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Tenom taxi stand turned into night market – associations BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Tenom taxi stand turned into night market – associations

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:44 AM PDT

by Johan Aziz. Posted on August 14, 2014, Thursday

KENINGAU: The Keningau Car Rental Services and Transport Association of Sabah (Perpeksa) and the Tenom District Taxi Association have appealed to Tenom Member of Parliament Datuk Raime Unggi to help resolve issues concerning the Tenom taxi stand which has been turned into a night market.

Perpeksa chairman Masdir Husin yesterday said it was not appropriate for the Tenom local authority to turn the taxi station into a night market because it blocked the main road for the passage of vehicles to petrol stations located near the main road.

"Taxi operators in Tenom and Keningau have to find a place to park their vehicles everyday at 4pm since the site became operational in May for the night market," he told the media here.

Masdir said the action by the local authority was affecting the income of taxi operators and also made it more difficult for customers who required the service of taxis after 4pm.

He said it would also be difficult for the Fire and Rescue Department to act if a fire or emergency occurred in the area.

"This matter has also been reported to the Tenom local authorities, including the patron of the Tenom District Taxi Association, Raime, including state assemblyman for Melalap and Rural Development Minister Datuk Radin Malleh, but no action has been taken.

"The association has proposed matters on safety and cleanliness of the place to the authorities concerned, but until now, no action has been taken. Problems and discharges that we have pointed out to them were not taken seriously, and ignored.

"We have the right to express our dissatisfaction over these problems because this is our place which has been used over decades as a taxi stand, and when it was turned into a night market, it has disrupted businesses and our operations, especially after 4pm," he added.

According to him, during the 13th general election, the Tenom and Keningau Taxi Association helped the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates to win in the Tenom parliamentary constituency, including Kemabong and Melalap state constituencies, in terms of transport and services during polling and campaigning.

He also said it was not worth the hawkers' time to conduct businesses there as they had to start business at 4pm and closed a few hours later at 7pm.

"But if they remain in their original place, they can start business as usual, as early as 1pm."

Masdir, on behalf of the Tenom Taxi Association, is appealing to Raime to solve the problems faced by the association as soon as possible because the matter has been ongoing for the past three months.

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Kudat chamber wants action on parking woes blamed on fun fair

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:43 AM PDT

KUDAT: The Kudat Chinese Chamber of Commerce has urged the Kudat Town Board to take immediate action on the fun fair operator for taking up parking spaces in Tomborungus town.

Its president, Pak Chee Eng, said the chamber would be calling all businesses to take part in a peaceful protest outside the town board office if the latter failed to take action.

Pak, who is also Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) vice president, said he had received many complaints from businesses since last weekend about the fun fair which has taken up many of the parking lots.

This not only affects business operation, but also the public who would have difficulty looking for a parking space.

Pak, who is also a councillor, said he had initially met with the executive officer of the town board, requesting the latter to resolve the problem.

"At that time, the officer gave me his verbal assurance to resolve this matter. However, the problem has persisted till this day, and even worse, the fun fair operator has expanded and taken up more parking lots."

Pak added that he had wished to resolve the issue in an amicable manner, but he and the local business community were disappointed to note that the executive officer did not seem to have any intention to resolve the problem.

He said the Kudat Town Board should not have permitted the fun fair to operate at the car park just to earn rental fee, at the expense of the interest of the businesses and public in Kudat.

Pak also urged Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Haji Noor to transfer the executive officer within 24 hours and resolve the parking issue as well.

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Steep drop in property launches

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:42 AM PDT

by Jenne Lajiun. Posted on August 14, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: A significant drop in new property launches has been recorded in Sabah this year when compared to last year, according to Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda).

Last year, a total of RM5.8 billion worth of properties were launched up until August, but this year, only RM2 billion worth of properties have been launched so far which represents a decline of some 60 percent , Shareda president Francis Goh Fah Shun told a press conference held here yesterday.

Goh said the impending imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is among the reasons for the significant drop, and he foresees that property buyers can expect a hike of between four percent and six percent in property prices once the GST comes into force next April.

"Developers will be taking into account the six percent GST and incorporate that into the selling price of the properties.

"It is a cost that will impact on the selling price by about four to six percent. The cost of building materials will also definitely go up, hence the price of properties will be expected to go up as well," he said.

Goh said that lately, many developers have developed a 'wait and see attitude'.

"Some, like me, are treating the Shareda Property Exhibition (PropEX) as the best venue to showcase their development projects. They wait for PropEX to launch (their properties)," he said.

Also having an effect on the drop of new property launches is the high rate of loan rejections by Bank Negara, he said.

The annual Shareda Property Exhibition (PropEX) will be held at the Sabah Trade Centre from August 29 to September 1 and is expected to be launched by the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman. Also attending the event would be the Local Government and Housing minister, Datuk Hajiji Haji Noor.

Goh explained that the theme for this year's Shareda PropEX14 was MyHome and is calling on property hunters not to miss the event.

The attraction at the event will be the 17 private affordable housing scheme projects (also known as MyHome Scheme) which will be showcased by 10 of its participating developers.

"A total of 1,566 units of houses have been approved under the scheme and there is a RM30,000 incentive per unit of these houses which will benefit both the home buyers and the private developers," he said.

Those eligible to purchase the units are Malaysians, who are 18 years old and above, and are first time house buyers with combined household income of RM5,000 per month.

"The house buyers can apply direct during the PropEX," he said.

The selling price of the MyHome properties in Sabah is within the range of RM250,000 per unit with a minimum floor area is 800 per square feet.

Goh also mentioned about Shareda's promise to build 10,000 units of affordable homes in Sabah for the next five years. The selling price of these affordable homes have been set at not more than RM250,000.

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Gaya Street tree trimming right move – Wildlife Dept

Posted: 13 Aug 2014 10:41 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: City Hall has done the right thing in trimming the tree branches at Gaya Street as it could help control the bird population and thereby reduce the risk of diseases transmitted by these birds.

Deputy director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Dr Sen Nathan, said reducing bird droppings in urbanized areas would help to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

"There are always risks that any species of birds can be carriers of any diseases, like H1N1 in the past. For me personally, what City Hall did in terms of managing the city to control the bird population, is the right thing to do, especially to reduce risks of disease transmission,"he said when contacted yesterday.

City Hall has undertaken a major trimming exercise to remove tree branches along Gaya Street in an effort to reduce bird droppings.

On whether the birds will lose their resting place, Dr Sen believed that the birds would find another place to roost for the night as they could fly between 10 and 15 kilometres radius.

"I think the reason they are roosting in this area (Gaya Street) is because they are used to it.

"I don't think it is a serious issue (cutting down the tree branches) because we have many trees on Signal Hill, besides the number of trees around the city."

Dr Sen gave the assurance that City Hall had not destroyed the nesting place of the birds, as birds normally prefer to nest in quieter and more secluded areas where they feel safe.

"So, I think the birds would now be nesting in the Signal Hill area, as long as they (the people) don't keep reducing the size of Signal Hill, (as) I can see more and more buildings are coming up."

At the end of the day, he said there is no way to completely stop the birds from roosting on the trees along Gaya Street, unless they were chopped down, which he disapproves.

Meanwhile, most of the thousands of birds are said to be roosting on the trees at the nearby Suria Sabah shopping complex.

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Group draws up self determination petition for Sarawak and Sabah

Posted: 12 Aug 2014 12:21 PM PDT

KUCHING: A coalition of NGOs, politicians and activists from Sarawak and Sabah have drawn up a petition recently, addressing it to the United Nations (UN) secretary-general to re-open the issue of self-determination for the two East Malaysian states.

The petition, touted to have been signed by some 100 representatives at a leading hotel in Miri last Saturday, was also copied to the UN Special Committee of 24 (C-24) and the UN Human Rights Committee. It aimed to gather several hundred thousand signatures in both states before making its way to the UN secretary-general.

A copy of the petition sent to The Borneo Post on Monday pointed out that the people of Sarawak, Sabah (then known as North Borneo) and Brunei as former British colonial subjects, first appealed to the UN by the Memorandum dated Sept 9, 1962.

Signed by Sarawak United Peoples' Party, United National Pasok Mamogun Party and Parti Rakyat Brunei, the request however remained unaddressed by the UN owing to the intervention of historic events which recast the political course of Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei for the last 51 years.

"Whereas Brunei attained independence on 1st January 1984, Sarawak and Sabah have remained under 'change of status' stature without national independence up to today; documented as such in the United Nations Trusteeship Agreement listed by the General Assembly as Non-Self-Governing Territories," the petition stated.

UK-based Borneo's Plight in Malaysia (BoPIM) president Daniel John Jambun who sent the copy was reported in the media yesterday as saying that Sabah and Sarawak were dragged into the Malayan Federation on Sept 16, 1963 by the British and Malayan governments to facilitate the merger of Singapore with Malaya.

The Malayan Federation then changed its name to Malaysian Federation.

"It's obvious from Article 160 of the Federal Constitution that Malaysia was not formed as was earlier promoted by the British and Malayan governments," explained Daniel on why he signed the petition.

The petition, in calling for a review on self-determination, sought assistance from the UN to review "the arbitrary and indecorous surrender of our sovereignty by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under Command of Her Majesty The Queen of England, to the Federation of Malaysia on 16th September, 1963".

It noted that this indecorous surrender of sovereignty was sanctioned by the UN "without exercise of the right to self-determination in contravention of the spirit and letter of the United Nations and Decolonisation Declaration adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV) of the 14th December 1960".

The organisers behind this petition and signature campaign, in its pursuit to follow up on the memorandum dated Sept 9, 1962, requested at the earliest opportunity given to make representations before the UN to seek Sabah and Sarawak inherent right to self-determination as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

"The right of self-determination of peoples is a fundamental principle in international law and this legal doctrine is also embodied in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," the Petition said.

It is understood that the event, under the People's Initiative of Sarawak and Sabah, is collaboration between Sarawak Association for Peoples' Aspiration (SAPA) and Borneo Heritage Foundation (BHF) among others.

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DAP asks about promise to review water rates

Posted: 12 Aug 2014 09:48 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Kapayan assemblyman Dr Edwin Bosi has reminded the government of its promised plan to study and adjust the water rates in Sabah.

"I remember this assurance from the Minister of Infrastructure Development, Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, when answering a question from the then Sri Tanjung assemblyman, Jimmy Wong, many years ago.

"It looks as if the minister and the government have conveniently forgotten about the issue when Jimmy is no longer an assemblyman," he said.

During the assembly sitting, he said Jimmy had even brought in a few bottles of treated pipe water that obviously looked dirty and smelly as proof of how bad the water condition was.

Dr Bosi, who is also DAP Sabah secretary, said that water is a God-given resource. We must be careful how to treat and manage our environment as excessive clearing and felling of the tropical rainforest can lead to water shortage.

"Once our water catchment areas are disturbed and destroyed, the people will face the consequence of have no drinkable or potable water or no water supply at all.

"The forest acts like a massive sponge, and when we remove them, the rainwater becomes surface water which can lead to flash flooding, and during the dry spell, can lead to rapid water shortage,"he pointed out.

Dr Bosi said he had received several complaints concerning our water supply. The main complaint is the very expensive water rate of 90 cents per cubic metre (m³).

"The people have been waiting for the government's action to review the rate and also to differentiate between household, commercial and industrial rate.

"Another complaint raised was whether it is allowed by law to sell water supplied by the government. In this case, I am informed by tenants and owners of units in apartment buildings that they have to pay RM1.00 per m³.

"I have raised this matter in the State Assembly and was told that the management of apartment buildings is allowed to charge tenants and owners at that rate.

"Is the management of apartment paying tax for revenue earned through selling of government water at an extra 10 cents/m³?

"If the units have strata titles issued to the owners, are they still required to pay water at RM1.00/m³?"he asked.

Dr Bosi said he hoped the government can provide answers to the complaints raised and consider reducing the water rate (tariff) as prices of commodities are rising at an alarming rate.

"Food on the table is getting lesser and lesser. At least, water, which is a natural resource, should be given free at a certain amount of usage targeting the lower income group while reducing the overall rate to help the people make ends meet," he said.

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