Villas in Karambunai well-kept – operators BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo |
- Villas in Karambunai well-kept – operators
- Sabah PKR thanks BN
- DAP launches Sabah Dream
- Engage Architect Centre to inspect houses to protect your rights
- Snatch theft: Woman loses handbag, sons injured
- Regional network pushing micro hydro to meet power supply needs
| Villas in Karambunai well-kept – operators Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:16 AM PST KUALA LUMPUR: Operators of the luxury Nexus Karambunai Residence Spa and Pool Villas in Sabah have denied investors' claims that their properties were ill-managed, suggesting instead that the accusations were deliberately aimed at influencing an ongoing arbitration process. Nexus Bay Resort Karambunai Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Karambunai Corp Sdn Bhd, pointed out here that prior to Tuesday's demand for Putrajaya's intervention by investors keen on recovering their RM32 million in unpaid rental income, the group had already engaged operators in an arbitration bid and was awaiting the outcome. In a brief statement to The Malay Mail Online on Tuesday, lawyers for Nexus Bay Karambunai added that not only was their client engaged in an arbitration process with the Nexus Property Owners Association (NPOA), there was also a separate court matter on hold pending the disposal of the arbitration matter. "Our client views with concern, certain of the [sic] statements which suggest that third parties should step in when those very members had submitted their differences with our client to arbitration, the said members' court action having been stayed with costs granted against them pending the arbitration process," law firm Lim Guan Sing & Co said on the statement. "It would appear that these statements were issued and calculated to pre-empt, interfere with and influence the outcome of the arbitration process which is still ongoing," it added. According to NPOA, 108 of the affected investors had filed for arbitration in 2011, with the arbitrator initially set to decide on November 20 whether the villa owners could even go on with the arbitration, but the decision was postponed.  To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names.  |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:15 AM PST by Jenne Lajiun. Posted on November 28, 2013, Thursday Lajim says leaders who left were liabilities to party KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Datuk Lajim Haji Ukin yesterday thanked Barisan Nasional (BN) for taking Matunggong assemblyman Datuk Jelani Hamdan and Kadaimaian assemblyman Jeremy Majalad out of PKR. "We thank you BN for bringing these people into BN. These leaders have been nothing but liabilities to the party (PKR)," said Lajim during a press conference held at the PKR Sabah headquarters. He also clarified that only eight PKR leaders were leaving the party instead of the reported 11 leaders, two days ago. Lajim said those confirmed leaving the party were division chairman from Silam (Juhani Abd Halim), Kinabatangan (Mustapha Tambuyung) and Kota Marudu (Anthony Mandiau). He could not confirm if the Beluran district representative would be leaving the party as well. "I am not sure if they were not being promised something, but that is impossible. I am disappointed with the division chiefs as well as those who are involved. We provided tickets for them to go to KL (Kuala Lumpur), food and lodging at the hotel, and yet they utilized the PKR tickets not to attend our PKR congress but to enter another party. Where is the integrity of these leaders? If they don't want, they shouldn't use our tickets. Go and buy your own tickets," he said. On Tuesday, 11 PKR leaders in Sabah quit the party and expressed support for the BN. They comprised division heads, division deputy heads and division information chiefs from Kudat, Kota Marudu, Kota Belud, Sepanggar, Pensiangan, Beluran, Kinabatangan, Batu Sapi, Silam, Kalabakan and Semporna. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told a media conference in Kuala Lumpur that these leaders had lost confidence in the PKR leadership. He said this was the first wave of PKR leaders quitting the party in Sabah and that more would be following in their footsteps soon. Lajim added that he had been forewarned of the antics of the former PKR leaders prior to his appointment as party chief. "I was told that these people were bringing problems to the party. Hence, the approach taken by BN has assisted me and my friends. We don't have to get rid of these people." He also said the leaders concerned were probably aware that they would not be holding any post in the party during the division selections to be held in March, next year. "They know that they probably will not have the opportunity to defend their post. The post of division chairman does have its worth, and that is why they left," Lajim explained. He added that the allegation made by Umno chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was untrue and said PKR Sabah still had 29 divisional chairmen. He also said they would restructure the Kinabatangan, Kota Marudu and Silam divisions and the divisional chairmen who left would be replaced. Lajim added that they would also make a recommendation to the central head to sack these individuals. "We have yet to receive their resignation." At the same time, he said other members expected of involvement would also be recommended for sacking. When inquired of a second wave of PKR leaders leaving the party, Lajim said he did not know. "But I think it will involve some of our members. I was made to understand that Jelani is going to form a new party and they are probably waiting to register; perhaps they will be submitting their forms when the party is launched. That will be the second wave," he said. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:15 AM PST
The first project under the movement will target a village under the Kota Marudu seat, which was previously won by Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili with just a 842-vote majority. "We were able to 'destroy' the 'fixed deposit' moniker for Johor and Sarawak, by increasing our votes received significantly … However, for Sabah, we were only able to increase our votes by 3.4 per cent to 35.9 per cent," DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang told reporters at the launching here. "Hence, it is undeniable that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) must pull out all the stops to increase our electoral support in the state with 26 parliamentary seats, including Labuan." "Impian Sabah" is the second project under the larger "Impian Malaysia" project and after "Impian Sarawak", which was launched in September aimed at capturing rural Sarawak. Despite targeting 33 parliamentary seats from the Johor, Sarawak and Sabah — the three states that helped keep a weakened ruling coalition in power in the last polls — PR only managed to secure 14 seats. Of the three states, PR won only three parliamentary seats in Sabah — Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, and Penampang — with the first two won by DAP. The first outreach project in Sabah will be a RM25,000 gravity-feed water system at Kampung Samparita Laut in Kota Marudu, where over 200 of its Dusun villagers have no access to piped water and currently depend on the murky river nearby. The village falls under Kota Marudu, won by Ongkili in the May polls after a four-cornered fight involving DAP, Sarawak-based State Reform Party (STAR), and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). "If not for the splitting of votes with STAR, PR would have own the seat. Hence, every effort must be made in these marginal seats so as to ensure that PR will win these seats in the next general election," Lim added. However, DAP denied yesterday that it will only be carrying out projects in areas where BN won with minor majorities in the May polls, stressing that its main agenda is to deliver their promises to the rural areas. "I think votes are secondary …We do make full use of our efforts to assist the people of Sabah. We believe votes will come if you do well. We're less concerned about votes today, more concerned about actually delivering what we promised," said Tony Pua, the DAP national publicity chief. According to Pua, the second project will be done in Tenom, the parliamentary seat won by Umno's Datuk Raime Unggi by a 3,886-vote majority in the 13th General Election. PR's representative was PKR's Masdin Tumas, who won 5,885 votes. Sabah DAP chairman and Kota Kinabalu MP Jimmy Wong, Sabah DAP secretary and Kapayan assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi, Sabah DAP assistant secretary and Likas assemblyman Junz Wong, Sandakan MP Stephen Wong and Sri Tanjong assemblyman Chan Foong Hin, Sibu MP Oscar Ling Chai Wai and Serdang MP Dr Ong Kian Ming were present at the launching. Wong said DAP would explore, study and identify critical programmes and projects that need to be carried out in Sabah to uplift the well-being of the rural and poor villagers. "We will organise teams of members and volunteers to penetrate these remote villages to undertake projects such as micro-hydro electric dams to provide electricity, gravity feed water systems, repair works on basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges as well as economic upliftment programmes via sustainable sources of income," he said after the launching of the program. He said Impian Malaysia agents are required to take part as volunteers in these programmes to bring significant changes to the livelihood of these villagers. The participation of Impian Malaysia agents in the campaign will make an immense difference to these people, the Kota Kinabalu member of parliament said. "We will be kicking off the first Impian Sabah project this weekend to build a gravity-feed water system at Kampung Samparita Laut, Kota Marudu, a village that is about a three-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu, including an hour of off-road driving," he said. According to Wong, Kampung Samparita has a population of more than 200 people who have no access to piped water. These villagers rely on the main river source for drinking, washing, and cleaning. "In fact, they don't even have toilets because the villagers said there isn't any point in having toilets if there isn't any water. The average drinking water colour looks like Nescafe susu and during rainy days, when the colour turns to 'Nescafe kurang susu', they will collect the rainwater for drinking. With this project, we hope to be able to provide running water to the whole village," he said. Wong said the project would involve two batches of volunteers from November 30 to December 8 and December 12 to December 21. The volunteers will be staying with the villagers, assisting to connect pipes, burying pipes, cement work, and all work related to building a gravity water feed system. 'Impian Malaysia' or the Malaysian Dream is a movement started by Kit Siang in May after the 13th General Election that envisions a plural society where all her citizens are united as one people, rising above their ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic differences as the common grounds binding them as one citizenship exceed the differences that divide them because of their ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural divisions. The movement hopes to gather more Malaysian volunteers (including non-party members) to be 'Impian Malaysia' agents for its activities and programs to promote Malaysian identity and consciousness particularly among the young generation of Malaysians. In September 2013, DAP had successfully launched the first pillar of the movement – 'Impian Sarawak' – and has completed several projects, involving nearly 40 'Impian Malaysia agents'. Impian Malaysia agents who cannot take part directly can certainly take part in this thrust by attending fund-raising dinners or donating online via https://dapmalaysia.org/donate. They may even run their own fund-raising activities. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Engage Architect Centre to inspect houses to protect your rights Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:14 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: The PAM Sabah Chapter has urged the public to engage the Architect Centre, Malaysia to check their houses to protect their rights. Its chairman, Ar. Victor Wong, said there are 32 building inspectors in Sabah who are accredited by the Architect Centre, Malaysia, 21 of whom are architects and 11 are either engineers or quantity surveyors. "Their professional services could prove invaluable to house purchasers who are mostly non-technical and unable to judge if the work has been constructed to specifications, and if the works are of reasonable quality and workmanship," he said in a statement yesterday. According to him, the building inspector's report can protect the right of the house purchasers, especially if there is any dispute and the case ended up with the Housing Tribunal. The building inspectors carry out inspection and identify defects during vacant possession and before the expiry date of the Defects Liability Period. The range of services provided by the Architects Centre are: Structural Deficiencies; Defective Roofs/Ceilings; Defective Plumbing, Dampness, Leakages and Electrical Safety; Slope Stability, Retaining Wall and Drainage, and Safety, Security, Regulatory Checks i.e. unsafe and illegal renovations. "Property is a big investment, and it will be penny wise and pound foolish, if the building defects are not checked before possession. One might be ended up with recurring cost of maintenance and being unhappy in his own dream home," said Victor. He said the professional fees charged by architect building inspectors are small, and generally less than RM1 per square foot, depending on the types of buildings and the complexity of the jobs. Victor lamented that most people are forgetful most of the time. He was referring to the Sabah Housing Conference 2009, organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, the theme of which was "Good Governance Towards Quality Housing and Services". "The question of poor quality of workmanship happening to the MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) properties is a big surprise, since the selling prices is over a million ringgit, even for a semi-detached house. How can the quality be compromised for such expensive and profitable project?" he asked. "If such trend happens to the MM2H homes, then it is unthinkable what will happen to the thousands of units of the affordable homes, of which the selling price is much lower, that are to be erected in the coming years?" After the Sabah Housing Conference 2009, he said all the developers, contractors, architects and engineers were requested to submit their resolutions and feedback to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing on the conference. The three resolutions submitted by PAM Sabah Chapter were: - • The introduction of the Building Inspection Services as part of the process in deterring poor quality of workmanship, identifying building defects and rectification; • The training of Clerks of Works to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities in the building industries, and • The accreditation of tradesman by CIDB (Construction Industry Development Board) to semi-skill workers such as the carpenters, bar benders, brick layers, plasterers, plumbers, electricians, and so on. Since then, Victor said many architects, engineers and quantity surveyors have been trained by the Architect Centre, Malaysia to become qualified and competent building inspectors, and they are providing the much needed inspection services to the housing sector. "The suggestion to have accreditation of semi-skilled workers by CIDB is still relevant today. The training of the workers in their respective trades will improve their knowledge and skill, and therefore likely to improve quality of the work they are doing. The use of any worker as a Jack of all trades, to carry out all the work from excavation, carpentry, bar bending, brickwork and so on will only result in more poor quality of workmanship. "The specialization in the skill level of the workers is a must, if we are to hope to achieve the standard as expected in the industries," he added. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Snatch theft: Woman loses handbag, sons injured Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:13 AM PST LAHAD DATU: A woman in her 50s lost her handbag and documents while her two sons were injured in a snatch theft incident in front of her house at Taman CL on Tuesday night. The victim and her sons had just arrived home from their restaurant when a man wearing a helmet alighted from a Perodua Kancil, pointed a knife and grabbed her handbag about 9pm. Another man was seen waiting inside the car. Her son tried to help and struggled with the thief, but sustained injuries on his hand and shoulder while his brother who also tried to help, hurt his head. According to the victim who refused to be identified, she noticed two men on a motorcycle in the area before the incident. They looked suspicious as they were looking around and observing the situation. "I lost several thousand ringgit, my identification card, bank card and other belongings to the thieves," she said, adding that a police report had been lodged. The victim hoped the police would increase security control and conduct frequent patrols in the area as snatch theft often occurred there. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
| Regional network pushing micro hydro to meet power supply needs Posted: 27 Nov 2013 10:12 AM PST KOTA KINABALU: In some remote Southeast Asian villages and the rest of the developing world, micro-hydro projects are the best alternative to polluting and costly diesel-run generator sets, and an off-grid solution that is clean and relatively easy for communities to sustain. There are success stories from the mountainous regions of Borneo all the way to Nepal, despite challenges that come in the form of national policies that do little to encourage their viability, lack of technical knowledge and continued focus on financing fossil fuel power projects. The Malaysian Green Technology, Energy and Water Ministry's revelation that a coal-fired power plant is still in the cards for Sabah strengthens the argument to develop renewable energy to meet the state's growing demand for electricity. In fact, this news comes in the wake of what some hope to be a shift in Malaysia's energy landscape. Malaysia had recently announced the launch of a $100 million (RM320 million) investment fund to support the smart grid and renewable energy business development in Southeast Asia, the target being mid-size green technologies and businesses. In July, Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal also announced initiatives that would provide rural villages in the Malaysian states with micro-hydro power. Green Empowerment Borneo programme manager Gabriel Wynn said in light of the planned investment and the need for fossil fuel alternatives, networks with seasoned renewable energy practitioners can play a role in helping Malaysia meet its climate change targets in an effective and efficient manner. He said the Hydro Empowerment Network (HPNet) currently in place provides an interactive, peer-supported learning space to help implement, innovate, and sustain micro-hydro projects in South and Southeast Asia. HPNet was one of 12 concepts developed at the inaugural Southeast Asia Renewable Energy People's Assembly (SEAREPA) held in Sabah last year. Advocates from 11 countries converged for four days at the Centre for Renewable and Appropriate Technology (CREATE) under the HPNet banner, sharing stories of their struggles and successes. Wynn said setbacks such as lack of priority funding by governments and low interest from the private sector are not deterring practitioners who find ways to work around obstacles, citing the establishment of CREATE in Penampang, Sabah, as an example. "The main objective of CREATE is to provide training for community engineers who want to develop their own small renewable energy projects, or eventually find employment in what we hope will be Malaysia's growing renewable energy sector. This centre is also a way to connect rural indigenous youth with the international community including governments and the private sector," he said. CREATE, supported by National Geographic's Great Energy Challenge, will be graduating its first set of trainees in December. Sabah non-profit TONIBUNG (Friends of Village Development), that is partnering with Green Empowerment in establishing and running CREATE is hoping to identify local champions who could lead to the success of renewable energy projects. TONIBUNG director Adrian Lasimbang said appropriate technology needs a lot of adaptation and the ability to focus on the real aspirations of the community, unlike government programmes for rural electrification that are not tailored to the needs of the community. "Now we are training indigenous youth at to implement these programmes. I hope that through the HPNet, there will be a lot more cooperation and sharing throughout the region," he said. Sharing his experience, Shen Maglinte from Filipino organisation Sibat said community based systems are the most efficient options for off-grid villages, but noted gaps especially in technical capacity. "We need to develop new engineers and technicians within communities. In the Philippines, there is a lot of support for big hydro systems, but very little support for community based systems," Maglinte said. Speaking about India's micro-hydro success and failures, DiptiVaghela of Kalahandi Micro Hydro said each project needs to be functional, have equitable outcomes, and practical and productive end uses. "There needs to be synergy, unity and income from each project. In order to achieve this, you need to start with a strong community group, only then can micro-hydro systems create real, renewable changes," Dipti said. Over in Thailand, about 60 micro-hydro projects were fruited in a span of three decades until 2000, but by 2002, half were found to be failing due to lack of community empowerment and governmental follow up. In Bangladesh, there was one attempt by the government to install a micro-hydro system but it failed as a feasibility study was not done, Renewable Energy Study Group's Mowdudar Rahman Dewan said. "This set a bad example, and now, there are no micro or pico hydro projects in Bangladesh. The western region is hilly and there is amazing potential for such projects in that area. I hope that our policy makers realise that in order to develop energy access, we need to tap into micro-hydro to best utilise our resources," he said. Representatives from Nepal and Indonesia highlighted the potential for micro-hydro power to expand into a real energy solution for communities throughout the region and significantly contributing to national energy demands. "There are over 2,500 isolated micro-hydro systems in Nepal, and one interconnected project. We plan to interconnect isolated systems to further improve energy access and stability, and the ultimate goal is to connect these mini-grids to the national grid. "The future of rural energy supply is in interconnected energy grids," Binod Prasad of the Fraunhofer Society said, adding that micro-hydro projects in Nepal are using less than 25 per cent of potential output. Participants were told that in Indonesia, there are over a thousand of micro-hydro systems in place, and significant on-going governmental support. Indonesia also has a supportive feed-in tariff to further develop the technology and expand it across remote areas in the vast nation. There are also lessons to be drawn from Sri Lanka, where local organisation Janathakshan has installed more than a hundred micro-hydro projects and has since 2006 formed associations that are made up of developers, manufacturers and consumers. The HPNet gathering was initiated through the support of the Wisions programme at the Wuppertal Institute of Germany, with Janathakshan coordinating the process. Daniel Vallentin of Wisions said it was the aim of the programme to make clean energy a default solution to address basic energy needs in developing nations. "More importantly, we want to enable communities to develop and maintain community projects themselves. We hope HPNet will be able to facilitate cross network meetings as well as bilateral exchanges that may solve many of the energy challenges affecting communities in Southeast Asia," he said. To enable your comment to be published, please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. This includes vulgar user names. |
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