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Support for call to let <b>Sabah</b> handle federal programs – BorneoPost <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

Support for call to let <b>Sabah</b> handle federal programs – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 03 Apr 2014 06:12 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Likas assemblyman Junz Wong and former member of parliament Datuk Dr Othman Minudin expressed their full support to Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun's recent call for educational power to be delegated to Sabah State Government.

Junz concurred with Masidi that such power was necessary in order for Sabah to develop and implement educational programs and projects at our own pace with great efficiency and effectiveness.

Two days ago, Masidi had blamed Putrajaya for the failure to implement federal government programmes in the State because the authority to decide lies with the federal government and the power is not given to Sabah State Government.

"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.

"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," Masidi added.

In this regard, Junz proposed that Sabah should set up its own Education Ministry.

"In fact Sabah should set up our own Education Ministry to ensure Sabah does not fall short of education development based on Sabahan needs via not just on education projects or programs but also the need of students and teachers.

"For instance, Sabah Education Ministry can recruit Sabahan teachers to teach in Sabah coping with issues of shortage of qualified teachers in Sabah. We can implement our own educational programs such as alternative native language programs to preserve Sabah beautiful native cultures and languages," Junz said.

"This is beyond politics. I support Masidi's call regardless of our political differences because it is in Number 20 of our 20 points agreement that education should be under the power of state government. This is in the best interest of Sabah's future in education developments," he added.

Meanwhile, Dr Othman Menudin said that when he was the MP for Kinabalu during the Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) government in the early 1990s, he often raised the same issue in the Parliament.

He said during that time, the federal government's allocations for the education sector were only approved and released towards the end of the year, either in November or December, which was unfair to Sabahans.

"The reply from the deputy education minister to my question in parliament at that time was that we (Sabah) received a lot of allocation from the federal but we Sabahans don't know how to utilise the funds," he recounted, adding that it was impossible to fully utilise the allocations which were only released at the end of the year.

Angkatan Perubahan Sabah (APS) youth chief Denis Gimpah also expressed full support for Masidi's call.

"I fully agree with what Masidi said. This is one of the main issues that has brought us into Pakatan together with strong credible leaders from UPKO in July 2012, as we found that nothing or very little has been done by Putrajaya," he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

"Now, it is becoming apparent that the people, including Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders, have realised that what we have written in our manifesto during the recent general election is true. We didn't leave UPKO for the opposition or Pakatan simply because of minor issues. Rather, a lot of issues have been ignored by Putrajaya, particularly during Mahathir's tenure," he said.

He added that Sabah has always been left behind due to the cloak of bureaucracy created by Putrajaya.

Putrajaya, Gimpah said, should be sincere and give Sabah and Sabahans the power to manage their own resources and develop the State according to the State's.

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Feed-in Tariff to include <b>Sabah</b>, Labuan - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 01 Apr 2014 05:44 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry announced yesterday that the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) will also include Sabah and Labuan.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Ongkili, said the FiT quota for Peninsula Malaysia, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan would be released for application on May 2, 2014.

"The quota release for 2014 marks an important milestone in the implementation of the FiT mechanism as the state of Sabah and Federal Territory of Labuan will be participating in the FiT mechanism for the first time," he said in a statement yesterday.

Ongkili said the total FiT quota allocated for commercial operation by end of this year will be 65 MW and this covers the renewable energy sources of biogas, biomass, biomass (solid waste), small hydro, solar photovoltaics (PV) for the individuals, solar PV for the non-individuals, and a new category for solar PV for community.

In addition to the inclusion of Sabah and Labuan, he said the ministry has also revised five of the subsidiary legislations including those concerned with the Displaced Cost (DC) and the Technical and Operational Requirements (T&O) rules.

The DC has been revised upwards to reflect the increase in the cost of supply of electricity in Peninsular, Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan. The new DC will allow more quotas to be released from the expected amount of the Renewable Energy Fund (RE Fund) to be collected, he explained.

"Whereas the amendment to the T&O subsidiary legislations include changes to some of the definitions in the subsidiary legislations in order to standardise them with the definitions used under the Electricity Supply Act 1990 and its associated regulations. The amendment will also result in a reduction in transaction cost incurred by renewable energy developers.

"For example, Solar PV installations with capacity of 12kW up to 425kW will only incur a connection confirmation check cost of between RM1,000 and RM5,000," he said.

Previously, installations exceeding 180kW up to 1 MW require a Power System Study (PSS) that costs RM20,000.

Further refinements have been made to the FiT quota application process for large-scale solar PV exceeding 425 kW. Application for this category must be submitted manually to SEDA Malaysia. The applications must comply with all existing requirements under the e-FiT system as well as other additional conditions that will be disseminated by SEDA Malaysia through their website at www.seda.gov.my and stakeholders engagement workshops.

The FiT is a policy mechanism administered and managed by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia as provided for under the Renewable Energy Act (Act 725).

However, the allocation for FiT quota is still available for the next eight years after 2017 for non-solar PV technology.

To mark Sabah and Labuan's inaugural participation in the FiT, there is a special solar PV quota of 5MW for non-individual applications for Sabah and Labuan for application capacity of above 425kW and up to 2MW.

Ongkili pointed out that the Malaysian Government since the Eighth Malaysia Plan in 2001 has embedded renewable energy into the energy mix. The rationale for this is to increase the country's energy security, autonomy and to address climate change.

This is in particular to reduce the country's dependency on fossil fuel and to utilize indigenous resources that are renewable.

As such, he said the government has implemented the Small Renewable Energy Power (SREP) programme which spanned a decade concluding 2010. However, as at the end of 2010, the renewable energy (RE) projects connected to the grid was only 61.2 MW.

To encourage the growth of Renewable Energy in the country, he said the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water came out with the National RE Policy and Action Plan (NREPAP) that was approved by the Cabinet on 2nd April 2010.

The core framework of the NREPAP was centred on the implementation of the FiT which was introduced on 1st December 2011 in Peninsular Malaysia whereby there is an additional charge of 1% to the electricity bills which goes to the RE fund to allow people to participate in the FiT programme.

However, domestic electricity consumers with less than 300 kWh consumption of electricity per month are exempted from such contribution.

Currently, the percentage of approved Feed-in Tariff projects is 2% of the total electricity generating capacity. This is based on 537.97 MW of RE capacity approved under the FiT with baseline of 27,179 MW of total electricity generating capacity in the country since 2010. Our target is for Renewable Energy to constitute 5% of the energy mix in 2015.

"With the tariff review effective Jan 1, 2014, the FiT will also include the Sabah and Labuan. The contribution into the RE fund has also been revised to 1.6% for all participating states to increase the fund for renewable energy.

"I wish to inform that as at end of February 2014, RM4.8 million has been paid out to biogas, RM4.86 million to small hydro, RM37.8 million to biomass and RM40.9 million to solar PV," the minister added.

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Fifth Infantry Division to boost <b>Sabah</b> security - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 02 Apr 2014 04:39 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The establishment of the Fifth Infantry Division under the Royal Malaysia Army (RMA) would be a positive move to help strengthen the security system in Sabah, RMA Lieutenant General Datuk Mohd Zaki Mohktar said.

However, he said the establishment of a new division would take some time after taking into several considerations such as restructuring and additional manpower.

"To establish a new division is time-consuming in terms of training of personnel, equipment and weapons.

"At the moment, the RMA has four divisions where three of them are stationed in Peninsular Malaysia while the fourth division is being administered in Sabah and Sarawak.

"To strengthen the security system in the country, the RMA is working to form a new division in Sabah while Sarawak will be given an available division," Mohd Zaki said this at a press conference after witnessing the handing over of duties from outgoing Fifth Infantry Brigade Commander Brigadier General Datuk Ranjit Singh Ramday and his successor Brigadier General Jalaludin Manan at the Lok Kawi Camp here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zaki said Task Force 450, which was established on March 1 in Sarawak, is a positive move for the establishment of the Fifth Division Infantry in Sabah.

"We have the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) to protect our waters on the east coast, and the RMA is planning to set up a Border Brigade, which is land border, to strengthen our security system," he said, adding that the Task Force 450 would be operating at Lok Kawi Camp temporarily before moving to a new location in the future.

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<b>Sabah</b> Air plans China flights - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 02 Apr 2014 04:41 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The MH370 issue will not mar the 40 years relationship that has been built between Malaysia and China, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.

He also said that with respect to business, Sabah will continue to pursue business with China.

"Sabah is in the position to do that," he said.

He also said that Sabah Air plans to provide charter flights to China from here.

"I think it is good and I welcome them to the business," he said.

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<b>Sabah</b> to continue Visit Malaysia Year promotions – Masidi <b>...</b>

Posted: 31 Mar 2014 10:27 AM PDT

by Nancy Lai. Posted on April 1, 2014, Tuesday

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will proceed with promoting the state in conjunction with 'Visit Malaysia Year 2014', said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.

"For me the government has announced and declared 2014 as Visit Malaysia Year (VMY), so we will continue with our promotion but with some adjustments taking into consideration what had happened," said Masidi when met by reporters after officiating the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) annual dinner on Sunday night.

He said this when asked if Sabah will be going ahead with its promotion after Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz's announcement in the Dewan Rakyat that all roadshows and activities overseas in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 will be temporarily halted out of respect for the families of the passengers on board the missing Flight MH370.

Masidi in his reply added that what had happened must be taken as challenges in the tourism industry.

"We should not be disappointed that this has happened, maybe this incident is what we need to improve ourselves so that we are better prepared in the future," he said.

To a question if tourist arrivals to Sabah had been negatively affected by the incident, Masidi said, "We have to bear in mind that most of the bookings are 'forward booking' which were made before the incident happened. As I said before, we will not be able to see the implication the incident has on the tourist arrival through the immediate statistics….maybe we will be able to see the results in two to three months' time.

He added that a small panel to study the ramifications and implications of the MH370 case on the state's tourism industry had been set up at Sabah Tourism Board.

"I hope that people will not interpret it in a negative way because we always try to be one step ahead of anything," he said.

When asked if Sabah's tourism sector is feeling the effect of China travellers' boycott, Masidi stressed that it was too early to confirm that tourists from China were not travelling to Malaysia.

"We understand that many have lost their family members in the case and they are still emotional with what had happened which is why they are angry. However, it is too early to say that tourists from China boycott Malaysia.

"We must give them ample time and space to accept the fact and we will see after that. If needed we will adjust out strategy for this year but I am very confident that if there should be any negative effects, it would not prolong.

"We are living in a borderless world and people will have to travel so obviously for the time being when you are angry you may not want to travel but in the future people are going to become reasonable and accept the fact that there are things in our lives that we cannot control," he said.

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DAP to table motion for oil royalty review - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 31 Mar 2014 10:21 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: DAP Sabah will table a motion in the coming State Assembly sitting for a 20% oil royalty review and urged all Sabah elected representatives to support it.

Its organizing secretary, Junz Wong, called on the Sabah State Government to debate this motion comprehensively and make a stand to demand an increase on the oil royalty from 5% to 20%.

"Regardless of our political affiliation, all Sabahan elected representatives, be it state assemblymen or parliamentarians, should unite and fight for what Sabah deserves which is not less than 20% oil royalty," he said in a statement yesterday.

Junz claimed that a 20% oil royalty increase would mean an additional three billion fixed revenue for Sabah that has been long overdue for Sabah.

"Why should we wait at the mercy of the Federal Government to allocate funds for Sabah's development?" he asked.

Junz, who is also the Likas assemblyman, refuted Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan's claim that bigger allocations by the Barisan Nasional (BN) in recent years was due to falling short of support in West Malaysia and had no choice but to focus more efforts in Sabah.

"Let's not pretend that BN has been treating Sabah well. It was never so until the political tsunami and that's a historical fact that no one would deny. Even then Sabah is still shortchanged!" Junz explained.

"With the 20% oil royalty increment, it's still only right that in the spirit of federation that the Federal Government continues to allocate more funds to Sabah because we have been shortchanged and way underdeveloped under BN after all these donkeys years," he argued.

Junz advised Rahman Dahlan not to try to divert attention.

"The point here is not how Dato Seri Anwar should explain his mechanism but his political will to increase the 20% oil royalty and give the states their deserved shares.

"Ultimately the big question is whether BN Sabah supports and will demand for the 20% oil royalty increment and not whether the Federal Government is willing to give a huge allocation," he said.

"Perhaps Datuk Rahman Dahlan should start speaking like a Sabahan or he might as well quit as a Sabah MP!" Junz added.

Rahman Dahlan said on Sunday that an all-encompassing and comprehensive discussion is needed if the issue on the proposed increase of Sabah's oil royalty is brought up.

The Umno Supreme Council member said as a local leader of Sabah, he agreed on principle with the suggestion to increase the oil royalty but at the same time, various aspects had to be discussed and ironed out.

"I agree with the views of Barisan Nasional youth (Parti Bersatu Sabah, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah and United Pasokmomogun Kadzandusun Murut Organisation). However, the mechanism must be worked out. What is more important to me is the amount that the Federal Government will allocate to Sabah.

"Will it (development allocation for Sabah) be more than for other states? The oil royalty is not the only source of income for the state but it is also in the form of allocation from the Federal Government," he told reporters after opening the Kota Belud District Fishermen's Association Annual General Meeting, in Kota Belud on Sunday.

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