Remove Tan Sri Herman Luping from Royal Commission - BERSIH Sabah

KOTA KINABALU:Bersih Sabah calls on the government to 'kick out' Tan Sri Herman Luping out of the panel in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) and the demands the re-drafting of the Terms of Reference (TOR) with immediate effect.

According to Bersih Sabah spokesperson Andrew Ambrose (also known as Atama), "While we welcome PM Najib's announcement, we believe that the government is not sincere with appointments of panel members of the highest integrity. We demand that Tan Sri Herman Luping be disqualified and immediately removed as a panel member due to his highly publicized corruption case in the 1980's during which he was accused with soliciting RM1million from timber tycoon Victor Wong Chet Sing on April 25th 1985. During this time he was the State Attorney General and a legal advisor of a political party. We find him simply not clean so appointment of a panel of low integrity is a face palm to the government."

Andrew stressed further that "Sabahans have been fooled for far too long by misleaders of low integrity. It's time that the government step up with real and impactful actions and solutions to solidify the promises they have made to the people in the name of justice & fairness for all. Sabahans should not settle for less in the Terms of Reference (TOR) of RCI and therefore must exercise their Constitution Rights to freedom of expression."

Najib finally announces terms and reference for RCI on illegal immigrants in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 11 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in announcing the details and terms of reference on the setting up of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Illegal Immigrants in Sabah here Saturday, said it would be given six months to complete its investigation on the influx of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

He said the six months period would begin from the date the instrument of appointments were issued to the RCI chairman and panel members and that the report would be submitted to Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Ranau staged peaceful demo on no water supply

By Ezra Haganez

RANAU : A group of 60 representatives from four kampungs in Ranau today staged a 15-minute sit-in peaceful demonstration near here in a protest of what they called the ruling party's "Janji Tak Ditepati" or "false promise" on providing water supply to them.

They claimed the kampung folks had been without supply of clean water for years and things got messier as the only iron water tank that used to store water from Mesilau river has rusted with knee's deep mud and rust inside it, having never been maintained or cleaned.

No life for Sabah parties in BN after Mahathir, says Star

"Mahathir should be charged in Court over his blog
posting “which is tantamount to an admission of
sedition and treason", says STAR's Sabah Deputy Chairman,
Daniel John Jambun

KOTA KINABALU: The State Reform Party (Star) has challenged local parties in Sabah to leave the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the wake of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s widely-reported blog posting on Wednesday this week that “illegal immigrants who have stayed long in Sabah are entitled to citizenship especially when they can speak Bahasa Malaysia”.

He also called for the removal of illegal immigrants holding MyKads meant for citizens by operation of law from the electoral rolls.

Police urged to charge Mahathir with treason

Thirdly, Daniel urged the Police to interview Mahathir and charge him in Court over his blog posting “which is tantamount to an admission of sedition and treason”. He’s not in favour of the Federal Government recommending to the King that Mahathir be given any Royal Pardon by the backdoor.

An excellent speech by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in UK

Thank you for inviting me to speak with you. I am truly honoured. I have played some small role in the life of this nation, but having been on the wrong side of one or two political fights with the powers that be, I am not as close to the young people of this country as I would hope to be.

History, and the 8 o'clock news, are written by the victors. In recent years the government's monopoly of the media has been destroyed by the technology revolution.

You could say I was also a member of the UKEC. Well I was, except that belonged to the predecessor of the UKEC by more than fifty years, The Malayan Students Union of the UK and Eire. I led this organisation in 1958/59. I was then a student of Queen's University at Belfast, in a rather cooler climate than Kota Bharu's.

Citizenship for foreigners: Dr M’s reasoning flawed

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabah MP today lashed out at the Umno-led federal government for irresponsibly granting foreigners residing in Sabah citizenship merely because they can speak the language and had been in the state for a number of years.

Sepangar MP Eric Majimbun, who is Sabah Progressive Party deputy president, said the ruling coalition’s real agenda in granting citizenship to foreigners was to hang on to power using their votes of gratitude.

‘Amateurs doomed Sabah from the start’

KOTA KINABALU: Amateurs in Sabah’s political arena were the cause of the state losing its autonomous rights and privileges when it joined joined Singapore, Sarawak and Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963, local opposition politician Jeffrey Kitingan charged.

He said Sabahans are now paying the price due to poorly educated and inexperienced founding leaders having been selected to negotiate Sabah’s entry into the federation as a founding member.

Open letter to PM -as the first ever women Minister

As the first ever male Women’s Minister, can you please end gender discrimination at work place!

Dear Prime Minister,

This letter is to request you as the Prime Minister and the first ever male Women’s Minister (Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development) in the country to give a strong message to the employers and unions to stop all forms of discriminations against women at work place. While the country is moving towards a developed nation status, it is very distressing to have the women in Malaysia suffer due to discrimination laws and poor implementation.

“For a Society, Civil and Decent” – Interview with S. Ambiga by Penang Monthly

(Photo by Puah Sze Ning)

By Ooi Kee Beng

Courtesy of Penang Monthly , August 2012

Penang Monthly editor Ooi Kee Beng talks to Bersih icon Ambiga Sreenevasan between sessions at the inaugural Asean Coalition for Clean Governance conference on civil society and why she thinks “Malaysians are a great people”.

Ooi Kee Beng: Let’s discuss the recent rise of civil society activism in Malaysia. We had a half-year of rallies in mid-2007, starting with 600 people from the Malaysian Trades Union Congress demonstrating outside the Prime Minister’s office against government refusal to initiate minimum wage legislation.

Several union demonstrations were held in the following weeks. Soon after the country became 50 years old on August 31 that year, the big rallies really began. It started with the Malaysian Bar Council, of which you were the president then, organising the so-called Walk for Justice on September 26. About 2,000 people took part.

Great Truths in Malaysia - very witty

By Louis Belmonte

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is the Malaysian Parliament.

2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Parliament. But then I repeat myself.

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.