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Taib trusts Adenan to guide <b>Sarawak</b> to greater heights <b>...</b> Berita Sarawak - News 2 Sarawak

Taib trusts Adenan to guide <b>Sarawak</b> to greater heights <b>...</b>

Posted: 27 Jul 2014 11:55 AM PDT

KUCHING: Yang di-Pertua Negeri  Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud says there is still room for improvement in the state's development.

The former Chief Minister who helmed Sarawak for more than 30 years said: "I am still not very satisfied with our present success to necessitate us to have the commitment to continue with the struggle even though I have retired but a new leader has come up. I believe my successor Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem, as the fifth chief minister will be able to continue with our struggles in governing the state that will bring it to a higher level of success."

He said personally he knew Adenan as a man of integrity, fairness and with the desire and interest to help people and had wide experience after serving in his state cabinet for about 30 years.

Taib said Adenan had the experience and a way of thinking that is suitable to lead Sarawak and push it upward to a greater height of progress and prosperity.

"I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of you for the support that you have given to me as the Chief Minister for a period of more than 30 years," he said  in his inaugural Hari Raya Aidilfitri message in his capacity as the Head of State.

He said the support increased in every election, either state or  national, and that the elections also demonstrated the enhanced strength and solidarity of the people behind the government under his leadership.

"For this reason, the party in power can govern the State of Sarawak well, have the time and energy to overcome numerous problems being faced in the efforts to develop Sarawak in a more organised and comprehensive  manner for the benefits of the people and the state and country," he said.

"I have been able to witness during the last 33 years that Sarawak has undergone tremendous changes.  Our success in economic development can be illustrated with the per capita income, which has risen by more than 10 times from RM4,000 in 1981 to RM40,000 now,"

"For this reason, we have every reason to be grateful to Allah SWT with our success in raising the standard of living of the people to become more comfortable and prosperous," he stressed.

"Like all my former Cabinet colleagues, we all know and realise that the progress and prosperity of the State, though already quite high, has not benefitted the rural areas as much as the urban areas. The rural areas are very wide of more than 125,000 KMs. Therefore, it has not been possible to provide basic facilities and amenities to every longhouse or Kampong of more than 5,000 of them throughout the state at the same time," Taib said.

At the moment about 90 per cent of the Kampong or longhouses in rural areas have been able to benefit from the development of the infrastructure.

The State government has to spend more than RM1 billion every year to build rural roads and infrastructures to connect electricity and water supplies to the people in rural areas. A majority of them have been able to overcome the health problems that they used to face before and able to live a more comfortable livelihood as compared to before.

"However, we have not been able to provide all the facilities to all the traditional Kampong and longhouses throughout the State as they are scattered in small groups over a wide area. It takes time to develop all the basic infrastructures, facilities and amenities for the rural people even though the State may have sufficient money to complete the works at the same time," he said.

"It cannot be done at the same time as the state must have the construction capacity or the capability of engineers and the workers to carry out the works based on our own capability and existing situation.  For this reason, the rural people, who understand the situation, are supporting Barisan Nasional (BN) from one election to another as they believe in our sincerity and determination in serving their welfare and interests and the leaders are people oriented.  As they (BN) represent the nooks and corners of the State, they understand the situations which should be given priority and others that cannot done immediately. This is our way to develop the State,"

"I believe with the prosperity that has already been achieved the State will be able to leapfrog toward realising the objective of Vision 2020 of attaining the status of high income economy earlier than the year 2020.  Sarawak, now implementing an industrialisation program, which will create a lot of employment opportunities, will be able to attain the status of high income economy much earlier than the year 2020. The process creates opportunities to build hundreds of Kilometres of roads to remote areas like Baram and Belaga, which at one time were regarded as areas being inhabited by jennies only,"

"But the areas have been able to witness a lot of new development through a well planned and co-ordinated development program to ensure continuity in the development of hydroelectricity dams to generate electricity from the flowing rivers."

The people, affected by the development of hydro dam in Ulu Baram, will be resettled in the next 10 to 15 years in a new township by the lake side, which will have modern facilities that will be able to attract visitors to it, he said.

The proposed new township will be able to attract tourists who are interested in various kinds of water sports and other sporting activities like boating, fishing, jungle trekking in order to see the nooks and corners, which are very rich with natural environment.

The environment in Belaga, which is similar to Baram, through the development of Bakun hydro dam, will be able to provide opportunities for the local people to improve their standard of living. A new township will be built by the lake side to resettle the people in the new area which will be connected by roads and supplied with electricity and supplies.

The NGOs, which have been shouting  for half a million compensation per family, are making empty noises as the Government has already spent RM2 million per family, or four times more than being shouted at the NGOs, in the process of resettling the people in new areas. This must be told to the affected people and others in our discussions with them as they do not understand and know the development plan being carried out by the Government.

"Once the people know the truth, they will also know that the foreign NGOs have been spreading false propaganda against efforts of the government to resettle the people in new areas, which will be provided with facilities, opportunities for education and employment to enable to lead a much better livelihood in future," he said.

This development will also mean that the young people with good education will have opportunities to return and work in their own areas. The development will also provide ample of opportunities for young people to become more ambitious to pursue high studies when at one time they were thirsty for knowledge and a kind of thinking that can lead to greater progress and prosperity.

These are steps that have already been taken, the final steps being taken by the government that will bring Sarawak to become the richest State in the country by the year 2030.

"I believe that Sarawak will achieve greater progress and create more jobs that can pay high salaries to the people from now onward. I believe YAB Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan will continue with the works which have already started in SCORE development area,"

"With such an outlook, the people have no reasons to indulge in politics that raise issues that will not benefit the people and the State.  I am grateful to the people for their understanding and support especially during the period we had to face the previous elections. The people used to give special support to Barisan Nasional in the choice of their State Assemblymen or Member of Parliament. Therefore, I believe the people of Sarawak are wise in making choice between what is good or bad for their own future," said Taib.

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<b>Sarawak</b> set to fire on all cylinders in Malaysia Cup – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 02 Jul 2014 09:36 AM PDT

KUCHING: Sarawak's upcoming Malaysia Cup campaign received a boost with the team's trio of import players been declared fit.

Muamer Salibasic, Hassan El Mohamad and Gabor Gyepes will return to action after being previously sidelined with injuries.

Head coach Robert Alberts told The Borneo Post yesterday that the trio's recovery process went well and they are on course to appear for the Malaysia Cup tournament which will kick off in August after the Hari Raya celebration.

"We will have a team playing to its full strength for the coming Malaysia Cup competition and I believe that a full-strength Sarawak can cause a lot of problems for the other teams," he said.

Gyepes was out with a hamstring injury after he received a knock playing against Sime Darby in May while Salibasic did not play Sarawak's last Super league match against Johor DT due to a bruised knee.

Hassan has been out of action since June as he suffered a hamstring injury.

"The team is in dire need for their services. Their inclusion in the starting line up certainly adds dimension to the way that we play," a buoyant Alberts added.

The Crocs will use the coming tour in Indonesia to increase their match fitness level and performance after a short break.

The Malaysia Super League season ended on June 25 and the Crocs are currently enjoying a break before returning to training on July 7.

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Ensure <b>Sarawak</b> safe at all times — Rep - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 12:16 PM PDT

MIRI: Sarawak must always maintain its vigilance against illegal immigrants as kidnappings and security breaches in Sabah are sobering reminders of what could happen when we let our guard down.

Pujut assemblyman Fong Pau Teck, who made the call, urged the state government to spare no efforts in keeping aliens off its shores.

"Do not allow the security of Sarawak be compromised," he told reporters here yesterday in response to the latest incident on Saturday night where armed gunmen killed a marine policeman and took his colleague hostage in a daring commando-styled raid at a resort in Pulau Mabul, Semporna, Sabah.

Fong suggested that the immigration department be equipped with biometric or retina-scanning equipment to scan travellers at checkpoints.

Pointing to the strict enforcement and state-of-the-art system used by Singapore, Fong said: "The state government should insist on having such equipment at its Customs Immigration Quarantine (CIQ) centres."

He also hoped the federal government would take a tough stance like those practised by countries such as the United States in not negotiating with terrorists.

"It is imperative that the hostage be rescued without compromising his safety, and that no ransom be paid as doing so would lead to unending kidnappings, which would further damage the tourism sector in Sabah."

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<b>Sarawak</b> bowler eyeing medal at world youth championship in HK <b>...</b>

Posted: 06 Jul 2014 04:27 PM PDT

KUCHING: Sarawak-born bowler Jonathan Ding Sagan hopes to win something at the 13th World Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Hong Kong next month.

"I am grateful that I have been selected to receive national training for the championships in Hong Kong and I will train hard to preparae for the competition.

"Hopefully I can win something for the national team there," said Jonathan.

Besides Jonathan, another female bowler from Sarawak, Nerosha Keligit Thiagarajan has been called up to represent the national team at the chanpionships to be held at the 60 Brunswick Synthetic lanes of South China Athletic Association bowling centre in Hong Kong from Aug 6 to 15.

Jonathan and Nerosha are Perlis Sukma gold medallists.  Malaysia will be sending four male and four female bowlers to the  championships.

Jonathan won two gold medals in the masters and team events at Perlis Sukma last month while Nerosha won gold in the women's double and silver in the all-events and team event.

"We are happy that Jonathan and Nerosha have been called up to represent the national team for the championships in Hong Kong and we are confident that both of them will put up a tough challenge at the tournament," said Amatuer Bowling Association of Sarawak (ABAS) deputy president Robert Lu.

Lu said it would be good to see another Sarawak bowler win at international championships after Jacqueline Jenelee Sijore won a gold medal in the women's singles at the world championship in Hong Kong in 2012. — Bernama

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Threat of deregistration removed - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 24 Jul 2014 12:00 PM PDT

Group withdraws Judicial Review application against ROS decision not to deregister SUPP

KUCHING: Former leaders of Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP) who filed a Judicial Review against the decision of the Registrar of Societies (ROS) not to deregister the party after issuing the party a show-cause letter, have decided to discontinue their court action.

The discontinuation of the suit was announced in a joint statement issued yesterday by three state assemblymen who are now with United People's Party (UPP), Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, Dr Johnichal Rayong and Ranum Mina, on behalf of the group which includes Datuk Tiong Thai King, Suzanne Lee, Shilling Banggit and Sia Jii Ming.

The decision which spares SUPP the danger of being deregistered came in the nick of time as the Judicial Review is scheduled to be heard in the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Explaining why they initiated the action against ROS, the statement said that the group did so for themselves and for all other SUPP members who were sacked, suspended or marginalised by those who controlled the party after 2011 Triennial Delegates Conference which they believed was tainted by serious electoral irregularities.

"We took the court action against ROS for its decision on SUPP as we truly believed that there were electoral irregularities and as a result ROS decision, we were marginalised and denied in our efforts to serve our supporters and the people," the statement said.

However, having established a new platform to serve the people through United People's Party (UPP), the group felt that it was best to withdraw their Judicial Review application so that SUPP would not have to face the possibility of deregistration.

In a show of magnanimity the group said, "Let bygones be bygones and hope that together we can move on to provide political stability and harmony in Sarawak."

The statement added that the group would continue with the spirit of righteousness, justice
and compassion adhered to fervently by SUPP in the past.

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Register to make sure your voice is heard, PKR tells voters in <b>Sarawak</b>

Posted: 02 Jul 2014 12:38 PM PDT

KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is currently carrying out their voter registration exercise in an effort to encourage more young people to register as voters.

PKR Stampin branch secretary Desmond Kho said the party will be holding its weekly voter registration exercise at Sungai Maong Hilir Wet Market (near Chung Hua Primary School No. 6) this Saturday beginning at 9.30am.

Kho, who is Batu Lintang assemblyman See Chee How's special assistant, said the party has been doing this outreach programme every weekend at different locations for three weeks.

"From statistics, 67 per cent of youths between 21 and 35 years old are not registered as voters yet. To create awareness and encourage more young people to register as voters, we are doing this outreach programme every weekend at different locations."

Kho also said those who want to register as voters can drop by PKR Stampin service centre at first floor, Mile 3 Maong Bazaar or contact 016-6260133 for further enquiries.

"This is a good time to register as voters as those who are registered will be able to vote during the next state election."

Meanwhile, Wanita PKR national vice president Voon Shiak Ni advised food sellers not to put the wellbeing of their customers in jeopardy by preparing food using used cooking oil.

Voon was shocked to read a revelation by a national Malay language tabloid recently that over 90 per cent of food sellers in the country use used cooking oil to save cost.

"Cooking oil is hazardous to health if it is used many times. It is very toxic and can lead to damage of organs and chronic illness. However, we cannot blame the traders because there is supply," she told a press conference here yesterday.

Voon opined this matter should be a concern to everyone as most people eat outside due to their busy lifestyles.

"We believe that most of the people who eat outside would choose to pay a little bit more to consume food that are prepared using fresh cooking oil than risking their families to consume food prepared using used cooking oil."

As the level of awareness of the need to recycle used cooking oil for other uses is still very low among the people, she suggested that relevant authorities such as the local councils hold campaigns to encourage proper disposal of the used cooking oil.

Besides being very useful for the biodiesel industry, she said used cooking oil could be processed into products such as soap and candles.

She pointed out that a company in the state named Sekitar Bumi Hijau Sdn Bhd buys used cooking oil at 30 sen per litre.

"To encourage people to use proper channel to dispose used cooking oil, I would like to suggest to the companies to offer better price for the used cooking oil."

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