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State ‘nod’ to fed projects before tender — Fadillah BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

State ‘nod’ to fed projects before tender — Fadillah

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:49 AM PDT

by Saiful Bahari, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 6, 2014, Sunday

KUCHING: All federal government tendered projects will pass through several processes before construction can start.

Each project will first be discussed with a certified consultant before receiving approval from the state government after which tender will be opened to those interested.

According to Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof, the tender process will involve the Finance Ministry which will set the ceiling price for each project before approval.

Fadillah said this when asked by reporters to comment on the statement by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin that there is no directive for any large scale federal project in the state at the moment.

He was met after presenting grants at Surau Demak Baru yesterday.

On the Emart Lee Ling Matang to Batu Kawa link road, Fadillah said the government had yet to receive a complete design from the appointed consultant for the RM145 million-project.

"The consultant has until September to submit their design and get the approval from the state government, the state planning authority and other related authorities," he said.

Fadillah later on highlighted the case of the Samarahan bridge project which has been approved but all tender applicants had come up with prices above the ceiling set by the ministry.

"We had to refer to the Ministry of Finance to find a formidable solution to the issue. However, if there are no other options, tender for the project will have to be opened again and this is where we will look into finding further funds," he said.

Fadillah also said his ministry is ready to work with Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) through the Works Department (JKR) to assists in any measure regarding the collapsed road at Jalan Imbi.

"The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is also conducting their investigations and action will be taken against the contractor if the incident happened due to their negligence," he said.

At another function yesterday, Fadillah presented RM3,000 each to over 80 mosques and surau under the Samariang, Satok and Tupong constituency.

Also present at the event were Samariang assemblywoman Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali.

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Six who threatened man nabbed, remanded 4 days

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:48 AM PDT

MIRI: Six men who threatened a man while he was looking for jungle produce on Thursday evening have been remanded for four days.

Miri police chief ACP Gan Tian Kee, when contacted yesterday, said the six suspects were picked up on Friday and the case was being investigated under Section 33 of the Fire Arms Act 1960.

The incident unfolded at about 3pm when the 30-something complainant was on his way to search for jungle produce somewhere near Sungai Rait Bakam.

Along the way, he was irked by the driving of a garbage-lorry driver.

It was understood the lorry driver became upset, went to fetch five fellow lorry drivers, and went looking for the complainant who criticised him earlier.

One of the suspects even fired a shot using an air pump gun to scare off the complainant.

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Still no express boat service to upper Rajang as promised

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:47 AM PDT

KAPIT: People living along the Rajang River upstream from here up to Belaga and Bakun now have to spend about RM250 going through Sungei Asap, Bintulu and Sibu to reach here instead of taking the direct route by express boat which cost only RM30.

Their predicament is caused by the sudden decision of the only express boat operator serving the route to stop operation on June 19.

As there is no road linking the area to here, residents and those working in the area are now forced to take arduous and expensive route to reach here or remain stranded.

Two days after The Borneo Post highlighted the plight of the people there on June 20, the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) controller William Jinep said the board would arrange for another operator to take over that route.

However, until now the express boat service has not resume prompting Councillor Melai Alang to make an urgent appeal to board to fulfil its promise.

Melai also called on the local elected representatives to help restore the express boat service as the people are facing great hardship without this means of transport.

"The halt of the boat operation has caused immense suffering and inconvenience to people in the Belaga district, right from Punan Bah to Bakun.

"Many of our children are attending school in Kapit. Because there are no express boat services, parents have to spend a lot of money using longboats to send their children from their longhouses to schools or over land by logging truck to reach Nanga Merit. From there, continue the journey down to Kapit", he said Thursday.

Besides students, teachers, heath care providers and agriculture staff serving in schools, rural health clinics and agriculture stations in the area are also hard hit by the situation.

The supply of essential goods like school rations and diesel to school generators have also been badly affected because many of the schools are not accessible by road from either Kapit or Bintulu.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the officer in charge of SRB station here, Riyung Barau said he was aware that the express boat service from here to Belaga stopped operation on June 19.

"As far as SRB is concerned, there's no approval and we also don't know why the boat operator ceased operation."

The SRB officer in charge of Belaga, Geoffery Berdebu could not be reached for comment.

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Gag order on state BN parties — Masing

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:46 AM PDT

KUCHING: State Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties have been issued a gag order not to make any political statements in the media.

Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Datuk Amar James Masing said because of that, whatever political matters discussed among party leaders would be confined within the four walls.

"We have been told not to make political statements in the press and I must abide by the rules of the game. Because of that I am not going to discuss anything on politics at least for now," he said.

He disclosed this at a news conference after chairing the party's supreme council meeting at its headquarters at Jalan Pending here yesterday.

Masing, who is Land Development Minister, did not reveal the specific reason for the gag order but apparently it was to defuse the present political squabbling among some leaders in the state.

"We did discuss about politics during our meeting today but it is not for the consumption of the media. On July 2, I went to see PM (Prime Minister) personally to discuss on political issue(s) but what we discussed is not for public consumption.

"Actually to tell you the truth, I do talk with PM and CM (Chief Minister) on political matters and I know where we stand. So let us just leave it like that and there is no need for me to elaborate," he said.

He added that all he could say was his discussions with the premier and chief minister was a fruitful one.

"This shows that we are always keeping in touch with the state and federal BN leaders, so it is wrong if people accuse us of just shooting in the dark when in fact we do talk to the leaders," he said.

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Call for more Dayak state seats

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:45 AM PDT

by Johnson K Saai, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on July 6, 2014, Sunday

Masing wants more Dayak representation in state assembly in planned re-delineation exercise

KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) wants additional state seats resulting from a planned re-delineation of constituencies this year to be allocated to the Dayak community.

PRS president Tan Sri Datuk Amar James Masing said the party was made to understand that there would be an increase of three to four state seats this year.

He said of the present 71 state seats in Sarawak, only 29, or 40 per cent, are in Dayak-majority areas and based on the population ratio the community is under-represented.

"Based on statistics that we have, Dayaks make up 44 per cent of the total population in Sarawak and to be proportionate, the community should get more than 40 per cent of the total 71 state seats," he told a news conference after chairing the party's supreme council meeting yesterday.

Masing, who is Land Development Minister, added that the party is hoping to get some of the proposed new seats.

"As far as PRS is concerned, there are three areas that we are very interested in, namely under Hulu Rajang, Selangau, and Sri Aman parliamentary constituencies. Those are areas of interest to us," he said.

PRS has formed a special committee headed by political secretary to the chief minister Wilson Nyabong, Senate deputy president Senator Datuk Doris Brodie and Assistant Minister of Culture and Heritage Datuk Liwan Lagang to study the matter, he said.

"We have in fact put up the proposed names where the new seats should be but they are all subject to endorsement by SPR (Election Commission)," Masing stressed.

Currently, 35 of the existing 71 state seats are allocated to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), while the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) has 19, PRS has nine and the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) was allocated eight.

PBB won all its allocated seats during the last state election, while PRS won eight of them.

SUPP won six of the 19 seats, but four of the elected representatives have since moved on to Barisan Nasional (BN) friendly Parti Tenaga Rakyat Sarawak (Teras).

SPDP won six of the seats, but five of the elected representatives have now joined Teras while another left to join Sarawak Workers Party.

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Chief Minister breaks fast with 190 children from Laila Taib Welfare complex, SEDC

Posted: 05 Jul 2014 11:44 AM PDT

KUCHING: More than 180 children from the Laila Taib Welfare Complex shared a breaking of the fast meal with Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem on Friday.

Hosted by the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), around 10 orphans from the SEDC family also joined the event.

After dinner, SEDC chairman Datuk Talib Zulpilip, who is Assistant Minister of Tourism, handed over business tithes worth RM300,000 to Tabung Baitulmal Sarawak (TBS) chairman Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, who is also Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Office (Islamic Affairs).

Adenan also presented duit raya to the children.

SEDC held the event together with Grand Margherita Hotel and Riverside Majestic Hotel in line with their corporate social responsibility programme.

Among those present were Adenan's wife Puan Sri Datu Jamilah Anu, Assistant Minister of Youth Development (Urban Areas) Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Demak Laut assemblyman Dr Hazland Abang Hipni and TBS general manager Datu Abang Shibli Abang Nailie.

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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.