators could not arrive at a conclusion over their findings on the new year occurrence of dead fishes floating in Sungai Rajang between Long Murum in upper Belaga and Kapit.

“Our men then (at Belaga), came only three days after the occurrence. By that time it was difficult for them to determine the cause,” he said.

Penguang said these two cases are similar to one several years ago when a river overflowed, a process he described as “over topping”.

thesundaypost reported that residents along Sungai Tiau had said on Jan 10 that they saw dead fishes swept away by strong currents.

Apart from the strong current, the water level was also relatively high, said Tuai Rumah Nisin Bunyau.

Another witness Dinggai Geramong from Rumah Bangkong also in Mujong reported that the dead fishes included buris, baung, adong, keli, empurau, semah, tengkadak and toman apart from prawns.

From Jan 14 and 17, two enforcement and licensing officers from the Agriculture Ministry in Kuching - Zakri Padil and Chong Ted Kin - as well as several other staff were at the scene to investigate. They brought some of the fishes to Kuching.

In the Belaga case, the “over-topping” of the river include siltation when incidence of dead fishes is common, Penguang said yesterday.

However, he could not say whether the fishes died as a result of suffocation or other causes.

In that incident, some villagers were quick to blame logging ponds which discharged chemicals that contaminated the river.

But the authority said it was too early to tell as investigation was still ongoing.

The only thing for certain now was that nobody wanted to eat the fish there.

When contacted several days after the (Belaga) incident, Baleh assemblyman Dato Sri Dr James Masing, who is also Land Development Minister, advised people not to eat or buy the fish there.

According to him, it was hard to believe that the fish had died as a result of the muddy water since it had been there for “a long time.”

KT ELECTION RESULT SERVES SERIOUS WARNING TO BN INCUMBENTS

JAN 19 – Election results cannot help but provide an exhausted citizenry relief from the suspense of the weeks preceding polling day. More than that, they are a reality check on the political state of affairs.

That is one reason why polls are so captivating, and when carried out fairly, they also leave all involved on all sides with the feeling that they did take part in something grand and meaningful.

Naturally, a by-election tells much less than what a general election would and the consequences of the results are infinitely less imposing.

That is true for normal times. But these are not normal times in Malaysia.

The Kuala Terengganu by-election on Saturday took place right in the middle of a protracted battle between the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that started even before the latter was properly formed on April 1 last year.

There appears to be no end to this war of wits and the weaving of intrigues. Perhaps that is the point of a democracy – to institutionalise inherent differences and thus, defuse their potential to cause violence.

Buoyed by their success in last year’s March 8 elections, and indeed as if in answer to a calling, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) could not but make one more attempt at forming a coalition that could finally challenge the BN for federal power.

With Pas’ success in Kuala Trengganu, the baby that is the PR has survived its shaky infancy.

BN has now lost two by-elections in a row, and badly at that. The first was at Permatang Pauh in Penang state when former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was elected back into Parliament in August last year.

With these coming after the drubbing that the government suffered in the general elections, and if we consider how consistently BN won four by-elections during Abdullah Badawi’s first mandate period, it is hard for anyone to continue claiming that the tide has indeed turned for BN since March 08.

However, what the PR needs to be cognisant of is exactly the fact that tides do change. No doubt the three member-parties of PR will ride the present gush in their favour for as long as they can.

Malaysians can only hope that it will wash away much that has gone wrong with BN and put into place institutions and values that will take the country into a new stage of concerted development.

To steal one of United States President-elect Barack Obama’s lines (who does not do that nowadays?) we may be witnessing a rebirth of inter-ethnic cooperation taking place in Malaysia. The first birth took place in the 1950s under Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, and the second happens now, half a century later.

Identifying the differences between the two conceptions and the two births may provide a roadmap for how the new-born consensus is to be nurtured.

Now, when the Islamist party actually won over 3,000 votes more than it did 10 months ago in the Kuala Trengganu parliamentary constituency, its members cannot avoid learning at the nation-wide level that non-Muslims are not necessarily going to vote against it.

If non-Muslims are indeed part of its potential constituency, then there is an understanding that dialogues are necessary.

Pakatan Rakyat’s achievement in its nine-month existence is this: Being able to sell the idea to otherwise race-fixated Malaysians that they are not each other’s enemies and their battles do not have to be fought by proxy through race-based political parties.

This is not a new product. It was sold once upon a time to Malayans in the twilight years of British domination of Malaya by Tunku Abdul Rahman.

But much has changed since then. That was no longer the product that BN had been selling over the last couple of decades.

The most important change is the fact that the country has been ruled for 50 years by an increasingly powerful BN that grew more corrupt, more callous, more uncaring and less competent. It had become a goal unto itself.

With hubris eating up BN credibility and the population hollowed of hope, the tide turned and a rebirth of inter-ethnic cooperation became necessary.

“Enough is enough” is thus the common sentiment through which the two conceptions took place. As in March last year, Chinese and Indians voted in Kuala Trengganu for a Malay-based party outside BN’s framework.

That had been BN’s trump card. It has now lost that monopoly. Tides ebb and babies grow big. BN waited too long to reinvent itself.

Nations live on a diet of successive myths. Once one is gone, another is adopted. The latest myths to go are that Malaysia’s fate is synonymous with BN’s fate, and the well-being of the Malay community is dependent on the well-being of the once-dominant United Malays National Organisation.

Dr M: Wrong choice of candidate caused BN to lose

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad blamed the choice of candidate for Pas' win in the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

"The results of the by-election clearly echo the results of the March 2008 general election where people were not fond of both sides but had to make a choice."

Asked about the Barisan Nasional's chances in the next general election, Dr Mahathir said if it continued to field candidates who were not favoured by the rakyat, it would suffer more losses.

He spoke after launching the "Save the Palestinians" campaign organised by a coalition of Malaysian non-governmental organisations.

Prior to the vote, Dr Mahathir had posted on his blog, Chedet.com, that Azharudin would get more votes than expected because the BN and Pakatan Rakyat could not be trusted.
Azharudin received only 193 votes and lost his deposit.

SOURCE: NST

MOMENT OF TRUTH, PEOPLE WANTED CHANGE AND TIRED OF ALLEGATIONS

When will BN start listening to the people?

JAN 17 — The temptation will be there to spray blame around tonight. The natural instinct of some Umno members will be to shovel a pile of blame on Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, equating rejection by a margin of 2.631 votes in Kuala Terengganu to disdain for his weak leadership of the party and country.

He will be a convenient target for Umno snipers as Barisan Nasional's Datuk Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh has been tagged as his man, having once served as the PM's political secretary.

He will be an easy target because he has been the party's fall guy since March 8, 2008. So why not hang him out to dry for one last time before he leaves office in March? The temptation will certainly be there to take this path of least resistance. It's easy. It's self-serving. It's convenient.

But if Umno/BN members continue to believe this yarn, and choose to ignore the third strong message sent by Malaysians in 10 months, then they should accept that defeat will be the only possible outcome every time they contest an election.

The ruling coalition was stunned on March 8, losing its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and control of five states. Political pundits argued that Malaysians had sent a clear message that they wanted change and they had grown weary of the excesses and corruption of the government.

They were not interested in Abdullah's neatly-bound report card, which was part of his election manifesto. They were tired of being fed morsels while the ruling party politicians were feasting.

Stung by defeat, Abdullah promised reforms. But it was clear that he was a dead man walking. His party believed that he was the cause of their rejection and remained unmoved on the need to reform and change.

That much was clear during the Permatang Pauh by-election when once again BN politicians spoke about development and how their policies had developed the country. They promised money and offered to improve the infrastructure of the constituency in Penang.

It was a rare day when Umno/BN speakers tackled the vexing issues of corruption, racial equality, rehabilitating the country's institutions and arrogance of ruling party politicians — the so-called soft issues which Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his comrades in Pakatan Rakyat raised time and time again.

Anwar won handsomely in Permatang Pauh and Umno/BN blamed Abdullah once again. They said that because of confusion over the succession issue, the party members were not motivated enough to campaign and win over the voters. They noted that as long as Abdullah helmed the party, inertia and paralysis would be the feature of any election campaign.

So Abdullah's flirtation with a two-year transition plan was tossed out the window after the Permatang Pauh by-election defeat in August. He was shown the door. As a result of that defeat, Umno changed the way how it campaigned in Kuala Terengganu.

Checks by The Malaysian Insider showed that the party machinery worked much better than in Permatang Pauh. Umno/BN members did solid spade work but they just found fewer people willing to listen to their story.

An Umno official said last night: "We keep talking about development and yet people want to be inspired. We sound tired and the Opposition sound like the guys with the ideas. We know most of the time it is just sloganeering but even their slogans of democracy, justice sound fresh.

''We know the only way for us to recapture our place among Malaysian voters is for us to be honest and take on the aspirations that are important to them.''

He noted that Abdullah was a non-factor in the by-election. So much of a non-factor that Pakatan Rakyat speakers at political rallies hardly mentioned his name. Instead, Pas officials hammered away at corruption in Umno and in the government. They dredged up the same issues of accountability, arrogance, injustice and abuse of power. Umno/BN answered these accusations with silence. There was no vision of a better Malaysia to offer.

Why? Because they have spent the better part of the last 10 months defending the status quo and blaming Abdullah and others for their ills. Tonight, it was pretty obvious who the voters were rejecting all along — the tired Umno/BN politicians and their tired message.

BRAZILIAN KAKA JOINS MAD-CITY

JAN 16 - Kaka has given the green light to join Manchester City after the club increased their offer to a phenomenal £243million (RM1,263million).

AC Milan last night confirmed they had received the mind-boggling bid which changes the face of world football.

And we can reveal the Kaka camp gave their blessing for City to approach Milan six weeks ago when they first saw just how much was being offered.

The Italian giants admitted on their official TV outlet the Milan Channel they had received the bid in a dramatic bulletin.

And they even invited fans to express their views over whether the club should sell Kaka, confessing Milan's board would take a couple of days to make a decision.

It all means the Brazilian playmaker's sensational signing is practically in the bag. Milan Channel director Mauro Suma, regarded as the man who speaks for the club's powerful vice-president Adriano Galliani, made the announcement yesterday evening.

Crucially, no Milan officials would comment - an admission they are ready to sell Kaka in the most astonishing deal in football history.

But the club did offer fans the chance to take part in a 'Deal Or No Deal'-style vote to decide whether Milan should let him go!

City officials are due to fly to Italy on Monday for meetings with Kaka and his father Bosco Leite.

And last night City boss Mark Hughes insisted the Brazilian is worth every penny.

Hughes said: "Make no mistake, this is no scattergun approach to world stars of football.

"We've made a measured, calculated and, of course, football decision that works for us. "That's why we're interested in a player of his quality because he's the type we need to drive the club forward.

"I have no idea whether he will end up here. It is dependent on too many factors. But it has moved forward at a pace this week."

Sources close to the deeply-religious Kaka insist he will not be motivated purely by money and will take other factors into consideration.

He will want to see how a move to Manchester will fit into his lifestyle and also find something that will challenge him.

Sparky hopes he will be excited by the vision of helping City become one of the world's top clubs.

He said: "Everybody knows we're at the beginning of a long journey and if people want to join us they'll have a fantastic time in the coming years.

"That's what we try to sell them if we get chance to speak to players.

"It is not something that will happen overnight and we have to let people understand what we are trying to do and understand where this club will go in the next few years.

"Once they understand that and recognise the people driving it forward they will become excited by what we can offer." - The Sun

REBATE FOR OUTBOAT MOTOR USERS??

KUCHING, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The federal government will channel financial aid of RM22 million to help outboard motor owners in Sarawak because of higher fuel prices due to high transportation costs, especially in the interior areas of the state.

Deputy Chief Minister, Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, said those who use outboard motors in their daily activities and had registered with the district office would be given a one-time rebate of RM705.

He announced the aid when giving out Ammophos fertiliser subsidy of RM59,580 to 360 families from 14 longhouses in Ulu Spak in Betong. The fertiliser is to increase the yield from hillside padi planting.

Last month, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, said the rebate was the result of a proposal to the federal government to lighten the load of residents in the interior as the cost of fuel there could be up by three times due to transportation costs.

Up till now 31,000 owners of outboard motors have registered with district offices.

-- BERNAMA