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<b>Sabah</b> BN leaders urged to press for higher oil royalty – BorneoPost <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

<b>Sabah</b> BN leaders urged to press for higher oil royalty – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 30 Mar 2014 03:53 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The Borneo's Plight in Malaysian Foundation (BOPIM) feels that Barisan Nasional leaders in Sabah need to be more serious in demanding for a raise in oil royalty.

Its president, Daniel John Jambun, said the state's senior BN leaders needed to voice the demand with more courage and assertion, and not just use their youth leaders as fronts to make the demand.

Jambun was referring to the combined demand made by three youth chiefs, Arthur Sen of UPKO, Datuk Jake Nointin of PBS and Arthur Joseph Kurup of PBRS.

"The only BN leader who has been daring enough to voice out this demand is Datuk Salleh Tun Said," he said in statement yesterday.

"This is a new stance from a Sabah Umno leader which is very encouraging. But the other senior leaders from all the component parties, especially the Kadazan Dusun Murut-based BN parties, need to make a united voice to pressure the federal government to listen to the desires of Sabahans for a higher share of Sabah's oil.

"We all know that statements of party youth leaders are junior-level statements which are mere warm-up voices which senior leaders can brush aside as 'their personal opinions'. But at least it's a good start and the warm-ups need to be strengthened with a follow-up by the senior leaders soon," he said.

"On the other hand, it is also high time the federal leaders start listening to Sabahans on the issue instead of continuing to keep quiet and deliberately ignoring the concerns of Malaysians in Sabah," Jambun added.

"Federal leaders must begin to understand that Sabahans, including those in BN, are now openly asking for what they now realize to be rightly theirs," he said.

"If this demand is not addressed properly in good time, the next development will be for the BN parties to contemplate leaving the BN. The resignation of Tan Sri Bernard Dompok as president of UPKO is already an indication, so let the BN leaders in Kuala Lumpur be warned of what might happen with the BN parties in Sabah and Sarawak where there is also a loud demand for the royalty to be raised to 20 per cent.

"If (there is) a whiplash in the form of a rebellion by these parties, the serious ramifications will be the real possibility of toppling the BN government because the number of members of parliament in Sabah and Sarawak — which are BN's fixed deposits — will instantly reverse the country's balance of power," Jambun pointed out.

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Masidi blames KL for project lag - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 02 Apr 2014 04:50 PM PDT

by Jenne Lajiun. Posted on April 3, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun attributed the failure to fully implement federal government programmes in Sabah to Putrajaya.

He said the authority to decide lies with Putrajaya and power is not given to the people of Sabah to implement programmes.

Even trivial matters with regard to the tender of supplies for food is decided by Putrajaya, said Masidi when launching a seminar on Malaysia Education Development Plan (PPPM) yesterday.

As a result, a lot of time is wasted, he said.

"In this day and age, such incidents should not happen anymore, particularly when we want everything to be done swiftly," he said.

"Schools (projects) in Sabah are neglected due to issues like cement problem…if the power to decide is given to the director (State Education director), we have ample and able contractors to carry out these projects, but we still have to get the authorisation from Putrajaya," he said.

"I am voicing these issues not because I am against it, but because I am fully supportive of it and want to see all the programmes to be realised fully…I have outlined each of the problems faced in the education sector (in Sabah)…I have also gone through the process of implementing the education (programmes) in Sabah and it is fraught with problems and challenges due to the authority.

"How wonderful it would be if the authority to decide is given to us (Sabah) so that we can implement the Education Ministry's programmes successfully," he said.

He also said that the people of Sabah were not ungrateful to the Federal Government.

"It is not that. We don't want to see the billions of Ringgit spent in Sabah to go into waste because the end result remains unsatisfactory," he said.

He then outlined four issues that need to be considered for the successful implementation of Federal Government programmes in Sabah.

The first issue he raised was on the provision of the power to decide to State directors and /or any federal government agencies based in Sabah.

He explained that contracts were often given to companies that were not based in Sabah, not just in the area of education but also others.

He stressed that there were many capable contractors in Sabah and that they possess technical knowhow/expertise to handle Federal Government projects.

"The Central Government has to understand the aspiration of the people of Sabah. Please don't appoint Peninsular Malaysia-based contractors for contracts involving safety works, for instance, because we have former police personnel who could do such work.

"We are not angry that others get the project but let it (the granting of projects) be balanced. Unfortunately, everything goes to peninsula. This is also one of the factors contributing to the challenges in the implementation of projects in Sabah," he said.

Secondly, locals should be given the opportunity to implement projects related to the PPPM in Sabah, he said.

"Let the contract be given to the locals and give the district education officer full authority to monitor and be responsible for the implementation of these projects," he said.

He also called for the decentralisation of decision-making, citing that Sabah was far from Peninsular Malaysia and that there were many federal government officers in Sabah who were capable as decision makers.

He also said that Sabahans must be considered for federal government posts in Sabah, and that minor posts such as Assistant Lab Technicians in the State must be given to Sabahans.

"If these posts are given to those in Peninsular Malaysia, then the people of Sabah will die," he said.

"These matters may seem trivial but they are important to raise our spirit to continue with the success of the national plan," he said.

Lastly, Masidi called for the setting up of a secretariat in Sabah to foresee the successful implementation of the PPPM in Sabah.

"We need to ensure the plan continues to be relevant till 2025."

During an interview with press members later, Masidi also mentioned the challenges faced by Peninsular Malaysian teachers who were based in Sabah.

"They are faced with problems finding places to stay and getting used to the place…but with Sabahans teaching in Sabah, such an issue will not occur. We need to come to a stage where such issues are no longer regarded as being regionalistic…it is natural for all of us to love the district and State where we came from."

Also present was State Education Director, Datuk Jame Alip.

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TB is <b>Sabah&#39;s</b> highest contracted communicable disease <b>...</b>

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 02:49 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 4,515 cases of tuberculosis (TB) were recorded in Sabah in 2013, which on record is the highest contracted disease compared to other communicable diseases.

State Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi disclosed this yesterday  in her speech delivered by her deputy, Dr Richard Avoi, during the launch of Sabah Anti-Tuberculosis Association's (SABATA) 60th Anniversary Seminar entitled "To Improve Detection, Treatment and Curing Tuberculosis."

According to Dr Rundi, the number recorded for the disease is the highest compared to other communicable diseases such as malaria and dengue.

"TB is on the rise and is a serious problem in Sabah and it is still a challenge to keep the disease under wraps, especially with cases that are diagnosed too late," she said.

She added that possible contributing factors to the delayed diagnosis of TB are due to the patients themselves, who are unaware of early symptoms, or the healthcare delivery system.

"It is also believed that there are still many more undetected cases of TB (in the State), as the search for TB cases is still low," Dr Rundi said.

Another challenge, she said, is to deal with the refusal of treatment, especially from the immigrant community, which has contributed to the rise of drug-resistant TB cases.

Therefore, she urged for cooperation between non-governmental organizations and the Health Department to help in controlling TB, especially through awareness programs.

Meanwhile, head of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Sector, Dr Jiloris F Dony of the Health Ministry, said that Malaysia ranks seventh on the list of TB-burden countries within the 37 countries listed on the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Region.

"TB is the second most common communicable disease in Malaysia, after dengue and is the leading cause of mortality among all communicable diseases," Jiloris said.

He also said that ensuring quality screening and clinical management of TB cases, providing adequate infection control measures in healthcare facilities and early case findings are, amongst others, efforts to control the spread of TB.

About 230 participants attended the public seminar, organized together with the Malaysian Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (MAPTB), which was held in conjunction with the World Tuberculosis Day that falls on March 24.

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