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Works Minister reminded to allocate funds for <b>Sabah</b>, Sarawak <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

Works Minister reminded to allocate funds for <b>Sabah</b>, Sarawak <b>...</b>

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:14 PM PST

KOTA KINABALU: STAR Sabah chief Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan has questioned the lack of allocations for the repair of roads and slopes in Sabah and Sarawak that were damaged by floods.

"The federal Works Minister and Public Works Department should be commended for speedily inspecting, finalizing and approving the estimated costs of repairs of recent flood damaged roads and slopes in Terengganu, Pahang and Johor of RM56.9 million but there is no mention of any allocations for Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

Jeffrey said the people of Sabah and Sarawak would have expected that with the Works Minister from Sarawak, more priority would have been given to the two states.

"Even without the damage from the recent floods, Sabah has been crying out for the RM920 million needed since 2009 for 647 road slopes failures, and as of September 2013, RM2 billion backlog for road repairs and another RM700 million for repairs and upgrading of 62 bridges.

"Now that road damage and landslides caused by the recent floods cutting off traffic in Sabah and Sarawak are in the news again, one would have expected a different and more positive response from the federal government," he said in a statement yesterday.

"Perhaps, it is time for the federal Works Minister to review the needs of the Borneo states and allocate the necessary federal funds for Sabah and Sarawak. There can be no excuse for not allocating these funds since they have been readily and speedily approved for Terengganu, Pahang and Johor within a month," he added.

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Max draws flak over opinion on &#39;Allah&#39; issue - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 07 Feb 2014 08:46 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah yesterday opined that Federal Minister, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili should have kept his personal view on the use of the word 'Allah' to his close friends and associate.

Kepayan assemblyman, Dr Edwin Bosi was commenting on Maximus statement of publicly distancing himself from the church action of seeking a court solution on the use of the word "Allah" in Christian worship.

Dr Edwin said that Maximus may be talking theology to justify his personal opinion and that they respected that.

"It is his right to call his God in any name he wants. Unfortunately as a Federal Minister, PBS Deputy President and a Christian, Maximus' statement although it is personal in nature, is not going to come down well with the people especially the predominantly non-Muslim natives in Sabah," he said.

He added that it was only two days ago that the State's Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Yahya Hussin, who was also the Agriculture and Food Industry minister, said that it did not matter to him if non-Muslims used the word "Tuhan", "God" or "Allah".

"The crux of the matter is that there has to be peace and harmony in Sabah," said Edwin.

Edwin further commented that Maximus should have been the first Christian Federal Minister to congratulate Yahya but instead he has come out with a statement which is driving a deeper wedge into society.

"It is therefore timely to ask what is the stand of PBS President and Huguan Siou, Tan Sri Pairin Kitingan on this issue?" he continued.

"Maximus has forgotten the circumstances when Sabah (formerly North Borneo) agreed to the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia with Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya in 1963. Religion was never an issue in Sabah then. It was never mentioned that the Malay-speaking natives who are Christians and using the Alkitab are not allowed to use the word 'Allah' in their worship. There was also never any imposition on the Christians not to use certain Arabic words that are found in the Quran then," he stressed.

"Maximus must be reminded that the Christians in Malaysia have always upheld the principle of 'Love thy Neighbour'. They have not only been tolerant of others of different faith but even go as far as accepting and respecting the differences. Because of these, there is a peaceful co-existence and harmony with others. Maximus' worry is therefore unfounded," said Edwin.

He said that Maximus should also be aware as a Federal Minister, that the Federal Constitution was the Supreme Law of the land.

"Any enactments by the States must be in line with the spirit of the Federal Constitution. This is already proven when the Sabah Assembly enacted the anti-hop law only to be declared ultra-vires the Federal Constitution," he said.

He also said that the question now was whether the BN government has the political will to resolve the issues relating to religion.

"The government of the day must be concerned about maintaining security for its citizens and the nation. The government must also monitor the activity of overzealous officers as mentioned by Maximus," he said.

He added that even rich countries will not prosper because of insecurity.

"It is pertinent that this concern should be viewed more seriously in the context of a globalised and borderless world," he said.

Meanwhile, Putatan member of parliament, Datuk Dr Marcus Makin Mojigoh said that the opinion published was a personal view and not the view of the Christian majority.

He said that the people of Sabah should be proud of leaders like Yahya and Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.

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Veteran serviceman receives new house - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 08 Feb 2014 09:37 AM PST

by Winnie Kasmir. Posted on February 9, 2014, Sunday

SANDAKAN: A veteran serviceman, Corp. Mohd Azam Bin Adam expressed his gratitude for the house key presented to him under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS) of the 1Malaysia Veteran House Repair Program, yesterday.

The house key was presented by Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) Director General of Affairs, Major General Dato' Wira Haji Mohd Noor Bin Haji Daud during a house key and Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) presentation ceremony at Sabah Hotel.

The Affairs Department of ATM sympathised with the burden carried by Mohd Azam who was still renting a house with his wife and five children. They then granted him a new house which was built on his own land at Mile 7.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house which cost RM50,000 will able to accommodate his family.

"I am grateful and would like to thank the Affairs Department of ATM, as well as the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development for the new house," said Mohd Azam who has worked for 22 years with the Royal Logistics Corps of ATM.

Meanwhile, Mohd Noor said a total of 200 houses under the 1Malaysia Veteran House Repair Program will be constructed this year.

From the total, 100 houses will be built in Sabah and Sarawak at a cost of RM50,000 each and RM45,000 each for similar houses in Peninsular while 100 houses will be improvised with a cost of RM11,000 each.

Mohd Noor also urged ex-servicemen to come forward and register with the Ex-Armed Forces Association to ease the process of channeling assistance.

During the ceremony, 35 veteran servicemen of ATM in Sandakan also received the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) for their contribution to ATM.

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Solar, wind energy can change power generation in <b>Sabah</b> <b>...</b>

Posted: 08 Dec 2013 10:02 AM PST

KUDAT: Renewable energy from solar and wind turbine is not only an excellent power alternative for the future but it can also revolutionise electricity generation in Sabah, says Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin.

He said Sabah had its own uniqueness as it endowed was rich natural resources which could be used to generate renewable energy and contribute to economic development.

"Operational cost for power generation is extremely high and power producers like Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd face a great challenge and the problem  has been further aggravated by the inconsistent hike in fuel prices.

"As such, the government always welcomes any party that can come foward to explore and apply green energy and simultaneously support the government's move to develop sustainable energy," he said when launching two TechnoFund Mosti projects here yesterday.

The projects, the Application of Wind Technology System for Energy Generation and the Sustainable Thin Film PV Building and the Renewable Energy Generation, have been entrusted to Sirim Bhd by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for research and development.

Overall, the projects can generate 25 kw of wind turbine power and 9.8 kw of solar energy.

The power generated can light up a resort near the project site in Tg Simpang Mengayau and can be supplied and stored in a battery system.

Ewon said the research findings can be developed on a large scale, commercially, and can contribute towards reducing the number of power interruptions in Sabah.

It can also bring cheer to the many rural residents who live far away from grid areas.

In the long-term, renewable energy can become a big alternative to the current practice of generating electricity from fuel oil, charcoal, diesel and  hydro reservoirs which incur huge operational costs.

TechnoFund is a grant scheme funded by Mosti which covers 13 projects under the Renewable Energy Task Force.

Established by the Cabinet, the scheme provides funding for technology development, up to pre-commercialisation stage, with the commercial potential to create new businesses and generate economic wealth for the nation. — Bernama

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<b>Sabah</b> ruggers trounce Sarawak in Agong&#39;s Cup qualifier <b>...</b>

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 12:03 PM PST

by Philip Wong, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on December 4, 2013, Wednesday

SIBU: Sarawak Rugby Union (SRU) team returned from their Sabah trip heavily battered and bruised after losing to their neighbouring counterparts 19-43 in the qualifying round for the Agong's Cup held at Likas Stadium recently.

SRU chief coach Michael Ting admitted that it was a disappointing outing, especially when his team were rated as the favourite.

"We must admit that Sabah Rugby Union is a better team, more organized and they had a rich crop of experienced players who had played in bigger tournaments. Their team has all the hallmarks of the champion team in the making. We wish them all the best in the Agong's Cup," he said.

With the defeat, Sarawak's hopes of representing the East Zone at the Agong's Cup, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 10, evaporated.

The last time Sarawak took part in the Agong's Cup was seven years ago.

On his team's defeat, Ting narrowed it down to his players who were mostly young recruits or fresh school leavers up against the bigger and powerfully built Sabahans.

"Our players lacked the expertise, the stamina and the experience to pull through. Moreover, they (Sabahans) also had three Fijian imports while we only had one in the person of Iowane Sovatabua," he added.

Nevertheless, the Sarawak boys did manage to keep their opponents at bay in the first half when they secured a try and a conversion to trail 7-16.

"We missed two precious opportunities midway through the second half when our forwards managed to penetrate the Sabah defense only to lose the ball when the touchdown was within reach. It blew away our chances of any comeback," Ting lamented.

On future plans, Ting said "We are also looking into the possibility of getting more import players from Fijian to boost our squad. We are eyeing for more honors and titles next year and we need to prepare early."

The players, he added, would also have to train more consistently and with a longer training schedule instead of the current practice whereby the players only train together during the final two days.

"We will set things right and the priority will be on the training schedule. All the shortcomings will be looked into and we hope this will further upgrade the standard of SRU players."

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