Kurup’s son for Pensiangan

PBRS president Joseph Kurup who is eyeing the
Sepanggar parliamentary seat is aiming to
position his son for federal level politics.

KOTA KINABALU: Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Joseph Kurup is unlikely to defend his Pensiangan parliamentary seat, a move that is seen as paving the way for his son Arthur’s active participation in federal level politics.

Arthur is expected to contest the Pensiangan seat for Barisan Nasional in the coming general election.

Since early last year, Kurup, the Federal Natural Resources and Environment Deputy Minister, has been touring his constituency introducing his son to the residents.

During the party’s congress last month, Arthur was unanimously made the party Youth chief, a post which automatically makes him one of PBRS’ vice-presidents.

Some Malay Groups Have 52% Chinese DNA

Dear Editors,

The news reports on the RCI findings have prompted me to do a bit of reading on the "Malays" and I found 2 articles which are very interesting.

One is a recent article called "Pendatang" by Syed Imran former Bernama reporter and the other a scientific study on the genetics of "Malays".

Syed Imran's beef is that "Malaysians" are 97 squatters- so what is the big deal about "pendatangs"?

Unfortunately UMNO and Perkasa think tankers are a bit thicker than others and have not accepted this conclusion (common knowledge for a long time). Or may be they are following the Nazis who dishonestly made up reasons to justify their pogroms against Jews and "sub-human" race.

God and religion, two separate matters

The raging ‘Allah” issue has left this writer
wondering if Jakim and National Fatwah Council
clerics who can both “see and read” are “blind”.

When I was young, my teacher  told me that if I want to study facts I should take up archaeology, but if I want to find out what truth is all about I should choose philosophy.

I ended up somewhere in the middle and discovered that between scientific evidence and logic, there are matters that require a 3rd element called faith -  to believe and accept in the absence of  facts and figures. And religion is one such matter.

Let me give an example: Many people will ref use to switch-off  the life supporting machine attached to a loved one who is in a comatose even though their religion tells them that there is a better place on the other side.

Bumburing: Umno thought I was ‘opposition’ even then

By Joseph Bingkasan of FMT

KOTA KINABALU: Former Barisan Nasional MP Wilfred Bumburing, stung by a remark from Sulaman assemblyman Hajiji Mohd Noor, said he was often labeled “an opposition” whilst in BN for raising matters affecting Sabahans in parliament.

Hajiji, who is Tuaran Umno chief, had accused Bumburing of being an “opportunist”.

Hajiji held that when Bumburing was in the government and a minister, he sang the praises of the BN every day but was now saying the opposite.

Voters, Hajiji said, should judge for themselves which is glass and which is crystal.

Candidates taking politics into schools

KUCHING: The opposition has accused potential candidates of Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) of politicising educational matters despite the call not to do so by deputy Parliament Speaker Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaffar.

Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen said SUPP election candidates were officiating at the distribution of the federal government’s RM100 aid to students of schools in constituencies where they will contest.

“They are using the education department and schools as their tools to project their image.

“This is typical of Barisan Nasional politicising educational matters even to the extent of bringing politics into primary schools,” claimed Chong, who is also Sarawak DAP secretary.

SAPP ticks off Sabah DAP over immigrant issue

Was Sabah DAP shooting blanks when it asked why
former chief minister Yong Teck Lee was silent
over RCI revelations?

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive People’s Party (SAPP) has been a constant “thorn in the flesh” of Sabah Barisan Nasional since 1999 because of its demand that the influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah be investigated.

SAPP Youth said it was because of the party’s persistent demand for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the illegal immigrants that ties between the party and BN’s “top leadership” was strained.

SAPP was part of the BN coalition until it pulled out in 2008 after winning four seats.

Chiding state DAP assistant secretary Junz Wong’s ignorance, SAPP Youth Kota Kinabalu zone chief John Stephen Dionysius said: “SAPP has been consistent in demanding for an answer to the threat posed by illegal immigrants.

‘Enough with the warnings, haul up Ibrahim’

K Pragalath, FMT

MIC Youth wants stern action against Perkasa
chief Ibrahim Ali, who has called on
Muslims to burn the Al-Kitab.

MIC Youth has urged Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to stop pussy-footing around the contentious call by Perkasa chief, Ibrahim Ali, to burn the Malay Bible and instead take immediate action against him.

“MIC Youth wants Hishammuddin to take action against Ibrahim.

“Ibrahim’s irresponsible action of inciting hatred against another religion can lead to this nation’s instability,” said the party’s Youth secretary, C Sivarraajh.

Rise up, valiant people of Sabah

Unless united, we are now hopelessly and
hilariously outgunned by all these new,
instant, and duplicate Malaysians.

I have been telling all and sundry that our state is best administered by a party or coalition of parties which are rooted locally and that the people of Sabah really need to topple the current state government, which is both useless and inane through the ballot box.

Barisan Nasional has not changed even a bit and none of its so-called transformations are real. It only knows how to keep blowing trumpets about non-existent developments, offering nothing in terms of specifics, and jabbing at the opposition and critics.

From the ongoing hearings conducted at the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI), we can now see the power of BN’s weapon of mass destruction and it is called “illegal immigrants” issued with identity cards and armed with voting rights.

Tunggu enam bulan lagi selesai masalah air

Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan

By Calvin Kabaron 

KOTA BELUD : Ahli Parlimen Kota Belud, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan yang lantang menyokong segala dasar Umno mendapat kejutan apabila para pelajar dan ibu bapa yang sedang mendengar ucapannya bertepuk tangan pada masa yang tidak diduga.

Para pelajar dan ibu bapa bertepuk tangan ketika anggota parlimen Umno itu menyindir pihak pembangkang pada ucapannya sempena penyampaian bantuan tunai RM100 kepada para pelajar SMK Pekan Kota Belud II di sini semalam.

“Di pihak sebelah sana, mereka ini hanya pandai bercakap “undilah saya sebab BN (Barisan Nasional) menindas rakyat”..” katanya disambut tepukan oleh hadirin yang sepatutnya “mengeboo” pembangkang yang cuba diperkecil-kecil oleh Abdul Rahman.

Govt bias against Christian contractors

By Luke Rintod of FMT

They are genuine contractors trying to participate in
the economic development in the country, says SAPP

 KOTA BELUD: A senior Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) leader, Peter Marajin, called on the authorities to look into claims that it has been difficult for Dusun Christian contractors in the district to get government jobs amid allegations of race discrimination by officers including at the development unit of the District Office.

“I take seriously such complaints because they kept coming to my ear and that these small time contractors alleged that some of their peers had stopped “trying” to get jobs after being continuously sidelined by those in the authorities.

Reminder Malaysian Voters - DOs and DON'Ts ON the DAY of General Election 13 in Malaysia

BELIEVE IT OR NOT – YOUR PENCIL ERASER WOULD BE THE WEAPON AGAINST EC VOTE RIGGING.

The Voter Agent Training recently conducted at the PJ Civic Centre brought to the fore some very critical issues which every Voter ought to know.

These are :

1. As soon as you enter the polling station, you will be ushered to Kerani 1, who will check your personal identity against your NRIC. He/she will then read out your name, NRIC number and the Siri/Bilangan number in accordance to the List provided by the Election Commission (SPR).

Umno-BN has lost moral right to rule

The present Umno-BN government is illegitimate
and should not be allowed to continue, says
STAR chief Jeffrey Kitingan

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah State Reform Party (STAR) believes that ruling Barisan Nasional has lost the moral right to rule as a legitimate government.

Citing disclosures made in the ongoing RCI on illegal immigrants and the issuance of citizenships to foreigners in Sabah, STAR chief Jeffrey Kitingan said “the present government should not be allowed to continue to rule”.

“From the RCI disclosures, we can see that we have been governed by leaders who would not have been elected if not for illegitimate voters. The present Umno-BN government is illegitimate and should not be allowed to continue. It should be replaced by a non-partisan caretaker government.

‘Tell RCI the truth, Anwar’

Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak
challenges Anwar to shed some light on the illegal
immigrants issue in Sabah.

KOTA BELUD: Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief Salleh Said Keruak has challenged opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to tell the truth about the illegal immigrants to the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) tasked with looking into the long-standing problem in the state.

He said that Anwar was duty-bound to do so as he was deputy prime minister at that particular period, adding that “he was a powerful man and knew what was going on in Sabah”.

“Don’t be a hypocrite, perharps with the inside knowledge, Anwar can help shed some light… so tell the truth to RCI. He must not play politics. At least Najib Tun Razak, our Prime Minister, is prepared to seek the truth and approved the formation of RCI to identify the roots of the problem.

Jeffrey: Tell RCI the truth, Anwar

The Sabah strongman says Anwar, being the second most
powerful leader in Umno then, could not have been
ignorant of what was happening in Sabah.

PETALING JAYA: Sabah’s veteran politician Jeffrey Kitingan today expressed hope that Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim would “tell the truth” if he ends up testifying in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) probing the “Project IC” in Sabah.

“I am glad he has said that he has no problem in testifying in the RCI probing into citizenship granted to immigrants in Sabah.

“However I do hope he would tell the truth about his own role in the citizenship fiasco,” Jeffrey told FMT today.

MoCS says better for Sarawak to pull out too

For the first time, a Sarawak NGO has openly stated that the state would be better off being independent.

The Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) said that the on-going religious debate in Peninsular Malaysia which took on a dangerous turn of late has caused great concern among Sarawakians.

 “We, Sarawakians, want no part in this heated quarrel over the Allah issue. The people of Sabah and Sarawak have no religious or racial problems and we don’t wish to be contaminated with ‘religious poison’ from bigots and ‘dangerous’ politicians like Ibrahim Ali from Malaya,” MoCS leader Francis Paul Siah said in a statement here today.

Bishop raps Ibrahim Ali's 'burn Bibles' statement

Terence Netto 10:38AM Jan 20, 2013

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing is appalled by Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali's statement urging Muslims to burn Bibles that use the term ‘Allah' for God, describing it as "an incendiary statement that far exceeds the bounds of civil discourse in Malaysia".

The head of the Catholic Church in the Malacca-Johor diocese, Bishop Paul Tan, said that now that Ibrahim's "incendiary remarks are in the public domain, let's wait and see what the authorities will do about it".

"If there is going to be any point to that slogan ‘1Malaysia' then this is the time when we can see for ourselves if the concept is mere sloganeering to win votes or an earnest of the government's desire to unite the people in all their diversity," argued the prelate.

Josh Hong Comments On Mahathir's Vote Rigging

"If Mahathir earnestly wants to preserve the Malay/Islamic nature of Malaysia, he should, first and foremost, call for a referendum on the future of East Malaysians, many of whom have felt so bitterly betrayed that they may want to quit the federation altogether. Remember: Sabah was not a Muslim-majority state to begin with, and the people enjoyed far better ties than the Umno-dominated states."

 A vengeful Dr M at it again

Josh Hong 4:46PM Jan 18, 2013

As expected, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is a vengeful man who will not hesitate to drag in others in defence of all the misdeeds committed during his 22-year reign of terror.

For the second time since he 'stepped down' nearly a decade ago, another nefarious act involving him is put to the tight scrutiny of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) after the Lingam tape scandal in 2007.

Britain ‘pressing’ for poll reforms in M’sia

Clare Rewcastle Brown | January 20, 2013

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Malaysia headed by British MP Tom Greaterex has repeatedly raised free and fair elections with premiers Najib Tun Razak and David Cameron.

LONDON: Malaysia’s growing civil rights movement and its ability to mobilise tens of thousands onto the streets of KL has clearly not gone unnoticed in the corridors of the Whitehall Government in the United Kingdom.

RCI proceedings: Facing up to the truth of where Malaysians come from

The pro-Umno author and blogger Syed Akbar Ali, in a post critiquing the Royal Commission of Inquiry on illegal immigrants in Sabah, has argued that it would not be out of place to have a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate why one million immigrants who were mostly Chinese and Indians were given citizenship in Malaya in the 1950s (see his post of 17 Jan 2013).

According to him, “surely there must be at least five million Malays on the Peninsula today who may be wondering why or how that particular incident happened? Were they consulted? Was there a public referendum?”

Reasons for leaving Star amusing

By Rayner Wee, STAR Information Chief for Pantai Manis
PAPAR : In response to ex-Star member Bernard Mojikon's purported claim, as carried by Daily Express' Bahasa section yesterday, that Hj Baharudin Hj Nayan was the cause for Patrick Sindu to leave State Reform Party, we found it rather amusing and intriguing excuse.

Never in our knowledge that Hj Baharudin was "always going against Sindu" as Mojikon had claimed in the news report. In fact Hj Baharudin is the most steady and calm leader we have as far as openness and transparency are concerned.

Musa Aman beritahu media jangan mainkan isu RCI Sabah

Musa Aman memberitahu akhbar arus perdana
agar tidak memainkan isu Suruhanjaya
Di Raja berkenaan pendatang haram

Oleh Boo Su-Lyn, Malaysian Insider
January 18, 2013
KOTA KINABALU, 18 Jan – Ketua Menteri Sabah Datuk Musa Aman memberitahu akhbar arus perdana berbahasa Inggeris Rabu lalu agar tidak memainkan isu Suruhanjaya Di Raja (RCI) berkenaan pendatang haram.


RCI yang bermula Isnin lalu menyaksikan bekas pegawai kerajaan mendedahkan bagaimana pendatang dari Filipina dan Indonesia diberikan kad pengenalan biru dan dokumen lain bagi mengesahkan status mereka sebagai pengundi pada pilihan raya negeri Sabah.

Wiramuda Star persoal peranan sebenar Bumburing

Oleh Hasmin Azroy Abdullah
KOTA KINABALU :  Wiramuda (Youth) Parti Reformasi Negeri (Star) Sabah mempersoalkan apakah sebenarnya peranan Wilfred Bumburing dalam bersekongkol dengan PKR tetapi tidak pula menyertai terus parti Semenanjung itu.

Sebagai respon kepada kenyataan Bumburing yang keterlaluan menganggap Star sebagai pemecah undi, ingin saya jelaskan bahawa Star mempunyai matlamat yang jelas menerusi apa yang kami panggil Agenda Borneo, lama sebelum kewujudan APS.

Sabah Leaders Need To Join Hands To Oust Illegitimate Government- Dr.J

The unprecedented and shocking, to say the least, revelations at the on-going Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on phantom voters and illegitimate voters enabling fraudulent wins for Umno/BN candidates is the clarion call for all Sabah leaders across the political divide to join hands to oust the illegitimate government and to call for the suspension of the forthcoming general elections in Sabah until the electoral rolls are cleaned up” said Datuk Dr.Jeffrey Kitingan, Chairman of STAR SABAH in a press statement released today.

RCI revelations could drown Musa, Umno

By Calvin Kabaron 

The disclosures in the current RCI hearing in Sabah
may lead to more damaging testimonies implicating
the state's top leadership.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, who is also the state’s Umno chief, could be in for some uncomfortable moments soon as those involved in handing out Malaysian documents to illegal immigrants in Sabah continue to expose the high and mighty.

So far, one ex-chief minister, Osu Sukam has been implicated by the testimony of a former director of Sabah’s National Registration Department (NRD) at the ongoing investigation by Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on illegal immigrants problems in Sabah here.

Ramli Kamaruddin, in his testimony said Osu was present with then federal deputy home minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob at a hotel here in 1994 when he was given instruction “to issue NRD receipts using the name and identity card numbers of voters already in the electoral roll, with the sole purpose of allowing them to vote to help ensure that a state government endorsed by the federal government would win” in Sabah.

Beri IC: Tunku lebih teruk dari saya, kata Dr M

Bekas perdana menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mendakwa bapa kemerdekaan Tunku Abdul Rahman melakukan perkara "lebih teruk" dalam tindakan memberi kad pengenalan kepada warga asing.

Mahathir ketika ditanya pemberita, mengakui bertanggungjawab memberi kewarganegaraan kepada pendatang asing semasa pentadbirannya.

Namun beliau mendakwa tindakan berkenaan dijalankan mengikut undang-undang.

"Kita patut tengok balik dan ingat. Tunku Abdul Rahman lebih teruk daripada saya. Dia beri sejuta kewarganegaraan kepada mereka yang tidak layak. Jadi kenapa apa yang dia (Tunku Abdul Rahman) buat tak salah dan apa yang saya buat ini salah?

Finally!!! Dr M's right-hand men implicated in Sabah IC scam

Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin

Two of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's closest confidantes were today implicated by witnesses testifying before the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the alleged citizenship-for-votes scam in Sabah.

A former Sabah National Registration Department (NRD) officer testified that he and the others stayed at the house of Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin (right), who was then Mahathir's political secretary, when they were roped in to issue blue identity cards to the immigrants.

Yakup Damsah, who was then Tamparuli NRD chief, told the RCI that he and the other NRD officers were flown from Sabah to Kuala Lumpur, from where they worked out of Aziz's house in Kampung Pandan.

Bumburing’s frontman, PKR leader in punch-up

By Calvin Kabaron 

Despite Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s assurance
that all is well in Sabah PKR, skirmishes between
original and 'new' party members indicate otherwise.

KOTA KINABALU: All is not good within Sabah PKR, if a recent punch-up in Kota Belud is any indication.

A heated argument over who is the “more rightful” PKR candidate in Sabah led to punches between two local leaders from Kota Belud.

The punch-up was between the leaders of “PKR ori (originals)” and PKR photocopy (Wilfred Bumburing’s Angkatan Perubahan sabah-APS- members)

Mail Balinu, who is with APS, was allegedly flattened with one blow by one Minsin Sompong, from the other faction.

‘Voice for the Voiceless’ Ministry idea in time

by Joe Fernandez
If a Town Hall-style meeting of about 300 initially perplexed people in Kota Kinabalu last weekend is anything to go by, the nationwide movement for a Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (MOAMA) has got off to a good start in Sabah.

The Sabahans quickly dropped their position that they were in a majority, following an explanation by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi chairman P. Waythamoorthy, on the need for a “Voice for the Voiceless” Ministry at the Federal level as in several other countries.

Of crooked minds, abuse of power, Raja Ropiaah & Najib's RED LIPS!

Written by  Mohd.Ariff Sabri

 See how people in positions abused their power? The PM, defence Minister, the management of LTAT. A division of LTAT, Boustead Holdings answerable to the Defence Minister, buys 80% of Astacanggih Sdn Bhd for RM30 million.

What does Astacanggih have? It has no property. It has no track record. It has an outstanding loan with Kuwait Finance House. That is a liability. It has an unsettled dispute over rights on a land of 200 acres that on paper, is still owned by Awan Megah Sdn Bhd.

So why buy Astacanggih? Where is the value? Why not ignore Astacanggih and concentrate on Awan Megah the company that has value? It has a contract to build a RM100 million Defence Research Center and legal rights over an estate of 223 acres in Kelang. Who the hell in LTAT recommended the purchase of Astacanggih?

SAPP: Tell us what’s our worth, Anwar

The capability of local Sabah party SAPP, which has
been in seat negotiations with Pakatan Rakyat Sabah
since 2009, has suddenly come under question.

KOTA KINABALU: Opposition Sabah Progressive People’s Party (SAPP) has thrown the ball back at Pakatan Rakyat over its demand for seats and wants to know what the coalition thinks the party is worth.

“If [Opposition Leader] Anwar Ibrahim said SAPP is contesting too many seats, and questions its strength, it is very simple: just tell me how many we should contest in state and or parliament?

“If they [Pakatan] think it is not agreeable to them… tell us how many they think we should contest in state and Parliament.

“I believe people expect Anwar [to give an answer],” said SAPP president Yong Teck Lee.

Govt had records of illegals in Sabah

Former Sabah Chief Minister Harris Salleh who denied
knowledge of Project IC added that "even if the
identity cards were given out speedily, it was
done according to the federal constitution."

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commissison of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah was told that 446,173 refugees and illegal immigrants were deported from 1990 to date.

Sabah and Labuan Federal Special Task Force Team director Suhaimi Mohd Salleh said those deported had no documents.

Asked how he came up with the number by RCI chairman, ex-chief judge of Sabah and Sarawak Steve Shim Lip Kiong, Suhaimi said there were records.

The fifth witness, who joined the Special Task Force on Jan 15, 2012, also said the team, which was set up on April 4, 1989, also managed and tackled problems of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

We gave Muslim foreigners IDs to vote

Sabah NRD director tells the RCI that he was
personally instructed by Megat Junid Megat
Ayub to recruit new voters.

KOTA KINABALU: A former National Registration Department (NRD) officer told an inquiry here that he took part in a project to give foreigners here identity cards so that they could vote in an election in the 1990s.

Mohd Nasir Sugip, who was detained under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA), told the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) he was part of a top secret operation dubbed ‘Ops Durian Buruk’ (Operation Rotten Durian) on the instruction of his bosses in the department.

He claimed the operation ran from 1992 to 1995 and said the instruction to furnish the foreigners with identity cards so that they could vote came from the state Election Commission (EC).

‘Jeffrey desperate because STAR falling apart’

By Joseph Bingkasan 

Angkatan Perubahan Sabah chief Wilfred Bumburing
has reminded STAR's Jeffrey Kitingan of his own
"cari makan politics" past.

KOTA KINABALU: Tuaran MP Wilfred Bumburing believes that State Reform Party (STAR) chief Jeffrey Kitingan’s incessant attacks on him is because of Angkatan Perubahan Sabah’s (APS) increasing presence in KadazanDusunMurut areas.

Bumburing said it was now obvious that Jeffrey, who’s been claiming absolute strength in KDM areas, was “desperate” because “STAR is falling apart since the formation of APS”.

He said the dissolution of the STAR Papar division last month with the exit of well-known activist Patrick Sindu and more than 1,000 members was an indication of the beginning. All of them joined PKR.

Bomb scare disrupts Sabah RCI hearings

The A-G's Chambers said ex-detainees under the Internal
Security Act 1960 would also be called on matters
related to the issuance of identification documents.

KOTA KINABALU: A rumoured bomb scare brought to an abrupt halt the first day of the much- awaited Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) public hearing on illegal immigrants in Sabah.

On the advice of the police, RCI chief Steve Shim suspended the inquiry held at the High Court here at 2.45pm.

Commission secretary Saripuddin Kassim had conveyed to the panel the police advice.

Shim told everyone present that the hearing had to be stopped “due to some emergency”.

At that time the third witness was giving evidence. At 3.05pm, the police bomb disposal unit arrived. The court complex was cordoned off and traffic was halted along part of Jalan Pantai running in front of the court complex.

Neowell saved while hunt continues for O+ R1R1 JKA

14 January 2013, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah—Neowell Vann Houtton, the 12 year old boy suffering from major thalassemia who needed urgent blood transfusion of the very rare blood type O+ R1R1 JKA has received two blood transfusions Saturday and Monday bringing his HB level up to 10.4. Normal levels are around 13 to 14 and last week Neowell’s level dropped to 6.7.

“He is now immediately out of danger thanks to hundreds of donors who responded to our appeal as we managed to retrieve the correct blood type and I thank the donors and the media and bloggers for saving his life,” said Selly Onong, the boy’s mother.

Story by a veteran navy who was at KL Rally

"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." - Martin Luther King Jr.

COMMENT Before I begin, I make no claims of speaking for "the majority". This should be read as a personal anecdote of an opposition supporter who was there to make the numbers, but more importantly - as I have done for all these ‘pro-opposition' rallies - to mix with my fellow travellers and listen to their stories. As always, people were willing to talk.

Parents hope culprit will be penalised

The parents of a teenager who was found dead,
are distraught as they have been kept in the
dark over the outcome of police investigations.

KOTA KINABALU: The parents of Norikoh Saliwah, the teenaged girl who was found dead by the side of the road on Nov 25 last year, are eager to know what happened to their daughter on that fateful day when she had merely gone to help a cousin find a job.

Farmer Saliwah Madaya, 57, and his wife Raimas Makanal, 56 of Kg Bombong 1, Kota Marudu, have seldom come to the state capital. This was one of those special occasions when he and his wife had no option but to make one of those very rare trips here, but unlike before this time it was an extremely poignant one.

Huge opposition rally in KL signasl new political shift in Malaysia

By Julia Zappei of AFP

KUALA LUMPUR : Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim urged voters to oust the country's long-ruling government as tens of thousands of supporters gathered Saturday in a show of force ahead of coming elections.

At least 50,000 people crowded into an iconic stadium in the capital Kuala Lumpur where independence was declared in 1957 and tens of thousands more thronged surrounding areas as the opposition effectively kicked off its campaign.

"We plead for you to give us a chance so that the people's voices will become the voices of the leaders of this nation," Anwar told the crowds as he denounced what he called the government's misrule and corruption.

France jet fighters flew to Mali's rescue and bombed Islamist rebels

BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French aircraft pounded Islamist rebels in Mali for a second day on Saturday and neighboring West African states sped up their plans to deploy troops in an international campaign to prevent groups linked to al Qaeda expanding their power base.

France, warning that the control of northern Mali by the militants posed a security threat to Europe, intervened dramatically on Friday as heavily armed Islamist fighters swept southwards towards Mali's capital Bamako.

Under cover from French fighter planes and attack helicopters, Malian troops routed a rebel convoy and drove the Islamists out of the strategic central town of Konna, which they had seized on Thursday. A senior army officer in the capital Bamako said more than 100 rebel fighters had been killed.

Bumburing, a Prisoner of Conscience? : Dr. Jeffrey

I was shocked for three reasons – One, what leverage do you have to demand when you belong to them (PKR). 
Two, where will you go if you leave? …. BN?   Third, are you not a potential traitor to PR/PKR and to
the rakyat who elected you?; Dr Jeffrey

“Wilfred Bumburing, leader of the so-called APS, is a prisoner of his own conscience because he is unable to distinguish between the right to fight/defend Sabah’s inalienable rights and the politics of nationalism. He seems pre-occupied with the politics of “carimakan” rather than fighting for regaining Sabah’s rights and correcting the wrongs committed by Malayan political leaders on Sabah” said Datuk Dr.Jeffrey Kitingan, Chairman of STAR SABAH in response to Bumburing’s statement that STAR is “Anti-Malaya”.