Pre-Election Observations

By Tuhun Tavakas

Recently in Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Seri Anwar officiated a forum on Native Customary    Rights (NCR) issues and protection of Native Religious Rights in Sabah. Braving  extreme weather conditions late but safe, Datuk Seri Anwar managed to close the forum with an applause. As a seasoned and well versed Election Observer I attended under the auspices of our humble NGO to hear and to see the amount of interest the forum captured. Datuk Seri tactfully delivered key notes on religion and the protection of the religious rights of the Native Christians in Sabah, an issue that until today Peninsular Politicians will not and can not fathom its uniqueness that Bumiputras in Sabah are Christians. These native rights as enshrined under the 20 point Sabah Constitution that are being silently and quickly eroded. To the thumping rounds of cheers in support of  Datuk Seri Anwar’s undertaking that the state’s unique constitution will be protected and reinstated has sparked immense hope especially from the Native Kadazan Dusun Murut Community (KDM) of its preservation.

Arab nations urge Assad to quit as fighting rages

A Free Syrian Army soldier stands …

ARAB nations have called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to swiftly give up power as his troops launched a fresh assault on rebels in Damascus and the second city Aleppo.

Fighting raged Sunday despite claims by the rebel Free Syrian Army that Assad's regime was "collapsing".

In a joint statement issued early Monday after their meeting in Doha, Arab League foreign ministers called on Assad to "renounce power," promising that he and his family would be offered "a safe exit".

‘I’m prepared to go to jail again’

Sabah STAR chief warns Sarawakians against letting Umno into
the state, alleging that the party is nothing but 'trouble'.

By Joseph Tawie of FMT

KUCHING: Sabah’s political maverick Jeffrey Kitingan is readying himself for prison. If it happens, it will be the second time he is jailed for defending Sabah’s rights.

“Yes, I am prepared to go to jail again to defend, what I term, the legacy of the 20 points upon which Sabah agreed to join Malaya, Singapore and Sarawak to form the federation of Malaysia,” he said when asked by FMT.

Jeffrey was in Sarawak over the weekend to meet supporters of the United Borneo Alliance (UBF) which he chairs. UBF has been pushing the Borneo Agenda which calls for the reinstatement of the 20- and 18-Point Malaysia Agreement which Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore signed with the Federation of Malaya in 1963.

Sarawak Land Robbing Cowgate

By Burak S. Sem, Senior Correspondent

Ladies & Gentlement,

I read in FMT, Alfred Jabu answered YB Violet Yong, “do not import Datuk Sahrizat’s cowgate scandal” in his proposal to make Sarawak to become a beef exporter and be self-sufficient in beef through SEDC. In my opinion, Alfred Jabu is right when saying that, because Datuk Sahrizat cowgate scandal swindled RM250 million from the state coffer for his family luxuries is going to be different compared to Taib Mahmud/SEDC scandal. You can imagine, to build an industrial cattle farming require at least few thousand hacters/acres of lands, but where the hell does Alfred Jabu going to get this size of lands for the cattle farm?

OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER DATUK SERI MOHD NAJIB TUN RAZAK

Dear Prime Minister Najib,

This is my second open letter to you; my first, about two years ago - you may or may not recall - was about the proposed coal-fired power plant in Sabah.

This letter is about your 'projek panda' (my pet name for it) that is going to cost us approximately RM50,000,000 (loan of 2 pandas + facilities + food + maintenance) and improve our relationship with China.  Your rationale sounds dubious to me, but I am going to set my judgments aside and instead do my best to understand your leadership.

PKR’s Peter Mayau killed in chopper crash

By Joseph Tawie of FMT

Sarawak PKR chairman Baru Bian described his deputy,
the late Peter Ato Mayau, as a principled man who
believed in the struggle for justice.

KUCHING: Sarawak PKR  lost one of its leaders. Peter Ato  Anak Mayau in a helicopter crash which occurred yesterday morning at the mouth of Sg. Lingga, Sri Aman.

His body was recovered earlier this afternoon not far from the incident.

Siti Kuzaimah Annuar (surveyor) and Henry Lay (engineer) were also killed in the crash.

The pilot of the helicopter Reco Steger, 35, a german, survived the crash.

The helicopter is owned by local businessman Sng Chee Hua.

They were on their way to Nanga Merit, Kapit to inspect a project when the incident occurred.

Don’t believe my brother, pleads Pairin

Under pressure, PBS president Pairin Kitingan swears that
he "never stopped fighting" for Sabahans' future
including championing "Article 20 of the
Malaysia Agreement and oil royalties."

KOTA KINABALU:  Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan under heavy pressure from his Umno-Barisan Nasional bosses to reel-in his younger and politically ‘wayward’ brother Jeffrey, called him a  ‘liar’ and lumped him together with other ‘lying opposition leaders’.

Pairin, who is president of Parti Bersatu Sabah, said his party had “never stopped fighting” for the people.

“”PBS never stopped fighting for the people’s future including Article 20 of Malaysia Agreement and oil royalties…,” he said alluding to Jeffrey’s consistent claim that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, of which PBS is a member, had  failed to uphold the terms of the 1963 agreement.

Is There a God?

Does God exist? Here are six straight-forward reasons to believe that God is really there.

By Marilyn Adamson

Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

But first consider this. If a person opposes even the possibility of there being a God, then any evidence can be rationalized or explained away. It is like if someone refuses to believe that people have walked on the moon, then no amount of information is going to change their thinking. Photographs of astronauts walking on the moon, interviews with the astronauts, moon rocks...all the evidence would be worthless, because the person has already concluded that people cannot go to the moon.

BN will win big in Sabah

By Luke Rintod of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Despite the political mayhem in Sabah, it is possible that Barisan Nasional (BN) will again win big in the state in the coming general election.

In fact, BN could win all 25 parliamentary seats and all the 60 state assembly seats as well as the sole MP seat in Labuan.

Mind you, in the last general election in 2008, Sabah BN lost only two seats – the Kota Kinabalu parliamentary seat and the state seat in Sri Tanjung .

Both seats went to DAP. This time though, it is possible that DAP will lose both seats to BN.

STAR's Direction for Sabah Crystal Clear - Dr. Jeffrey

STAR Sabah’s direction is crystal clear and the clearest amongst all the parties in Sabah.  STAR Sabah seeks the restoration of Sabah as 1 of 3 equal partners in Malaysia and its struggle is made clear with the Borneo Agenda and its 7 core demands” said Datuk Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan, STAR Sabah Chief, in response to Lajim’s statement published in the Daily Express yesterday.

Unlike the recent remarks by a Sabah Umno leader, Sabah and Sarawak are not equal to the States in Peninsular and, more importantly, Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia as the 12th and 13th States.