No freedom of assembly for green protestors?

Bersih 2.0 chief Ambiga Sreenevasan has described police move to revoke the permit for this morning’s “Green Solidarity 109″ rally as “bullying” from Kuala Lumpur.
“What that looked like to me was to bully and to intimidate,” said Ambiga during a post-rally press conference at a restaurant in Kuantan at noon.

The rally’s permit was abruptly witihdrawn last night and local council authorities moved in immediately to dismantle the rally’s makeshift tents and stage.

Police disrupt 2,000-strong ‘Green Rally’

Police interference failed to dampen the spirit of the “Green Solidarity 109″ rally as some 2,000 participants thronged the beach at Taman Gelora, Kuantan, in support of communities threatened by the destruction of their environmental.

The rally was cut short by half an hour after police moved in to prevent its speakers from making their speeches.
Organised by a coalition of environmental NGOs, the event had initially been granted a permit but it was withdrawn last night in favour of a national service event.

The Federal Government Budget 2012

Budget a bitter harvest for farmers

Once again the national budget has forgotten
the farming community in Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: While civil servants, soldiers, police, pensioners and a raft of private sector workers have gained some handouts from the 2012 Budget, the farming community in the state can only stare in envy.

For them there was nothing to smile about after Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Friday unveiled his budget for 2012 along with a “national transformation policy” geared towards lifting the country to developed nation status by 2020.

Budget 2012: Nothing for Sabah

By Queville To, FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Former chief minister, Yong Teck Lee, said he is disappointed with the 2012 budget as once again Sabah is being treated as the poor cousin.

He said Sabah is considered the poorest state in Malaysia but Najib’s budget is only pandering to sectors where Barisan Nasional is likely to get votes.

Jeffrey’s battle: 1-Country, 2-Systems

UBF president Jeffrey Kitingan says the concept is line with the
Borneo Agenda to hand over power to Sabah and Sarawak.

KOTA KINABALU: The United Borneo Front (UBF) is pushing for a “1-Country, 2-Systems” type of administration in Malaysia – one for Peninsular Malaysia and the other for Sabah and Sarawak.

UBF chairman-cum-founder Jeffrey Kitingan said this was in line with its “Borneo Agenda” and aspiration to restore political autonomy to Sabah and Sarawak.

Villagers-govt officers showdown looms

Hundreds of villagers from Kampung Bungaliu and Kampung
Bubuk are determined to stop the survey of the land for
a agropolitan project.

By Luke Rintod of FMT
KOTA BELUD: In a remote corner of Sabah, a showdown is looming between natives of two kampungs near Pandasan here and government officers who are scheduled to do a land survey for a proposed 3,000-acre agropolitan project on what the natives claim is their land.

Hundreds of villagers from Kampung Bungaliu and Kampung Bubuk are determined to stop the survey of the land, which they claim native customary rights (NCR) to and which has already been cultivated with rubber trees and cash crops including hill paddy on shifting cultivation basis.

Najib failed to live up to expectations, says MP

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua has given his thumbs down for Najib Abdul Razak, saying the prime minister failed to stamp his much-publicised “reformist” credentials on the Budget 2012.

Pua also expressed concern over the rise of government debts, which have almost doubled in the last seven years.

There had been high expectations, he said, that Najib would put the various reform pledges he made in the budget into action, including the cornerstone of his policy blueprints – the New Economic Model (NEM), Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Najib unveils ‘feel good’ Budget

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak brings good news to the
country when he tabled Budget 2012 in Parliament.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak today unveiled Budget 2012 in the Dewan Rakyat, which offered incentives and goodies for the lower and middle-income groups.

However, observers were left disappointed, saying they expected much more.

HRP’s P.Uthayakumar is “racist”– a fact or ploy?

By Iraiputtiran.

According Uthayakumar, the Malaysians Indians, 70 % of whom he estimates to be in the poor and hardcore poor categories and another 25 % in the lower middle and middle income categories, unaided by UMNO government ridden with racism and religious bigotry, are left to fend for themselves. Even the change, much anticipated and hoped for, post 2008 election in the opposition ruled states is a great let down.