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Borneo Mart to reduce cost of living of rural people in Sabah, Sarawak BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Borneo Mart to reduce cost of living of rural people in Sabah, Sarawak

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 10:51 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) yesterday launched Borneo Mart as additional initiative to reduce the cost of living of rural people in Sabah and Sarawak.

Minister Datuk Hasan Malek said using the franchise concept, Borneo Mart is an extension of government initiatives such as Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia (KR1M), Mobile Mart and Transporter.

"Initially, three Borneo Mart will open at Wisma Wanita in Sabah and Merapok and Bintulu in Sarawak," he told reporters after opening a seminar on KR1M and Mobile Mart and launch of Borneo Mart at Wisma Wanita, here yesterday.

Also present was Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid. Hasan said Borneo Mart would complement the price standardisation programme in Sabah and Sarawak and the role of KR1M in offering goods at reasonable prices.

Other than retail, Borneo Mart would also serve as distribution centre of consumer goods to markets on the outskirt of towns and rural areas.

"Via Borneo Mart, traders will be able to sell subsidised goods at government control prices with better profit margins.

"It will not only benefit the traders but also benefit the consumers," said Hasan.

Since traders in Sabah and Sarawak better understand the needs of local consumers, the products on sale at Borneo Mart would be determined by them.

Borneo Mart's operation would be closely monitored by KPDNKK officers to ensure traders do not raise the price of goods since they are no longer burdened with transportation cost. — Bernama

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Chances of getting 20% oil royalty low – FSI

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 10:17 AM PDT

by Chok Sim Yee. Posted on June 6, 2014, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: Now is the golden opportunity for the state government to put in an official request for an oil royalty hike since Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has openly expressed his willingness to consider Sarawak's request to increase the latter's oil royalty to 20 per cent.

The Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI) Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau believes that by doing so will make the Sarawak's case stronger, adding that even Terengganu should formally request for an oil royalty increase as well.

"If the federal government is willing to consider, the state government should also table the matter in the state cabinet or state assembly, and subsequently make a formal request like our counterpart in Sarawak.

"I think this is an opportunity since the Prime Minister has made some statement and Sarawak is all out for it.

"I don't see any reason why Sabah would not want to follow suit," Wong said when contacted yesterday.

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem made a statement recently, asking for the royalty to be increased to 20 per cent. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has expressed his willingness to give utmost consideration to the Sarawak state government for an increase in oil royalty.

Wong said higher oil royalty would contribute towards the betterment of the state, whereby the money could be used for development and so on.

"I believe everybody in the right mind will want it (20 per cent oil royalty), there is no question about it.

"FSI will definitely support the state government if they are putting in a formal request."

Wong said 20 per cent oil royalty was not too much to ask for, and that the state government could even request for higher oil royalty for the federal government to consider.

Nonetheless, Wong said the chances of getting 20 per cent oil royalty, in his opinion, was low.

He opined that Sabah would most likely obtain between 10 and 15 per cent oil royalty in the end.

"Of course if they (federal government) are generous, they can give 20 per cent, which we will be thankful for.

"Whatever it is, I am confident that the federal government will increase the oil royalty this time round, to 10 per cent or more."

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RM200,000 contraband fags found in abandoned shop

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 10:16 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: About 10,560 packets of contraband cigarettes worth RM232,320 were found in the ceiling of an abandoned shop by the Customs Department here during a raid at Sinsuran complex on Wednesday.

State Customs Department director, Datuk Janathan Kandok, said the discovery was made at around 10 am after more than four hours of surveillance at the said location.

"Acting on a tip-off, Customs personnel immediately carried out surveillance at the said location. After waiting for four hours, our personnel then entered the premises but did not find any suspicious items. Further inspection however led to the discovery of about 10,560 packets of contraband cigarettes of numerous brands hidden in the ceiling," he told a press conference at the State Customs headquarters, here yesterday.

Janathan said investigation showed that the seized items was valued at RM232,320 after tax.

"Although we did not make any arrest, we believe we can identify the owner of the premises and we will follow up on the investigation," he said, adding that the contraband items were believed smuggled from a neighbouring country and would be sold around the state.

He said the case would be investigated under Section 135 (d) of the Customs Act 1967, which carries a fine of not more than 10 times the value of the seized items or jailed up to three years, if convicted.

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Teachers under-appreciated — Sabah minister

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 09:40 AM PDT

by Rebecca Chong. Posted on June 6, 2014, Friday

KOTA KINABALU: Teachers in Malaysia are not appreciated and underpaid, said Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun when officiating at the International Conference on Education 2014 (ICEdu14) at the Grand Ballroom 1Borneo Hypermall here, on Wednesday night.

Masidi described the conference which was organized by Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and Universitas Negeri Jakarta (UNJ), Indonesia, as a good platform to empower educators and teachers in Malaysia, so that the community would see teaching as a respected and honourable profession.

"Sabahans often forget that we will not be able to achieve what we have achieved today if it was not for our teachers and educators. Therefore, I hope that this conference will boost the knowledge of both Sabah and Jakarta in appreciating and culturing education, as well as honoring teaching profession" said Masidi who represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman at the event.

"The ICEdu14 is the brainchild of a regional partnership in the education field and postgraduate studies between UMS and UNJ.

"The organization of this conference is the result of a promotional education visit carried out by UMS to UNJ, Indonesia from March 2 to 6, this year.

"The visit resulted in a collaboration between the postgraduate offices of both universities to organize an international conference as a platform for intellectual development in research areas pertaining to education and social science."

Masidi also said that collaboration between countries are important, be it in education sector, or tourism.

He gave an example by saying that in tourism, countries should work as a team, and that Borneo, which includes Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei, should be promoted as a team.

Meanwhile, during a press conference held before the closing ceremony, the Rector of UNJ, Prof Dr H Djaali said, "This conference is held in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of UNJ and 20th Anniversary of UMS. We hope that through this conference, both universities would be able to learn from each other, and together we can change people's mindset, and that the community will see teaching as an honourable profession".

The three-day-conference is held from June 4 to 6 this year, with a total of 217 speakers from Malaysia and Indonesia taking part.

Also present at the event was the UMS Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Shahril Yusof, who represented Vice Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah.

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Pupils from six schools attend UPSR motivation

Posted: 05 Jun 2014 09:00 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The S P Setia Foundation, a charity arm of S P Setia Berhad, is continuing its commitment to champion education for the underprivileged students by organizing UPSR motivation camp for its primary six adopted children from six schools in Sabah under its Setia Adoption Programme (SAP).

Since 2000, SAP has funded the educational needs of underprivileged students and to date it has 2,650 students from 190 primary schools nationwide under its care. The students are from Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SKJ (C)) and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil which is in line with the Foundation's objective of helping the poor regardless of race and religion.

In his closing speech yesterday, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, Chairman of S P Setia Foundation, said that the objective of the camp is to prepare the students mentally and technically to face the UPSR examination.

"Forty-four students from six schools spent three days and two nights in a hotel where they gained the skills and confidence to face their UPSR examination in September. The Foundation has spent RM25,000 to organize this camp," Lee added.

Under the Setia Adoption Programme, each student is provided with educational assistance worth RM1,000 annually for the duration of their primary education. The program has also been extended to secondary, tertiary and bachelor's degree education for those who obtained excellent results in their examinations.

"The Foundation's focus has mainly been on education because we strongly believe that our children are our hope and future of the country. We spend RM3 million a year for the Setia Adoption Programme alone," said Lee.

During the ceremony, Lee together with Simon Lim Yee Cheng, headmaster of SRK Sacred Heart, here cum the Camp Organizing Committee Chairman, presented certificates of participation to the students.

The six schools involved in the camp are namely, SRK Sacred Heart, SJK (C) Chung Hwa, SJK (C) Yick Nam, Inanam, SK Tanjung Aru 1, SRK Stella Maris and SK Kepayan, Tanjung Aru, here.

Vyonna Loce Quella Wong from SK Kepayan and Norhisam Salasdain from SJK(C) Chung Hwa won the best student award for the motivational camp.

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