Voices urging Sabah to secede will affect unity — Muhyiddin BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

Voices urging Sabah to secede will affect unity — Muhyiddin
Four-year-old burnt to death in Sipitang
Boy quits school over scar, but grateful to SOSHF
Building gutted in Labuan fire
Resettle water villagers immediately – LDP
Don’t lose heart, SAPP members urged

Voices urging Sabah to secede will affect unity — Muhyiddin

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 11:54 AM PDT

SIPITANG: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said voices urging that efforts be made to take out Sabah from Malaysia will adversely affect the spirit of cooperation, security and unity of the people.

The government did not want to hear voices raised by a small group stridently claiming there was no development in Sabah and urging for efforts to take Sabah out of Malaysia.

"The effort is opposed to the national and state constitutions.

"It is seditious in nature and if allowed to go on will affect the prevailing spirit of cooperation, security and unity in Sabah," he said when officiating at the Sipitang International Gata Festival here yesterday.

Also present was Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Sipitang MP Datuk Sapawi Ahmad.

In this regard, Muhyiddin said the voices should not be tolerated and stringent action would be taken against them for trying to create such a situation. — Bernama

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Four-year-old burnt to death in Sipitang

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 09:29 AM PDT

SIPITANG: A four-year-old girl was burnt to death in a fire that destroyed a workers' quarters at Samur Sindumin, here on Friday.

The charred remains of Norsahada Mursidi was found in one of the 14 rooms of the workers' quarters occupied by about 35 workers and their respective families.

Fire and Rescue Services Department public relation officer Senior Assistant Superintendent Mohd Affendy Ramin said Fire and the department's personnel from Sipitang were carrying out an investigation and found the victim's remains about an hour later in one of the rooms in the 8.25pm incident.

"We immediately informed the police of the discovery for further investigation," he said, adding that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Meanwhile, district police chief DSP Mustapha Othman confirmed the case and said the victim's body had been taken to hospital for a post-mortem.

Mustapha said based on initial police investigation the police believed the fire might have been caused by a burning candle as the workers' quarters was only built three months ago and electricity had still not been connected.

Boy quits school over scar, but grateful to SOSHF

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 09:28 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: After receiving sponsorship from S.O.S Heart Fund to 'fix' his heart, Rizlan Abdul Manan of Kampung Numbak decided to discontinue his schooling as he was embarrassed when people asked about his scar.

He was only 13 when he was sent to Penang Adventist Hospital for a two-week surgery trip, which was fully sponsored by the Non-Government Organization in 2011.

"I am personally thankful and appreciate the help and contribution from S.O.S Heart Fund to fix my heart. But after the operation, I decided to stop going to school at SK Pulau Sepanggar and seeing my friends.

"I love schooling, but I feel traumatized with my body after the surgery. A nasty scar cannot be avoided. I don't know what to reply, I don't know how to react when people start asking about the operation and also my scar. I was not comfortable with everything.

"I asked my mother to tell the school management that I don't want to continue to secondary school," he said.

The second of five siblings tried to find a job a few months after quitting school. However, employers rejected him due to his young age.

"I was very active in sports in school, but sometimes my friends did not allow me to play with them because they were worried about my health.

"I always felt pain in my chest after sports, but I never thought about it. When a doctor told me that I need to be 'fixed' by an operation, I knew that my condition was not good.

"Luckily the hospital recommended me to S.O.S Heart Fund for a sponsored operation," said Rizlan who is currently helping his mother to look after the house and his younger siblings.

"Many people contributed to the cost of my operation, and I don't know how to repay them. When I reach 18, I will find a job and sit for SPM examination. After that, I will decide whether to continue schooling or work," said Rizlan, who is now 16.

Rizlan was interviewed during the S.O.S Heart Fund Open Day, in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Sabah Council of Social Services (MPMS).

His mother, Siti Wati Jenari accompanied him at the Open Day.

She also shared her experience looking after Rizlan before the operation with other parents who attended the event.

She expressed her sadness and disappointment with Rizlan's decision to stop schooling.

She hoped Rizlan will change his mind on education, but she would not force him, worrying if he should fall sick again.

"Rizlan was active in school. He played soccer and won a number of medals. But of course he did not tell me because I always get engry if he is active. He always complained to me about his painful chest.

"I never knew he participated in any sport, but after a few days I found his medals and trophy in his room. I really want him to be a healthy child. I want to attend his sports activities without him hiding anything from me.

"When S.O.S Heart Fund came to our house telling me that Rizlan was chosen to receive a free operation in Penang, I was overexcited and did not sleep for a few days. Only Allah can repay S.O.S Heart Fund and its staff and generous sponsors who contributed to the fund," she added.

Rizlan is one of almost 600 heart patients who received sponsorship from S.O.S Heart Fund since it was was set up in 1981.

Most of them are children below 12 with hole-in-the-heart problems and the organization has also helped them to go for corrective surgeries in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore and Korea.

During the event yesterday, its president Datuk Christine Vanhouten reiterated that they are looking for a piece of land to build a transit home.

She said the organization is appealing to the state government to give them a piece of land for the home so that heart patients may get a transit home where they can stay before and after heart operations.

"Heart patients from outstation, especially those who are from the interior who are going for or underwent operations in Kuala Lumpur or overseas can stay in this home on transit before their departure or going home," she said.

Building gutted in Labuan fire

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 09:27 AM PDT

LABUAN: A fire broke out at the office of Galaxy Piling Construction Sdn Bhd located at Jalan Bebuloh, Kampung Belukut here yesterday and destroyed almost 50 per cent of the building.

Labuan Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson, Jason Bilin said that their operation room received the distressed call around 9.26am reporting the incident.

"Soon after receiving the call, we deployed our personnel to extinguish the fire where we managed to control the flames before 10am.

"Unfortunately, the fire was too strong and quick to burn the office building," he said, adding that there was no victims or human injury reported in the incident.

When asked about the cause of the fire, Bilin said that it was still under investigation and some samples from the building would be sent to Kota Kinabalu for further investigation.

Resettle water villagers immediately – LDP

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 09:26 AM PDT

KUDAT: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin has urged the government to resettle people living in water villages immediately to curb security issues that arise from these villages.

He said the resettlement of water villagers to the mainland was a feasible long-term plan because water villages could harbour illegal immigrants and criminals who threaten the security of Sabah.

"Once the people living in water villages are resettled to the mainland, the government can then build jetties and fishing ports along the coastline for fishermen, thereby allowing the government to effectively control the entry of illegal immigrants."

Chin said this when officiating at LDP Tanjung Kapor divisional conference headed by Datuk Teo Chee Kang here yesterday. Teo is also the Minister of Special Tasks and LDP president.

Kudat as another tourism destination

Chin said the east coast of Sabah, namely Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu, have been plagued with the recent spate of abductions and intrusion by militants from the southern Philippines.

Chin opined that Kudat could be developed into another option for foreign tourists with its beautiful sandy beaches, clear blue sea and mesmerizing sunset.

He said LDP's former party president Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat had brought many developments and transformations into Kudat during his tenure as the state assemblyman for Kudat constituency, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Chief Minister of Sabah and State Tourism Minister.

Chong has realized an international standard golf course, developed and promoted Tip of Borneo as a tourism destination and brought the Sunset Orchestra to perform at the Tip of Borneo.

"These developments, among others, have spurred the tourism and economic development in Kudat.

"I am confident that our party president cum Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang will bring more progress to Kudat and put Kudat on the global tourism map like Semporna and Lahad Datu," he said.

On a related matter, Chin pointed out that the security in our state has been worrisome recently.

"Carjackings, vehicle thefts, break-ins and robbery cases are growing at an alarming rate not only in the east coast, but also in the west coast of Sabah, especially in the capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

"I hope the police force will step up their patrol and enforcement measures to curb criminal activities and protect the safety of the people and their property."

He continued to say that LDP had called on Sabah police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman and top officials where they gave away kuih raya to the police force during the Ramadan month this year, during which Jalaluddin urged the public who were returning to their hometowns during the festive season to register their home addresses at the nearest police stations.

This is so that the police personnel could patrol the registered homes during the owners' absence.

Chin further said Jalaluddin had given stern warning to the police chiefs that they would personally be held accountable if any of the registered homes were broken into.

"Jalaluddin's resolute attitude and seriousness in curbing criminal activities makes him a good role model to police officers and personnel."

Similarly, Chin said leaders of our public service, including our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, federal and state cabinet ministers as well as government department heads should take strict measures to ensure government policies are implemented in a proper manner and achieved the intended positive impacts.

Instead of giving out the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), Chin suggested that the government provided scholarships to children from poor families.

He pointed out that the majority of BR1M recipients were poor people living in rural areas who only needed water supply, electricity, accommodation and basic infrastructures.

The RM 500 financial aid given to the poor will be exhausted very soon without bringing them significant long term benefits.

"On the contrary, we can change their fate and take them out of poverty if we nurture their children and enable them to receive high education with scholarships.

"By doing so, we can elevate the standard of living of the poor."

Chin also urged the government to award scholarships to students based on merits of their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

He called on the quota system used in awarding government scholarships to be abolished so that bumiputra and non-bumiputra students have equal opportunities in receiving the scholarship according to their academic performance.

"The government can further set conditions to make sure the scholarship recipients return to work in their home country after completing their tertiary education.

"I believe the proposals are far better than giving out RM 500 financial aid to the poor or RM 200 to students.

"The people will also be more appreciative of the government's efforts to improve the lives of the people with these concrete measures," he explained.

On the other hand, Chin refuted talks on the ground that Barisan Nasional (BN) has been colluding with PAS, especially in the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis.

He pointed out that BN and PAS were on opposite sides of the political divide. In fact, Chin said the crisis had exposed PAS' indecisiveness, when the party swayed from supporting Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), which nearly shattered the Selangor Government run by Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

In addition, he said PAS' political ideology is based on the Islamic religion, which many Muslims, especially the younger generations, do not see eye to eye with.

"This indicates that Umno should be more in tune with the youths' mentality and mindset, address their concerns in order to win back the support of Malay youths for BN."

Chin reiterated that the people had wished to see our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak declaring the Hudud law as unsuitable for our multiracial nation when PAS initiated the tabling of the Private Members' Bill to implement Hudud law in Kelantan early on.

"Instead, Najib announced the formation of a special committee to examine the implementation of the Islamic penal code with all quarters, including PAS."

He said PAS' stance on Hudud law had always been extreme.

"If we were to discuss with PAS, there will be no conclusive decision in the next five or ten years.

"I believe most of the people, including young Muslims and Malays would have given their support if our Prime Minister had promptly reject the implementation of the Hudud law in Malaysia then.

"At the end of the day, the people long to see the BN government that takes a clear stance and makes bold, pragmatic decisions," he said.

On another matter, Chin said there had yet to be a conclusion pertaining to the pay rise of federal ministers and members of parliament (MPs). The bill was tabled in parliament last year, but was later withdrawn when it received strong opposition from the opposition.

In contrast, the Selangor state government and Sarawak state government had decisively passed a bill to revise the salary of state cabinet ministers, exco members and state assemblymen, he said.

The salary of our ministers and MPs are low compared to other countries, considering that we have to serve a large number of people, Chin added.

Hence, he urged the government to act decisively and promptly to resolve issues plaguing our country because dragging on and delaying response will only invite criticisms from the society.

Citing another example, Chin said the government had remained mum on the seizure of Bibles by Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS),with Inspector General of Police (IGP) defying court order on inter-racial custody case.

"We cannot satisfy everyone in politics. If a government policy benefits the majority of the people, then it should be implemented," he stressed.

He hoped that our Prime Minister will implement bold reformations before the next general election, to bring positive changes to the lives of the people, to show Malaysians that BN walk the talk.

"If we fail to do so, we will face an even tougher challenge in the next general election as we are going to lose some of our supporters to the opposition.

"We must stop being weak, we must transform ourselves, strengthen BN and the government to ensure we are given a fresh mandate in the next general election."

Don’t lose heart, SAPP members urged

Posted: 30 Aug 2014 09:25 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Women movement chief Melanie Chia has urged its members not to let the outcome of last year's general election affect them.

In her speech at the opening of SAPP 2014 Congress here yesterday, the former Luyang assemblywoman said the result of the general election last year was only the beginning of new challenges for the party.

"We may have lost but we did not lose our dignity and that is why we can still hold our heads up high and continue our struggle for Sabah. Yes, our work is not done yet. Look at what is going on at this moment.

"Parties infighting in Barisan National as well as in Pakatan Rakyat. Has the rakyat's well-being and welfare improved? These leaders are more concerned about their own personal agenda and personal priorities," she claimed.

Chia also reminded SAPP members why it left Barisan National in September 2008.

"The reason was because the coalition did not heed the party's Eight Point Declarations in the interest of the people of Sabah.

"We left BN because we submitted the Eight Point Declarations in the interest of the people of Sabah which included asking for Sabah autonomy, increase the oil royalty to 20 per cent, solve the illegal immigrant problems in Sabah, implement the Borneonisation concept and redress the economic and social imbalances faced by Sabah, amongst others.

"The BN government did not heed SAPP's request then, and until today, the same issues are still confronting our beloved state.

"So we have to continue where we started, to uphold autonomy for Sabah and ensure that we Malaysians in Sabah are no more the poorest in the country, despite being the richest in resources, that we will get what we duly deserve from the exploitation of our oil and gas, that our people, especially our young people, get jobs, our girls get decent jobs, our children get better schools and our standard and quality of life improves, that our families and our businesses are safe," she stressed.

Chia also called on SAPP members to put right what is not, including putting right the history of Malaysia.

Malaysia, she said, was born on 16 September 1963 and pointed out that history was supposed to record facts and present the truth.

"What is the intention to want to distort and present the wrong facts to the people?" she questioned, adding: "51 years into the formation of the country, Malaysia and the government still wanted to distort the records and teach our children the wrong facts.

"Documents and evidence are now made available to the public and nothing can be hidden any more," she stressed.

Chia also said SAPP Women movement upheld its aim to empower women as it believed that this was important in bringing about improvement in the well-being of the members and their families, with the eventual aim of bringing about better social well-being of the society, and therefore the country.

The abilities of women to provide for their families, especially through economic activities had been demonstrated repeatedly and had proven to improve the livelihood of the family and household, she stressed.

The Women wing in fulfilling this objective, had organized motivational, public speaking courses and activities to help the women in gaining more confidence, to assist to alleviate the quality and standard of living of our beloved fellow Sabahans, Chia said.

"We have never given up hope in discharging our responsibilities to our party and to our country despite the challenges we face during this period. The Women wing of the party had continued to disseminate information of the party's struggle for a fair and better future for our younger generation.

Voices urging Sabah to secede will affect unity — Muhyiddin BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sabah - New 2 Borneo

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