» »Unlabelled » Limbang committed to excel in Isuzu Cup and Sarawak Cup ... Berita Sarawak - News 2 Sarawak

11:07:00

Limbang committed to excel in Isuzu Cup and <b>Sarawak</b> Cup <b>...</b> Berita Sarawak - News 2 Sarawak

Limbang committed to excel in Isuzu Cup and <b>Sarawak</b> Cup <b>...</b>

Posted: 10 Jun 2014 11:05 AM PDT

LIMBANG: The Limbang Football Association (LFA) has continued to signal their intention to excel in the Under-19 Isuzu Cup and Sarawak Cup to be held at the end of year.

Last year, Limbang took the Isuzu Cup and finished third in the Sarawak Cup.

LFA president Dr Abdul Rahman Ismail said Limbang remain focused on the twin goals despite being confronted with financial problems in sending their teams.

LFA, he added, is optimistic of improving their performances in the two tournaments by scouting the best players in the current Limbang League.

"Among the strategies to overcome the financial problem, we will look for sponsors for the Premier League and FA Cup this year.

"So far we have written to the elected representatives for such sponsorships," he said when met during the match between ABC Club and Tiger FC vying for the Charity Shield at Limbang Sports Complex on Monday afternoon.

Tiger FC won that match via a penalty shoot 4-2 after score stood at 3-3 at the final whistle.

Among those present were LFA deputy president Alidin@Brahim Tawar, vice president Bulhaji Wahab and secretary Abdul Ajis Kon Mohd Ghazali.

Meanwhile, commenting on the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, Dr Rahman said LFA was planning to install big screen TV at Dataran Jubli Emas here to enable local football fans to enjoy the live telecast of matches for their favourite teams.

As for his forecast for the eventual winner, Dr Rahman who is also Bukit Kota assemblyman said his favourite is England.

"England is my natural choice, although professionally Germany and Argentina besides Spain and Brazil have equal chances to be in the final," he said.

Print Friendly

<b>Sarawak</b> has the right to ask for royalty increase – Batu Lintang rep <b>...</b>

Posted: 06 Jun 2014 12:35 PM PDT

KUCHING: Sarawak has the right to request for a 15 per cent increase in oil and gas royalty without having to, among others, demonstrate its financial management competency first.

Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How, who stated this, stressed the issue of Sarawak and other oil-producing states asking for a hike in oil and gas royalty from five to 20 per cent must be examined and deliberated in a critical and rational manner.

Responding to an article 'Is oil royalty hike the solution?' that appeared in a renowned national weekly recently, state PKR vice chairman See said the writer and his team of "unnamed market observers and industry analysts" ought to have taken the sensitivities of Sarawak and Sabah into consideration too.

"It lays bare our consciousness towards mutual understanding between East and West Malaysians for meaningful national integration, which until now still rings empty," he lamented.

"The typical knee-jerk reaction or rhetoric of politicians and writers who probably are not familiar with the territorial features and delicate intuition of communities in Sabah and Sarawak may be hurtful and divisive."

See pointed out that Pakatan Rakyat had long pledged to increase oil and gas royalty from five to 20 per cent when it comes to power, but the BN coalition government was hesitant and reluctant then.

"The writer had actually recognised that Sabah and Sarawak are the least developed states despite them being the richest states in the federation," said See, who noted that the writer also wondered whether the additional money (from the royalty hike) would help propel Sarawak's development.

"But his arguments against the two East Malaysian states having improved and enlarged share of the exploits from their petroleum deposits were, uncharacteristically and quoting unnamed market observers and industry analysts, questioning Sarawak's wealth management … that the state has a large revenue base with several uncompleted or pending projects."

See admitted that the new Sarawak administrators must address the issue of fair distribution of opportunities in the operation, utilisation and management of the state's rich natural resources, and to make sure that the wealth generated would bring about greater development and improve the lives of all Sarawakians.

"However, it is nonsensical to suggest that the Sarawak government must show it can make good use of the money before it is entitled to ask for oil and gas royalty hike … as if the federal government is free from leakages, corruption, wastages and financial mismanagement." See said since the Auditor General's Reports were referred to in the article, the writer and his sources should be equally objective and critical with the federal government's fund management or mismanagement.

"Nick any one of the national scandals and recover the monies misappropriated. That alone is enough to pay the oil producing states their entitlement for a good number of years!

"What about disclosing the Petronas monies received by the federal government annually, as well as those in the Production Sharing Agreements (PSCs), and compare it to the oil producing states?

"Please be frank. The federal government wholly owns Petronas. In contrast, there is no equity holding in Petronas for the oil-producing states?"

See said the most interesting thing about the article was the writer's comparison of the annual budgets between Sarawak (RM4.2 billion), Sabah (RM4.1 billion) and Terengganu (RM2 billion) with the RM1.6 billion of the most developed state, Selangor, for this year.

Print Friendly

<b>Sarawak</b> women fail to follow men&#39;s lead - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 27 May 2014 09:36 AM PDT

KANGAR: Sarawak's US-based stars Mohd Assri Merzuki and Ariez Elyaas Deen Hesham powered Sarawak to a winning start in the men's team event at the tennis courts of the Perlis Sports Complex yesterday.

Ariez showed the way with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win over Perlis' Koay Hao Sheng in the first singles.

Alvin Teng and Rohaizat Borhan had some anxious moments in the doubles before winning the first set 7-6(3) but sealed their win 6-0 in the second set.

Assri had no mercy on Koay Hao Zhe in the second singles, thumping him 6-0, 6-0 to wrap up the first win for Sarawak.

They will next face Kelantan later yesterday.

In badminton, it was mixed fortunes for the state shuttlers in the team competition, with the men's team edging Negeri Sembilan 3-2 and the women's team losing 0-3 to Selangor.

Alfred Lau gave Sarawak the first point in the men's competition with a 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 21-14) win over Razlan Shah while his elder twin brother Adam eased to a 2-0 (21-15, 21-14) win over S Mahendran to put Sarawak two-up.

However, Eric Jong and Jong Wee Fook failed to clinch the third point when they lost in straight sets of 15-21, 8-21 to Goh Sze Fei and Low Juan Shen in the first doubles.

Clement Chieng saved the day for Sarawak as he edged Wong Wai Jun 2-1 (21-19, 21-23, 23-21) in the third singles.

With the victory already in the bag, the following second doubles 0-2 loss by Adam Lau-Alfred Lau to Chen Jia Hua and Wong Fai Yin did not matter to Sarawak.

The men's team will play host Perlis today in their second group match.

In the women's group match, the Sarawak women lost all their matches to Selangor, with Kourtney Kho falling 11-21, 9-21 to Yang Li Lian and Yong Ping Ping losing 15-21, 15-21 to K Bhirentha.

Vivienne Kua managed to offer Ng Wan Win some resistance before bowing out 1-2 (21-19, 6-21, 12-21).

It was the same story for the squash team competition as the Sarawak boys beat Perak 3-0 and the girls lost 0-3 to Kedah.

Sarawak could afford to rest Sanjay Singh Chal for the opening Group A match against Perak and Afeeq Abideen Ismail was tasked to play the first singles in which he beat P Lavindren 3-1 (8-11, 15-13, 11-6, 11-4).

The second singles saw Jess Tay beating Min Han 3-0 (11-2, 11-1 and 11-6) while a confident Marcus Sim had no problem in seeing off the challenge from Fong Men Jen 3-0 (11-2, 11-1, 11-7).

"The boys played very well today and only Afeed dropped a set," said team manager Jewa Singh.

"Our main threat in this group is Negeri Sembilan and if we can overcome them, then it would be easier to deal with Pulau Pinang and Pahang in the remaining matches," he added.

In the women's match against Kedah, Ma Si Yi lost 11-9, 8-11 and 5-11 to Sivasangari and Jean Wong lost 6-11, 14-12, 7-11 to Nazihah Hanks while Mindy Lee lost 7-11, 4-11, 3-11 to Aika Azman.

Print Friendly

Bridge over troubled waters a non issue - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 14 Jun 2014 11:16 AM PDT

MIRI: Three community leaders in Baram have refuted allegations hurled by a group of people from Long Aya and Apau Gun about the construction of the Lementing Bridge across Tinjar River.

The three who came forward yesterday to set the record straight were Long Luyang headman John Abon, Long Batan headman Balan Jangan and Area Development Committee (ADC) of Tinjar chairman Pius Balan Avon.

On Friday, six villagers, who claimed to represent 15 longhouses in Tinjar, demanded RM2.6 million in compensation for encroachment into `their' native customary rights (NCR) lands in the building of Lementing Bridge, which was completed early this year.

The group had erected a blockade at a site leading to the bridge since April last year, thus making the bridge impassable.

Pius said the bridge was among three development projects demanded by the people of Long Luyang, Long Batan, Long Aya and Apau.

"We made the request when we met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in April 2011," he told thesundaypost at Grand Palace Hotel.

Ulu Tinjar community leader Penghulu Joseph Belulok, he added, had obtained consent from the affected parties and they all agreed with the development projects.

Approval for the bridge's construction came with a caveat – a road has to be built to serve as an access link to the bridge later.

Headmen were then asked to identify the affected NCR land owners before construction of the road could begin. In the end, some 20 NCR land owners gave their nod.

"The processes and procedures for the road and bridge construction were very clear and transparent.

"The construction of the bridge is being built accordingly to specifications approved by the Sarawak River Board."

He added that an earth-breaking ceremony for construction of the bridge was held accordingly to the local 'Adat Pemali Memoa' custom in February last year.

"We still keep a picture of the earth-breaking ceremony as proof. Thus, there is no logic for them to say the project had not been received consent from the people."

Pius also made it clear that the development committee and the community leaders had not received any `money' from the projects.

"The bridge was demanded by the people to shorten their journey to their oil palm orchards. Without the bridge, it will take us five to six hours to our orchard using the river.

"However, with the bridge, it has shortened the journey to around 15 to 30 minutes. Thus, we could transport our oil palm fruits quickly."

Meanwhile, John Abon said the six complainants were not from the village and thus had no rights to stake a claim over the NCR lands.

"The boundary for the NCR lands at the affected area was shared by four villages."

John said he was disappointed that the six complainants for refusing to attend a special meeting arranged by the Antonio, Ngau and community leaders on May 2 this year.

"The meeting was supposed to be held at 9am, but it was postponed to later in the evening for the convenience of the complainants. However, only four of them showed up and they left the meeting room minutes later.

"This is really rude," said John.

Print Friendly

<b>Sarawak</b> gets cracking early for 2016 Sukma - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 30 May 2014 10:12 AM PDT

Sarawak Sports Council (MSNS) acting director Lucas Kalang Laeng says that Sarawak will prepare early for the 2016 Sukma which will be hosted by the state.

Speaking to reporters during a press conference together with Sarawak Sukma XVII assistant chef-de-mission Gerald Rentap Jabu yesterday, he added that Sarawak aimed to host the best Sukma ever.

He assured that all competition venues would be inspected before the games to ensure that they were top notch and fit to host Sukma events and new ones would be built. A taskforce had also been formed by the state government to oversee the preparation of the venues before the games.

"We are committed to host a successful Sukma games in 2016 and we believe that by starting early, we can achieve that goal. We want it to be the pride of the people of Sarawak," he added.

Lucas added that the games would be held in Kuching, Sibu and Miri.

Sarawak last hosted the games in 1990 when the state emerged overall champion in the third Sukma.

Meanwhile, Gerald invited the members of the press to attend the Gawai Dayak celebration organised by the MSNS for Dayak athletes competing at the Sukma XVII at Kuala Perlis tomorrow.

"We are looking forward to it as we promised everyone before the event that it will be organised fully in a Dayak traditional cultural way. We dedicate this event for the people of Sarawak who could not be with their families in Sarawak to celebrate the special event," he said.

Print Friendly
We encourage commenting on our stories to give readers a chance to express their opinions; please refrain from vulgar language, insidious, seditious or slanderous remarks. While the comments here reflect the views of the readers, they are not necessarily that of Borneo Post Online. Borneo Post Online reserves the right not to publish or to remove comments that are offensive or volatile. Please read the Commenting Rules.

State bracing for El Nino - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 04 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT

by Lian Cheng, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on June 5, 2014, Thursday

It is generally predicted that El Nino will hit the whole region of South East Asia, with some countries hit harder than the rest

KUCHING: El Nino will definitely be setting in but how hard Sarawak will be impacted will only be known by mid July.

State Meteorological Department said it had been generally predicted that El Nino will hit the whole region of South East Asia, with some countries hit harder than the rest.

"El Nino will definitely set in. It may come in less than six months or as long as 18 months. We are waiting for it. It may impact us very hard or it may not. We will have to wait until mid July to know exactly if we are going to be badly affected," a spokesman for the department told The Borneo Post yesterday.

On the prediction by Malaysia Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail that Sarawak and Sabah would be suffering from dryer spell than Peninsular Malaysia this time, the spokesman said he could not say for sure if Sarawak would be affected.

"It is just a prediction. It may not happen. We will have to wait until mid July."

According to Che Gayah, the longer dry weather (June to November) would hit Malaysia this time due to two factors – the El Nino and the dry south westerly wind, where Sarawak and Sabah would be hit harder compared to Peninsular Malaysia.

She predicted that between July and September, Malaysia would receive 20 to 40 per cent less rainfall than the corresponding period last year.

Peninsular Malaysia received below 200mm of rainfall last year while Sarawak and Sabah received between 100mm and 150 mm.

Meanwhile, controller of the state Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) Peter Sawal said the state Disaster and Relief Committee would call all the relevant agencies to a meeting soon to discuss how best to prepare for the possible dry weather this time.

He said the state was always well prepared for the dry spell and this year was no exception. Whether the weather would be dryer as predicted, the Disaster and Relief Committee would call for a meeting to brace for it.

"The state always holds a meeting in June to prepare for the dry season ahead. All the relevant agencies will be present to discuss issues such as water supply, distribution of water, relief measures to be taken and areas that may possibly be hit hardest by the drought.

"Among the departments called to the meeting are NREB, Department of Environment (DOE), Fire and Rescue Department, State Meteorological Department and Welfare Department because each has a role to play.

"For us, we will review all applications for open burning permits to ensure that the (hot) weather is not made worse by man-made factors," he said.

Print Friendly