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Hiew says he was offered to join new party BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Hiew says he was offered to join new party

Posted: 01 Dec 2013 02:49 PM PST

by Mariah Doksil. Posted on December 2, 2013, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: Luyang assemblyman Hiew King Cheu said he was offered by Matunggong and Kadamaian assemblymen Datuk Jelani Hamdan and Jeremy Majalad to join their new party, but he was not interested.

Hiew, who quit from DAP, said he would remain as an independent and his main focus now is on the people of Luyang.

"I was approached by Jelani and Jeremy at the recent State Assembly sitting and we had a little bit of discussion. He told me about setting up a new party but he did not mention the name of the party.

"I told them that I have my own responsibility and I am not interested to join them. I am not even considering," he said to The Borneo Post at the fruit festival organized by the Luyang State Assemblyman Office, held at the Damai Community Hall yesterday.

Jelani and Jeremy resigned from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) recently.

Hiew said being independent is better, as the state government is assisting him for any requests or problems in his constituency.

"When I was in the opposition, I could not even use this hall to organize activities. Now the government has been very cooperative to me and my office everytime I ask for favour.

"I even have a number of proposals which I have submitted to the relevant authorities, and they are willing to listen to me. If I join Jeremy and Jelani in the new party, it will be the same like before because a new party will not be accepted in Barisan Nasional (BN)," said Hiew.

He explained if the new party is formed under BN, it will need seven votes (the seven BN component parties).

"If one of these seven said no, there will be no chance for any new party to join them. Once MCA or Gerakan said no, it won't happen," he added.

Meanwhile, Hiew proposed that the fruit festival be a place for the people in his constituency to gather once a month.

He said such programme would not only give them the opportunity to do business but also a platform for them to meet with old and new friends.

"I propose this Pesta Buah-Buahan (fruit festival) as a monthly event for Luyang people, and the place can be at Foh Sang area," he said.

Although the fruit sellers were not as many as expected, Hiew said the response from the local community was very encouraging even though early December is not the fruit season in Sabah.

Apart from selling fruits and vegetables, the organizer also held a colouring competition for primary school children.

Present at the event yesterday was Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

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Appoint senior MCA leaders as advisors – Chua

Posted: 01 Dec 2013 02:49 PM PST

by Natasha Shim. Posted on December 2, 2013, Monday

KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) proposed for the Barisan Nasional-led State Government to appoint its senior leaders as advisors to its administration.

MCA president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek said the lack of representation from MCA in the state government had hindered its 'effective service delivery system' as they are unable to solve problems at the state level.

Chua made the call after the launch of the party's state-level annual general meeting yesterday to improve its presence in the state administration after the dismal performance in the last general election.

"Sabah is a big state, a few times bigger than even the whole of West Malaysia. In terms of numbers, we have only about 30,000 (members). The fact that we have no representation now at the State Government is a big setback to us," he said.

Chua added another way to approach the issue is through the tedious process whereby MCA leaders have to regain the trust of voters in hopes of entering the government.

He pointed out that after the 2008 General Election, states such as Perak had appointed MCA leaders as advisors at their state-level administration but did not do so this year because of MCA's rejection of government posts.

"When we are not in the government with effective representation, our voices are limited," Chua said.

Chua added that even at the federal level, MCA would only constitute six to seven per cent of cabinet should the government appoint two of its leaders in ministerial posts.

"…because the cabinet has 30 over ministers so if you add another two, it is another six per cent – in English, we say 'so what'," he said.

He emphasized that the BN and MCA leadership are not perfect, with a lot of room and space for improvement, especially with regards to the concept of power sharing.

"Is the concept of power sharing only relevant to government posts or should it permeate at every level of the government office?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Sabah MCA chairman Datuk Edward Khoo Keok Hai said that BN policies such as the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) do not tackle the root of problems.

He opined that MCA's performance in the last general elections was caused by voters disappointed in the government which the opposition took advantage of.

He urged the government to provide clear vision and policies for the future generation. He also said that whatever smearing done by the opposition will not affect the general support for the Barisan Nasional-led government administration.

However, he mentioned that the government needs to rectify its shortcomings, especially in its delivery of policies as only through this manner would it benefit the people.

Khoo also said that the people's sensitivities must be accounted for in policy implementation, and for sectors to deliver the promises.

"Do not say one thing this time, and change it the next minute," he advised, adding that this is to prevent hasty decision making and to avoid public misconception.

He also stressed on transparency in policy-making and for the government to allocate its resources fairly.

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Labuan targets one million tourists next year

Posted: 01 Dec 2013 02:47 PM PST

LABUAN: Labuan has set a target of one million tourists or visitor arrivals to this duty-free island by the end of next year in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia Year 2014.

Director of Labuan Arts and Tourism Ministry Office, Faruzrahidzah Kassim, said yesterday that they have planned several events to be held next year to attract the visitors here.

"We support Labuan member of parliament Rozman Isli's aspiration to organise quality events to make this island as a well-known sporting hub. One of the challenges we will face is how to attract visitors to come here during the holiday season, as many of the people here will go out from this island. We need visitors from outside Labuan to come here," she said.

Faruzrahidzah also said that the Third Tourism Sport Carnival that ended yesterday had been adjusted for better participation. She explained that the sport carnival last year was more on recreational sports and confined mostly to local participation only, while, this year it was more extensive and was open to outsiders.

"Three additional new events held this year were the Strongest Man, Dodgeball and the under-14 football tournament. Another event organised this year was hand-wrestling that was also included last year. For this year, there are only four events organised compared to six last year. Why we have opened participation in the games to outsiders this year is because many were eager to join in the games last year," she said.

One of the participants in the Strongest Man event from Kota Kinabalu, Mohd Faizal Sumardi, said this was the first time that the event, which was a new one, was held in Labuan.

"The event used to be organised only in Kota Kinabalu but it was a good event to hold here as it will attract the locals' interest to participate in it," he said.

Among the participants who took part in the carnival were from Labuan, Sabah, Brunei and Sarawak.

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RM20 million to upgrade Kudat port facilities — Teo

Posted: 30 Nov 2013 11:27 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: The Federal Government through the Home Ministry has allocated a sum of RM20 million to upgrade the facilities of the port in Kudat.

This includes improving the safety measures for usage by passengers as well as to build a ram for a roll-on roll-off service between Brooke's Point in the province of Palawan, Philippines and Kudat.

Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang said the sea linkage between Palawan and Sabah would be good for the transportation of goods, products and trade items between the two places.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'd like to see the ram implemented as soon as possible.

"I'll use all my means to expedite the implementation of the ram in Kudat so that in the near future we are going to have the sea linkage between Palawan and Sabah," the Tanjung Kapor assemblyman said during a welcoming dinner hosted by Teo for 60 delegates from Palawan, Philippines here on Friday.

The delegates from Palawan were here from November 29 to December 1 on a business trade mission.

Teo also informed the Palawan delegation that the Custom, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) centre in Kudat had been fully operational since early April this year.

In this globalized economy, Teo said it was a trend that countries in the same region were creating economic blocs in order to improve their competitiveness and bargaining power when conducting businesses with other parts of the world, for instance, the European Union, ASEAN and Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

With a population of more than 70 million in BIMP-EAGA, it is a big market that had yet to be fully exploited, Teo said.

"There are lots of potential, especially for businessmen." Teo said Sabah was very fortunate to be located strategically in the centre of the South East Asia (SEA) and the centre of BIMP-EAGA.

"Sabah is very near to the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, especially Kalimantan, Sulawesi and the neighbouring islands.

"With our strategic location, I believe there is lot to gain as far as Sabah and Palawan are concerned."

In January this year, Teo led 50 delegates comprising senior government officers including immigration and police officers as well as local businessmen for a visit to Palawan.

At that time, Teo said the delegation had to take a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Clark, another flight to Puerto Princesa the next day, followed by a three-hour journey to Brooke's Point.

"In fact, the distance between the province of Palawan and Sabah is so near.

"The Banggi Island at the northern part of Sabah is just half an hour boat ride from Pulau Mangsee, which is part of Palawan." Teo said many of the commodities, daily items and trade items on Pulau Mangsee were actually from Kudat, including Digi telecommunications service used by the people on the island.

Today, Teo said the dream of having direct flights serving Kota Kinabalu and Puerto Princesa had been realized with MASwings' inaugural flight from Kota Kinabalu to Puerto Princesa on November 22 this year.

During his speech, Teo commended the BIMP-EAGA Sabah and Palawan for making the visit a reality and to bring businessmen of both sides together.

He also hoped that businessmen from Sabah and Palawan would make full use of the business matching session held yesterday.

"This will prove that BIMP-EAGA is not eat and go away," Teo said, citing a joke by the president and chairman of BIMP-EAGA Palawan Business Council Inc Commodore Nick M. Hernandez.

"If we can join resources and join forces, we can create a bigger economic bloc and exploit the big market of 70 million in this region.

"With that together we will move ahead, we will develop our economies for mutual benefit."

With the development of economy, Teo said job and trade opportunities for the people would naturally come while at the same time, the issue of poverty in this region could be addressed.

Teo said the Sabah State Government and Palawan Provincial Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in areas such as socioeconomic and cultural exchange.

"I believe with the direct flights (from Kota Kinabalu to Puerto Princesa provided by MASwings three times a week), we will be able to forge a closer relationship for mutual benefit.

"And with that I believe we can also promote even more vibrant bilateral trade between Palawan and Sabah."

Present at the event were Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir, City Hall director-general Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, Brooke's Point Municipal Mayor Mary Jean D. Feliciano and Vice Mayor Cesareo R. Benedito.

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