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State set to be nation’s top earner by 2030 BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

State set to be nation’s top earner by 2030

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 11:35 AM PST

by Jonathan Chia, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 11, 2013, Wednesday

KUCHING: Sarawak will be the top ranking economy in Malaysia once the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) project is fully implemented in 2030, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud says.

Taib added that although he was satisfied with the state's economy which is currently ranked third biggest in the country, efforts should be intensified to realise the mission of becoming the nation's top ranking economy.

"Today, it is quite a happy feeling for me to see that we have become third in terms of economic ranking in the whole of Malaysia but I don't think that it is the end of it. It is quite likely that when we have completed the SCORE programme, we will be the top state in Malaysia."

Taib attributed the success of the state's economy to the team spirit of civil servants both from the federal and state government departments and agencies in working towards the same goal.

In the effort to bring the state's economy to greater heights, he said the state government which had extensive experience in areas such as timber trade, is opening up again to become a member of the highly competitive global trade to market commodities like palm oil.

"Through these activities, we will see more Sarawakians going out to participate in international trade. In fact, we have Sarawakians trading in countries like Nigeria, England, USA and even in Ivory Coast.

"This is the spirit that I see that ought to be nurtured to make Sarawakians to venture into a globalised world," he said when launching the state-level Civil Service Day celebration here yesterday.

Taib said although the civil service in the state were not that large, but the spirit that had driven the civil servants to think out of the box in solving problems was the greatest gift that the civil service had given to its workers, adding that it was good for the civil servants to adjust to their new role to be part of the global trade.

"From the year 2015, we will be part of the Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) common market and it will bring with it stiff competition from the original five members (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand).

"We will be facing the prospect of trying to contain our cost of production compared to countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and probably Thailand but I do believe where we probably have to give way because of the rising pay structure that will come into Malaysia due to our economic development.

"Probably, because of this, we may need to undertake other areas of production and service that we are better qualified in and get better remuneration from it."

Besides launching the Civil Service Day, Taib also launched the e-Government kiosk which will enable the public to obtain information on government services, as well access to government applications such as e-recruitment, bill payment, talikhidmat and e-information.

Among those present at the event were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani, State Federal Secretary Datuk Md Yahaya Basimin, Infrastructure and Communication Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin and Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.

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Fit to be occupied at last

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 11:33 AM PST

by Peter Sibon, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 11, 2013, Wednesday

2 'sick' school projects rescued from delays in completion; new classrooms await pupils, teachers next year

KUCHING: Pupils and teachers of two primary schools — SK Menuang, Limbang and SK Limbang in Limbang — are looking forward to begin the new term next year in new classrooms and enjoy new facilities.

The buildings of the two schools have finally been certified fit for occupation by the local council after delays in the completion of the projects.

The contractor of the project Naim Engineering Sdn Bhd (Naim) disclosed that SK Menuang was completed on Sept 30, 2013 and SK Limbang was completed on Nov 28, 2013, earlier than its committed date of Dec 31, 2013.

Naim's senior project manager Willie Sang added that both schools were inspected for certificate of practical completion (CPC) by the client and consultants on Nov 28, 2013.

"With this CPC joint inspection, both schools are fit to be occupied. The occupation permits (OPs) have also been issued by the local council," Sang told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

He also disclosed that both projects were actually 'rescued' school projects.

"These 'rescued' school projects were part of the works package allocated to another company which is Naim's joint-venture partner for the contract.

"Under the joint works package awarded by the client, Naim was allocated eight schools projects, while the other company was allocated five.

"While we have completed the schools under our scope as scheduled, our partner company has performance-related issues in relation to these schools. As such these two schools were categorised as 'sick projects'," Sang said.

He said Naim had decided to 'rescue' these projects in the interest of the schools and their pupils.

"We took over as lead partner for the projects and took over control of all activities in Feb 2013. And as good corporate citizen, we are duty-bound to deliver all the projects on time, although in certain situations, this can be very challenging," said Willie.

He disclosed that since Naim took over these projects, all works have been progressing well.

"Since we took over, there was a marked improvement in work progress with the support of our dedicated staff, sub-contractors, consultants and our client. We managed to complete both SK Limbang and SK Menuang much earlier.

He added that the 'rescue' mission was not without price as Naim had to put in some RM17 mill to complete these projects.

"As we are 'rescuing' the projects from previous party, other challenges include catching up on works, confronting unhappy previous subcontractors, previous debts and liquidated and ascertained damage, which we are trying to manage," he said.

Willie pointed out that Naim is committed to honour its obligation to the client, where it has established a good track record in successful completion of the award-winning projects such as SMK Merbau, Miri which won the CIDB Malaysia Construction Industry Excellence Award for Medium Scale Building Project in 2003.

It has a strong track record in completing projects on time, on specs and on budget, with some project completed well ahead of schedule.

For the record, Naim has won a total of 15 major awards, a testament to its capability and achievement in the industries which it ventured into.

Meanwhile, when contacted, a spokesman from the relevant implementing and monitoring agency acknowledged the achievement in the school projects 'rescued' by Naim.

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Over 200 NCR land owners stage peaceful assembly

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 11:31 AM PST

KUCHING: Over 200 people staged a peaceful assembly at Padang Merdeka here yesterday with the hope that their rights would be respected and protected by the government.

According to organising chairman, Peter John Jaban, the assembly was done in conjunction with World Human Rights Day and was held for the first time in the state.

"We want to make it into something so that people are aware of their rights. Everybody has rights from the day they were born.

"These people came from all over the places, including Melikin, Simunjan, Bau and Lundu. They are those whose rights to NCR land been taken away from them and those who have been harassed by the police," he claimed when met at the scene.

He estimated the crowd at over 200 even though they expected more.

"The number does not matter. These people are poor but they used all means to come to fight for their rights and to tell the world that they are being oppressed.

"We hope that the Malaysian government will respect the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous People, a declaration that Malaysia has yet to sign. Please, respect our human rights," he said.

Meanwhile, an NCR land rights activist Nicholas Bawin Anggat said that Sarawak had been active in defending the rights of the people, especially where lands were concerned.

"We need to create awareness about the importance of protecting human rights. We must have the courage to defend our rights as no one can do it for us. We have nothing to fear as we are working within the framework of the laws in the country.

"Our rights must be respected and that we too must respect the rights of others. We will continue our struggle until we have no more fears and that our rights remain our rights," he said.

Also at the assembly were villagers from Entangor, Simunjan who claimed that land developers had encroached into their NCR land recently. The villagers have decided to bring the matter to court. They handed over a letter to appoint Baru Bian as their advocate. The letter was received by state PKR vice-chairman See Chee How.

The assembly ended with the people making a short march around the venue (Padang) carrying banners and posters written with human rights messages. The crowd dispersed peacefully and nothing untoward happened.

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Boy drowns in drain while waiting for his father

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 11:30 AM PST

MARUDI: A nine-year-old Primary 3 pupil of SK Lubok Nibong near here drowned in a monsoon drain where he and his father had placed a fish trap (pukat).

His father Umpoh Raman works as a lorry driver at an oil palm plantation, Tembarap 1 at Bakong near here.

Stanly Umpoh of mixed parentage, Iban/Berawan, was spending time with his family on the plantation during the long school holidays.

According to his relatives, around 4.30pm Monday, the boy and his father went out in a boat. After placing the pukat in a 10-foot deep drain, his father told him to wait for him there, but when dad came back for him less than five minutes later, the boy had disappeared.

His father called the police and Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba).

According to Marudi Bomba chief, Nicholas Belulin, his department received numerous calls from the father around 9.29pm but since it was already dark, Nicholas and another five other Bomba personnel only went to the scene at 7am the next morning.

The body was found at 6.15am by his father not far from where his son was told to wait for him.

It was brought in a police car to Marudi Hospital and arrived here around 9am where family members gathered outside the mortuary.

The victim is the only son in a family with four children.

His father Umpoh Raman is an Iban from Rumah Merikan, Lubang Kompeni, Lubok Nibong while his mother a Berawan from Rumah John Mato, Long Tuyot, Tinjar.

After the postmortem, the body was brought to Long Tuyot for burial.

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2 charged with drug trafficking

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 10:45 AM PST

by Danny Wong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 11, 2013, Wednesday

SIBU: Two foreigners were brought to the magistrates' court here yesterday where they were separately indicted for trafficking in dangerous drugs.

Cambodian man Khmo Unh Russe Ykeo, 56, from Phnom Penh and Vietnamese woman Nguyen Thi Kim Tuyen, in her 30s, were charged under Section 39B(2) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which provides for a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Khmo is charged with trafficking in 3.126kg of methamphetamine whereas Nguyen in 4,282.68g of the dangerous drug at Sibu Airport on Nov 27 at 11.40am and 11.38am respectively.

Magistate Zulhairi Suliaman scheduled both cases for further mention on Jan 13 pending the chemist's reports.

Both accused, who were unrepresented, were ordered to be further remanded. No plea was taken.

Azrul Faidz appeared for the prosecution.

According to press reports, the two accused were arrested at Sibu Airport on Nov 27 for having in their possession 7.4kg of syabu worth about RM1.48 million.

The seizure was said to be the biggest of such substance by the police in the state this year.

They were said to be on the same flight from KLIA.

Police allegedly seized from the man, drugs believed to be syabu with a street value of RM625,000 and from the woman, drugs also believed to be syabu with a street value of RM850,000.

The drugs were allegedly concealed in their luggage, handbags, slippers and inside ribbons.

The suspects were believed to have flown in from Chennai and New Delhi en route to Kuala Lumpur.

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Lorry driver injured in freak accident

Posted: 10 Dec 2013 10:45 AM PST

KUCHING: A lorry driver fractured his leg after the heavy vehicle he was driving crashed into the rear of another lorry, which veered out of control and swerved into his lane.

The incident happened around 11pm along Jalan Haji Baki when the victim, driving his 10-tonne lorry towards the city, collided into the rear of another 10-tonne lorry.

According to witnesses, the second lorry had just exited from a junction and was heading towards Bau when it suddenly veered into the path of the victim's vehicle on the opposite lane.

The 59-year-old victim was left pinned to his seat as a result of the collision and firemen had to extricate him from the wreckage.

He was left with a fractured lower right leg and was sent to Sarawak General Hospital.

In another accident, a car driver was left with a gashed forehead after his car went out of control at Mile 9 Kuching-Serian Road here late Monday night.

The 29-year-old was travelling from his house at Mile 14 to fetch his wife at her workplace in Kuching Sentral when his Proton Wira crashed into the roadside railing around 10.30pm.

Nearby residents who heard the crash called for an ambulance to send the victim to Sarawak General Hospital where he received outpatient treatment.

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