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Cabinet posts proposal for MCA raises Masing&#39;s hackles <b>...</b> Berita Sarawak - News 2 Sarawak

Cabinet posts proposal for MCA raises Masing&#39;s hackles <b>...</b>

Posted: 23 Dec 2013 03:33 PM PST

by Samuel Aubrey, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 24, 2013, Tuesday

KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing yesterday disagreed with a suggestion to give MCA four appointments should the latter decide to rejoin the federal cabinet.

He said this would be most unfair especially to PRS, which won all six parliamentary seats contested in the 13th general election in May while MCA were almost decimated.

"They (MCA) just won seven out of 35 seats contested. We must bear in mind that political strength of any party is judged by the number of seats won in an election and not by the number of people a party claims to have," he said.

It was reported in a national daily yesterday if MCA decided to take up posts in the federal cabinet, the formula would either be two-plus-two or one-plus-three.

The two-plus-two formula would see the post of two ministers and two deputy ministers, while the one-plus-three formula would see the post of one minister and three deputy ministers .

The ministerial post earmarked for MCA is the Transport Ministry, of which Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein is the acting minister.

Before the 13GE, MCA has four cabinet posts. But due to its disastrous performance, MCA has opted not to accept any cabinet posts.

MCA newly elected president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the party might have another emergency general meeting (EGM) to allow delegates to decide if they wanted the party to allow representatives to serve in the cabinet.

He had said: "As stated by Datuk Yii Phook Hong (the speaker at the recent MCA Assembly), delegates hope the party will be represented in the cabinet. The central leadership will deliberate the matter at a suitable time."

If MCA indeed decided to return to the cabinet, this may prompt Prime Minister and BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to reshuffle the cabinet to probably make more appointments.

PRS was allocated one full minister and one deputy minister when the cabinet was announced on May 15, 10 days after the 13GE.

Its deputy president, who is Selangau MP Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun, was given the post as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Party vice president and Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang, on the other hand, declined the post as deputy minister of tourism and was subsequently appointed as Sarawak 1Malaysia Advisory Council chairman.

Following its recent supreme council meeting, PRS is still seeking additional ministerial posts in the federal cabinet because the current quota did not commensurate with its contributions in the last general election.

On the other hand, Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) is also asking for ministerial appointments. This is because the party was not allocated any posts despite winning all its four seats in the 13GE.

On another subject, Masing hoped 2014 would be a year where sincerity of purpose and transparency will be the forefront of BN political objectives.

He said dishonest politicians should have no place in Malaysian politics in 2014. "I know it is a tall order, but do it we must if we want to remain credible administrators of this nation," he stated.

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TM subsidiary sales manager claims trial to bribery – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 23 Dec 2013 02:10 PM PST

SHAH ALAM: An executive of a Telekom Malaysia subsidiary pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court yesterday to four charges of accepting bribes amounting to RM259,250 in 2010 and 2011.

Mohamed Puhad Mohamed Liza, 42, sales manager at GITN Sdn Bhd, was charged with accepting a bribe by way of cheques for the total amount of RM44,590 from Numix Engineering Sdn Bhd as an inducement to help that company secure the installation of the wireless Internet network VSAT Ku Band.

He was accused of committing the offence at a restaurant in Section 13 here in April, May and June 2010.

He was also charged with accepting a bribe of RM73,320 in cash from the same company as an inducement for the same purpose at the Shah Alam branch of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad in Section 7 here between September and October 2010.

He was also charged with accepting bribes of RM45,830 and RM95,510 in cash from the same company for the same purpose at the same bank between November and December 2010 and January 2011, respectively.

Mohamed Puhad, charged under Section 17(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009, faces a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine of RM10,000 or five times the amount of bribes, whichever is higher, upon conviction.

Earlier, his counsel Ravin Singh appealed to the court to impose a reasonable quantum of bail, saying that his client had worked with GITN Sdn Bhd for 18 years and had to take care of a family of five children with half pay.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azah Kasran applied to the court to impose bail of RM50,000.

Judge Asmadi Husin set bail at RM35,000 in one surety and asked Mohamed Puhad to surrender his passport to the court.

He set Feb 26 for case management and March 12 to 14 for the trial. — Bernama

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RM294 mln help for Sabah, <b>Sarawak</b> smallholders – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 16 Dec 2013 10:28 AM PST

by Mariah Doksil. Posted on December 17, 2013, Tuesday

KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) has allocated RM294 million for smallholders in Sabah and Sarawak for 2014 to replant and plant new oil palms involving 35,000 hectares of land under the government's National Key Economic Area (NKEA).

Its minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said 5,000 hectares would be in Sabah while another 30,000 hectares would be in Sarawak.

"The government will continue its effort to encourage more smallholders to replant and plant new oil palms. Under this programme, MPIC will provide assistance of RM9, 000 per hectare to cover costs, seedlings, clearing, and also for fertilizers.

"We are also looking at the other challenges in the oil palm industry, such as issues in fertilizers, mills and also the dependence on foreign workers," he said to reporters after launching the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) Complex at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), yesterday.

With the setting up of the complex, Embas said the ministry was hoping it would help the industry move towards good agriculture practice.

Realizing the importance of competitive human capital in order to carry the national transformation programme, Embas said the ministry had also set up Institute of Malaysian Plantation and Commodities (IMPAC) in 2010.

The institute is responsible for implementing courses under the ministry.

During the event, a total of 230 IMPAC graduates from Sabah received their diplomas and certificates after successfully graduating from various programmes under IMPAC.

"MPOB has built Pusat Latihan Industri Sawit (PLASMA) Lahad Datu at a cost of RM5 million, and a hostel costing RM9 million. Another PLASMA has been set up in Keratong Pahang, with a total cost of RM35,030,351.

"Since 2000, MPOB has trained 15,000, while about 105 companies have benefited from the programmes organized by MPOB," he added.

Earlier in his speech, Embas said the industry had contributed RM73.3 billion to Malaysia's export earnings from the 5.08 million hectares of oil palm plantations.

Sabah, he said, had the largest plantation in Malaysia with 1.46 million hectares, where 12.8 per cent of the total plantations were being cultivated by smallholders.

The newly launched MPOB Complex, costing RM4.6 million, would be an information centre for industry players seeking more information or the latest developments in the industry, he said/

Also present at the event yesterday were MPOB chairman Datuk Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad, Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, Deputy Minister of MPIC Datuk Noriah Kasnon, Assistant Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Bolkiah Ismail and director general of MPOB Datuk Choo Yuen May.

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Water filtration system brings relief to school - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 17 Dec 2013 11:00 AM PST

JULAU: SK Nanga Meluan can now enjoy uninterrupted clean water supply with the newly completed iM Sarawak water filtration system.

Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, who is also the chairman of 1Malaysia Sarawak Advisory Council (1MSAC), officiated at the newly completed project yesterday.

At the press conference, he said the filtration system is a community-based project which cost about RM130,000, and was built by teachers and the local community on a 'gotong-royong' basis.

He said the project, identified by 1MSAC under the iM Sarawak programme, was carried out by Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M) and Yayasan 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) in partnership with the state Department of Minerals and Geoscience.

"This is a community-based project, where people themselves have to be involved.

"We know that we do not have the manpower, we do not have the expertise in various fields, so we engage other partners to be part of our journey to reach out to the people," he pointed out, adding that the project is an alternative way to supply clean water to the school.

He said the 1MSAC was mooted by the prime minister last year to bring development to the rural communities.

To date, he said 28 iM Sarawak projects are in the final stages of completion, which will benefit more than 30,000 people.

"The cost for the 28 projects is about RM9 million, but this year we had spent about RM4 million already for these projects," he said.

Areas covered, he said, are Limbang, Julau, Sibu, Miri, Mas Gading, Santubong, Lundu and Kuching as well as in interior areas such as Lusong Laku and Long Urun in Belaga, Long San in Marudi and Long Semadoh in Lawas.

On a separate matter, he said a micro hydro dam had been built in Nanga Bekatan, Julau, which would be launched this Friday.

On 1MSAC, he said its members include Limbang MP Hasbi Habibollah, Mas Gading MP Nogeh Gumbek, former Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Billy Abit Joo and Irwan Zulkarnain Muhammad Hasbie.

Going back to the water filtration system, he said the community must be willing to own the project or else it could not be implemented.

"For example, after we installed the water treatment plant here in SK Nanga Meluan, do not expect that people from Geoscience to monitor and service the filtration system.

"They (community) must learn and accept the project, take it upon themselves to look after and maintain the system; the same thing with the micro hydro dam facility," he said.

He pointed out that 1MSAC only provides funding and the ones implementing the project are the local people.

"At the most, we can only give advice to them and compare their services with others, so that they can do better, otherwise the community-based project would fail," he stressed.

Meanwhile, he disclosed that a rice planting project was being carried in Lusong Laku, whereby seedlings were provided to 133 Penan families by 1MSAC.

"The Penan are excited about the project, and eagerly awaiting the result," he said.

On youths, Irwan said currently 1MSAC had done two entrepreneurship programmes in Sibu and Limbang.

He said the programmes involved about 40 youths who are in small businesses, whereby 1MSAC gave them training on business soft skills, marketing and management.

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