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MCA Youth chief lambasted for <b>Sabah</b> security remarks <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

MCA Youth chief lambasted for <b>Sabah</b> security remarks <b>...</b>

Posted: 10 May 2014 09:54 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The security issue in Sabah is of grave concern to everyone and should not be used as a political tool by anyone, said Sabah Umno assistant secretary Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun.

He said instead of criticising and playing the blame game, MCA, as a member of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, should come forward and be constructive in their input to complement the Government's efforts to resolve the problem.

"Referring to people as headless chicken is not the solution. Name calling is not going to resolve the matter," he said in a statement yesterday.

Masidi reckoned that the MCA should be able to differentiate between politics and matters that affect the state's and nation's security.

"This is highly irresponsible. This is not the time to play politics or push other people's agenda," he stressed.

He said nobody wanted these kidnappings to happen, adding that the State Security Council and ESSCom were doing their level best within the given capacity.

He said everyone including the Prime Minister, Chief Minister, the Home Affairs Minister and the Minister of Defense were working hard to overcome the problem and this included putting drastic measures in place.

Masidi said ESSCom was set up with the blessing of the federal leadership and its effective implementation is the joint responsibility of all stakeholders.

"This involves all Malaysians. We should look beyond party lines on this issue. It should be a concern for all including the opposition and all MCA members.

"While the MCA is currently outside the Federal Cabinet, it has not abrogated its responsibility as a member of the BN coalition.

"The senior member of BN should be seen to be part of the solution to the problem rather than becoming another problem within the government," he said.

In Kota Belud, Sabah Umno Deputy Chairman Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak also took the MCA Youth to task for questioning the government's commitment through ESSCom in defending the country's sovereignty and safety of the people of Sabah.

Both Masidi and Salleh were commenting on the recent statement made by MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon who suggested that ESSCom be shut down and full power be given to the National Security Council (NSC) to handle security issues in Sabah, especially kidnapping incidents.

Chong was also quoted by the media as saying that Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman should take full responsibility for security issues in the State and the abduction cases that took place in ESSZone.

Salleh, who is also the State Assembly Speaker, said the negative comment from Chong was tantamount to disparaging the contribution and sacrifice made by our security forces who have been striving in maintaining peace and security in Sabah.

"It clearly shows that the MCA Youth Chief does not understand how the government system works including ESSCom. The Chief Minister (Datuk Musa Aman) as the ESSCom chairman personally monitors the situation, so it is unfair for MCA to blame him.

"MCA should fully understand the function and role of ESSCom as well as the actual security situation on the east coast of Sabah before making irresponsible statements," he said after attending a shooting competition organised by RELA in Kota Belud yesterday.

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Travelling gets HitzFM <b>Sabah&#39;s</b> Rica creative - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 11 May 2014 04:18 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: HitzFM Sabah announcer Rica gets her inspiration from travelling.

The radio announcer of three years has learnt that creativity is not a skill you can acquire nor is there a formula you can study about.

She pointed out in radio, you need to stay creative and continue to churn up exciting ideas to entertain your listeners.

"I have been searching high and low for fresh ideas daily and learnt from experiences to improve my announcing skills and to plan the next big events for HitzFM Sabah," said Rica.

So how does she get started?

"I 'google' every day. I listen to radio shows around the world, I watch YouTube viral videos, I hang out with the people from the music and entertainment industry. I do a lot of hosting gigs and most importantly I must travel," she said.

Rica disclosed that her most recent trip was to Melbourne and Sydney where she smelled, touched, ate and felt all things Aussie.

She said graffiti is a part of the heritage in Melbourne city where the young and old are into street performing, flash mobs, beat boxing, magic shows, solo artists and band busking, musicians playing, live painting, creating art in every possible way! The town immediately feels so lively with these artistic street performances.

"It was also an eye opener for me at John Mayer's concert in Rod Laver Arena, just pure high quality music entertainment.

"Now that I am back, I am pumped with little ideas waiting to be spun like webs just like Spiderman and bring in new entertainment values to hitzfm Sabah! I am sure to travel abroad soon to experience other new things and get inspired. I share all things fun and awesome on my Facebook and Instagram," said Rica.

Tune into hitz 1-2-4 with Rica every weekday from 1pm to 4pm on HitzFM Sabah 100.8 in KK and 99.8 in Sandakan. Find her on instagram:@ricahitzand fb.com/ricasham

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<b>Sabah</b> to play lead role in working group - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 18 May 2014 02:50 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will be playing a lead role in the Threatened Species Technical Working Group which was set up during the Fifth Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) Council of Ministers meeting in Manado, Indonesia recently.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Ewon Ebin, who attended the meeting, said that Malaysia had been tasked to head the working group and the Sabah Fisheries Department will be involved.

According to Dr Ewon, the CTI-CFF is a multilateral partnership between the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste working together to sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food security, climate change and marine biodiversity.

Through the CTI-CFF, the six countries have agreed to support people-centered biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, poverty reduction and equitable benefit sharing.

Dr Ewon, who had chaired the meeting on May 15, said that the delegates also recognized Malaysia's competence in fisheries management and endorsed Malaysia to lead the newly established Threatened Species Regional Technical Working Group.

Malaysia, through the Sabah Fisheries Department, will chair the Terms of Reference of the working group, he said, adding that among the issues agreed on by the ministers attending the meeting were to recognize the initiatives and progress made by the CTI Women Leaders Forum.

In his farewell speech at the handing over ceremony of the CTI Chair of the Council of Ministers, Dr Ewon said that at the fourth ministerial meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia through the Sabah Fisheries Department was appointed the Chair of Eco-system-Approach to Fisheries Management Regional Technical Working Group.

The Technical Working group has organised various regional exchange programs, human capacity development-based activities as well as community involvements.

"As a result, the Ecosystem-Approach to Fisheries Framework was successfully developed and launched," Dr Ewon said, adding that the framework will certainly act as guidance for those involved in the fisheries industry.

Meanwhile, Dr Ewon was also awarded a certificate of appreciation during the meeting for his exemplary leadership as the Chair of the CTI-CFF Council of Ministers for the period of 2011-2014 during which the CTI-CFF achieved significant progress towards development of the CTI-CFF institutions and advancement of its goals.

The Council of Ministers recorded their appreciation towards Dr Ewon for his stewardship and particularly his efforts to establish the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat and setting out rules for its operation.

The MM5 achieved a significant milestone when four out of six countries, including Malaysia, announced their ratification of the legal agreement for the establishment. This will allow for the establishment of a permanent CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat.

Professor Dr Boediono, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, will inaugurate the new state-of-the-art secretariat building which was built and donated by the government of Indonesia.

Also in his farewell speech, Dr Ewon congratulated his successor from Papua New Guinea as the next Chair of CTI-CFF Council of Ministers. He also reiterated Malaysia's firm commitment towards the realization of CTI-CFF goals.

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Poverty rate in <b>Sabah</b> plunges Teo - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 10 Apr 2014 02:52 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The federal government, together with the state government, has made great efforts to eradicate poverty by offering skill-based programmes, improving basic infrastructures and providing access to knowledge.

Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang said the government had offered the 1AZAM programme, set up 1Malaysia Development Berhad that funded the 1M4U programme and provided WiFi access in major districts and villages as part of its efforts to eradicate poverty.

He said the government was also trying to boost the economy by providing soft loans and setting up several funds for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), new entrepreneurs and also programs to help the cottage industry.

"In ensuring the plans are carried out smoothly, the eKasih system was established.

"This is the centralised Malaysian National Poverty data bank set up for the purpose of planning, coordination and monitoring by all related agencies and received the first prize in the prestigious United Nations Service Award in 2012."

With these efforts, Sabah has seen a drop in poverty rate from 19.7 per cent to 8.1 per cent from 2009 to 2012.

In the same period, Teo said poverty rate in rural areas recorded a sharp decline from 32.8 per cent in 2009 to 12.9 per cent in 2012.

Poverty rate in the urban areas had also dropped from 9.8 per cent to 5.3 per cent in the same period, he added.

Teo said this at the signing and exchange of documents of Sabah Institute of Art (SIA) – Commission on Sabah's Affair (COSA) Caring Fund programme here yesterday.

The SIA-COSA Caring Fund programme gives an opportunity for students from needy families, especially Sabahan natives to pursue higher education.

Students under the programme will undertake a three-year diploma course on scholarships offered by SIA while COSA will assist the students in their transportation, accommodation and living allowances throughout their study.

Speaking of education, Teo said education was a universal dream, one that granted transformative seeds of opportunity to every child.

In the 1970, one third of Malaysia's population aged six and over had never attended school.

"Today, Malaysia is close to achieving the second Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education, with almost all school-age children completing six years of learning.

"Public investment in schools has been a key factor in successfully reducing poverty from the high levels seen in the 1970s to the level prevalent today," he said.

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30-minute reading time in <b>Sabah</b> schools - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 22 Apr 2014 05:42 PM PDT

by Chok Sim Yee. Posted on April 23, 2014, Wednesday

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah State Library (PNS) targeted 80,000 students and adults to read for 30 minutes in a campaign to promote reading in schools and libraries all over Sabah, yesterday.

PNS has collaborated with the State Education Department to allocate 30 minutes, from 10am to 10.30am, as reading time for students in schools statewide.

Meanwhile, a 'Let's Read Together for 10 Minutes' programme was held at PNS branch at Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) here yesterday, which was officiated by Assistant Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Anita Baranting, who represented her minister Datuk Hjh Jainab Datuk Seri Panglima Hj Ahmad Ayid.

The inaugural 'Let's Read Together for 10 Minutes' programme was held simultaneously in all PNS branches nationwide in conjunction with the World Book and Copyright Day that falls on April 23.

In her speech delivered by Anita, Jainab said the programme would reignite the fun in reading, and hoped the programme would be held annually to promote reading among Malaysians.

She said reading had always been the key to obtaining knowledge, and there was no skill more fundamental or crucial than reading.

"Reading is a part of the learning process of various disciplines, from complex mathematical equations, human civilization history to scientific discovery and technological innovation."

Jainab stated that she was pleased to know that the 'Let's Read Together for 10 Minutes' programme was inspired by the Earth Hour.

"The programme requires us to allocate 10 minutes in which we stop whatever tasks or work, in order to read as a symbol of our commitment to cultivate the habit of reading in our daily routine."

Anita also stressed the importance of reading religious publications such as the al-Quran by Muslims and the Bible by Christians.

She added that reading must start from young, like how her parents had encouraged Anita and her siblings to read when they were young.

"When we were young, we had never conversed in Malay, only in Dusun.

"Fortunately, our father taught us ABC and how to read or else we would not have been able to catch up in school," Anita said.

Meanwhile, PNS director Wong Vui Yin said the state library had collaborated with the Education Department to allow 30 minutes, from 10am to 10.30am yesterday, to be used as reading time in schools throughout Sabah.

"Reading is so important but people don't put much effort into reading."

He said the library hoped to target 80,000 to participate in the reading campaign in Sabah, including students and adults.

"We will collect feedback from schools and libraries after this. If we did not reach our target, we will create more publicity for the campaign in the future," he said.

Wong said 12 schools in Kota Kinabalu had attended the 'Let's Read Together for 10 Minutes' programme held at PNS in UTC yesterday.

They were SK Sembulan, SRK Sacred Heart, SK Sri Gaya, SK St Francis Convent (M), SK Bukit Padang, SRJK(C) Shan Tao Kota Kinabalu, SMK St Francis Convent, Kota Kinabalu High School, SM Maktab Sabah, SM La Salle, SM Stella Maris and SMK Sanzac.

The event yesterday also included recognizing PNS members who borrowed the most books at its UTC branch from December 16 last year to April 20.

Charles Abg Groda won in the family category with 61 books, followed by Nurul Azirah Mohd Zain in the teenage category and Nurul Aishah Md Zain in the children category with 70 and 46 books respectively.

A similar reading programme was held at the Nabawan district library yesterday.

District officer Fedian Gan when delivering the opening speech of Assistant Infrastructure Development Minister and Nabawan assemblyman Datuk Bobbey Ahfang Suan, said a reading culture should be incorporated in our daily lives to enhance knowledgeand the practice of lifelong learning.

"We need to emulate former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who makes reading as his practice until now," he said.

Gan said with reading, the community could find out what was happening outside and in their own country.

He said it had been proven that the Western people who made reading a way of life had allowed them to progress in various fields.

"Hence, our society today should emulate and follow them if they want to develop in various fields," he added.

At the event, Gan, together with the community present, read books for 10 minutes.

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