Sarawakians:"Don't Throw The Baby Out With The Bath Water"

Hantu Laut

The battle for Sarawak starts today.At the close of nomination on 6th April there were 213 candidates vying for 71 state constituencies. The ruling party, as tradition would dictate, fielded candidates in all 71 state seats.

The West Malaysian oppositions coalition Pakatan Rakyat are contesting in 68 seats led by overly ambitious PKR with 48 seats, DAP 15 and PAS 5.The pact with SNAP broke down and the party going its own way.

Local opposition SNAP seemed more practical than PKR contesting in only 27 seats and is expected to do better than PKR. DAP is expected to capture some Chinese seats and PAS would be completely out in the cold.Many seats involved three-cornered or more tussle with independence candidates joining in the fray.

Sarawakians should learn from the Sabah mistakes..... "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" and live to regret it for the rest of their lives.At the moment the state are still master of its own destiny and still preserved certain autonomy while Sabah has given up most of them through every succeeding governments weaken by the politics of federalism.

Sarawak is still ruled under a state coalition which is now under threat of breaking up the same way as Sabah had gone over two decades ago when the state fell to the anti-federal opposition PBS and the back-stabbing of the BN that led to the entry of UMNO into Sabah.With the loss of autonomy prescribed under the Malaysian Agreement which has 20 points for Sabah and 18 points for Sarawak the state has lost its bargaining power and is reduced to almost the same status as other states in Peninsula Malaysia which should not have been the case as Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners with the Federation of Malaya in the creation of the new nation. Sabah and Sarawak should be autonomous regions of the Federation.

Below is the 20-point Malaysian Agreement for Sabah.

Point 1: Religion
While there was no objection to Islam being the national religion of Malaysia, there should be no State religion in North Borneo, and the provisions relating to Islam in the present Constitution of Malaya should not apply in North Borneo.

Point 2: Language
(a) Malay should be the national language of the Federation.
(b) English should continue to be used for a period of ten years after Malaysia Day.
(c) English should be the official language of North Borneo for all purposes, State or Federal without limitation of time.

Point 3: Constitution
Whilst accepting that the present Constitution of the Federation of Malaya should form the basis of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Constitution of Malaysia should be a completely new document drafted and agreed in the light of free association of States and should not be a series of amendments to a constitution drafted and agreed by different States in totally different circumstances. A new Constitution for North Borneo was, of course, essential.

Point 4: Head of the Federation
The Head of State in North Borneo should not be eligible for election as Head of the Federation.

Point 5: Name of the Federation
“Malaysia” but not “Melayu Raya”

Point 6: Immigration
Control over immigration into any part of Malaysia from outside should rest with the Federation Government but entry into North Borneo should also require approval of the State Government. The Federal Government should not be able to veto the entry of persons into North Borneo for State Government purposes except on strictly security grounds. North Borneo should have unfettered control over the movement of reasons, other than those in Federal Government employ, from other parts of Malaysia into North Borneo.

Point 7: Right of Secession
There should be no right to secede from the Federation.

Point 8: Borneanisation
Borneanisation of the public services should proceed as quickly as possible.

Point 9: British Officers
Every effort should be made to encourage British Officers to remain in the public services until their places can be taken by suitably qualified people from North Borneo.

Point 10: Citizenship
The recommendations in paragraph 148 (K) of the Report of the Cobbold commission should govern the citizenship rights of persons in the Federation of North Borneo subject to the following amendments.

(a) Subparagraph (1) should not contain the provision as to fie years residence.

(b) In order to tie up with our law, subparagraph (1a) should read ‘seven out of ten years’ instead of ‘eight out of twelve years’.

(c) Subparagraph (III) should not contain any restriction tied to the citizenship of parents – a person born in North Borneo after Malaysia must be a Federal citizen.

Point 11: Tariff and Finance
North Borneo should have control of its own finance, development funds and tariffs.

Point 12: Special Position of Indigenous Races
In principle, the indigenous races of North Borneo should enjoy special rights analogous to those enjoyed by Malays in Malaya, but the present Malaya formula is this regard is not necessarily applicable in North Borneo.

Point 13: State Government
(a) The Chief Minister should be elected by unofficial members of Legislative Council.
(b) There should be a proper Ministerial system in North Borneo.

Point 14: Transitional Period
This should be seven years and during such period legislative powers must be left with the State of North Borneo by the Constitution and not merely delegated to the State Government by the Federal Government.

Point 15: Education
The existing educational system of North Borneo should be maintained and for this reason it should be under State control.

Point 16: Constitutional Safeguards
No amendment, modification or withdrawal of any special safeguards granted to North Borneo should be made by the Central Government without the positive concurrence of the Government of the State of North Borneo. The power of amending the Constitution of the State of North Borneo should belong exclusively to the people of the State.

Point 17: Representation in the Federal Parliament
This should take account not only of the population of North Borneo but also of its size and potentialities and in any case should not be less than that of Singapore.

Point 18: Name of Head of State
Yang Dipertua Negara

Point 19: Name of State
Sabah

Point 20: Land, Forests, Local Government, etc
The provisions in the Constitution of the Federation in respect of the power of the National Land Council should not apply in North Borneo. Likewise, the National Council for the Local Government should not apply in North Borneo.

Most of the above have been eroded.

The leaders in Sabah danced to the tune of Kuala Lumpur or rather Putrajaya as UMNO is the linchpin of the state coalition while the other partners are small fragmented local communal parties which, more often than not, are fighting among themselves for ministerial positions.Even mosquito party with 2 state seats think they deserved the deputy chief minister position and ridiculed the chief minister's decision.

Sabah would need another strong man to return to the days of yore.

The leaders in Sabah are so disunited because of greed they are unable to stand together to make demands to the central government for return of state rights and for better benefits for the people of Sabah.Every leader is fighting only for his own self-preservation.

Do I blame the Federal government?

No, I don't, it's the fault of Sabahans who chose irresponsible and selfish leaders who are prepared to trade-in states interests to keep themselves in power.

The rot started soon after the fall of muscleman Mustapha Harun and completed its circle with the entry of UMNO to Sabah which, ironically, was brought in by Mustapha after the fall of Berjaya and played out by PBS to form a coalition in the 1985 state elections. He was sworn in as chief minister....helped by losers in Berjaya who refused to give up power.Sabah had 2 chief ministers for a short while.He later dissolved USNO to make way for UMNO and all for the same reason.... greed.

Mustapha, thought with UMNO in Sabah he could make a come back.Sorry for him, it was UMNO who got rid of him in the first place for his excesses and delusion of grandeur of wanting to take Sabah out of Malaysia. The Federal government created Berjaya to topple him. As they say the rest is history.We now have to live with what we have created for ourselves.

The biggest dissatisfaction and unhappiness expressed by Sarawakians are the massive corruptions by Chief Minister Taib Mahmud, his family and cronies.Billion of ringgits have been siphoned off the state to enrich the power elites.If an audit were to be done I am sure Sarawak had lost billion of ringgits in state revenues due to under invoicing of export prices and underpayment of timber royalties.This, if the MACC wants to know, if they know how to do forensic audit, would be ten times bigger than what the Custom Department had lost over the years due to corruptions.

The biggest timber operator in the world used to be American, now the biggest is a Sarawakian company, operating in almost every known rain forests of the world.The start-up was Sarawak forests given by Taib.

Sarawak, may not be alone in this shameful enterprise, the story is repeated in every state but Sarawak being far richer in its timber resources has bigger pickings which have made overstayer Taib, members of family and cronies very very rich, attributable partly to our democratic system that allows leaders unlimited stay in power.The American two-term system would have been better fitted in countries where leaders tend to put their hands in the cookie jar.

The answer to the Sarawak dilemma is to oust Taib but keep the status quo and at the same time give SNAP, the only viable local opposition a strong showing.

PKR,DAP and PAS would not be able to fulfill the grievances of Sarawakians. Other than DAP, the other two would not be making much inroad in Sarawak politics.PKR contesting 48 seats is an ill-concept and goes to show how greedy this Anwar's outfit is, bite off more than they could chew.

After all what I have said I still think Taib will be returned to power and may even retain its two-third majority.

Sarawakians should learn from the Sabah experience.Don't give up your rights, just give up Taib and his cronies.

Malaysia's Carelessness over WMD

Written by Stephen Herzog

Wednesday, 06 April 2011

Najib government needs a greater nonproliferation focus

On March 17, the Malaysian government reported that authorities at Port Klang had confiscated cargo suspected of being related to weapons of mass destruction which was headed from China to Iran aboard a Malaysia-flagged vessel.

Unfortunately, this story is but the latest account in a chilling narrative in which the Southeast Asian nation has been used as a transit point for illicit weapon trafficking. It is accordingly time for Kuala Lumpur to reassess and redefine its nonproliferation strategy. One key step in this direction would be for the administration of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to formally endorse the US-led Proliferation Security Initiative.

The latest cargo interception involved dismantled Chinese components suspected to be for use in the Iranian nuclear program. The Sun newspaper noted that police and customs officials had seized two containers of “equipment believed used to make weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear warhead.”

Ismail Omar, the Inspector General of national police, confirmed the suspicious cargo and said that the country's nuclear agency would be conducting an investigation. Meanwhile, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein acknowledged, “It is safe for me to say that Malaysia is likely being used as a transit point and not a destination point for WMD.”

The results of the government investigation could have serious implications for both Malaysia and the diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program. Iranian negotiations with the P5+1 parties have gained little traction in recent months, and the country is under several rounds of UN Security Council sanctions targeting its military and economy.

It is also important to focus on the point that reports suggest shipment of nuclear weapon components alongside sensitive dual-use technologies for use in uranium enrichment. In the past, Tehran was accused of experimenting with uranium deuteride neutron initiators for use in the physics package of a nuclear bomb, but no “smoking gun” ever surfaced. Short of such obvious technologies, Chinese firms may have shipped materials like carbon fiber and industrial vacuum tubes on the Malaysian vessel.

This is far from Kuala Lumpur's first experience with the WMD trade. Malaysia has come under constant criticism from western countries for its loose military export controls. In October 2003, the Italian coast guard interdicted a German-flagged ship carrying centrifuge components to Libya. It turned out that the Malaysian firm Scomi Precision Engineering, connected to then-Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son, Kamaluddin Abdullah, had manufactured the parts for a front company connected to the AQ Khan nuclear smuggling network.

And in February 2010, the US State Department launched an investigation of Electronics Components Ltd and Skylife Worldwide. The probe concluded that these Malaysian firms were front companies that violated UN sanctions by attempting to provide technologies such as gyroscopes for missile guidance to Iran.

But in April 2010, the Najib government took steps to enhance its nonproliferation bona fides with its new Strategic Trade Act. Kuala Lumpur announced the approval of the bill the day before the Obama administration's Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. In praising the merits of the law, the premier said, “Malaysia is committed towards ensuring that nuclear materials and technologies do not fall into the wrong hands.”

The Strategic Trade Act is largely an attempt to codify Malaysian obligations under Security Council Resolution 1540, which requires states to take steps to prevent the proliferation of WMD and their associated components. The act put into place stricter procedures for licensing and regulating sensitive dual-use trade and the monitoring of ports. It also established harsh punishments for infractions.

Nevertheless, regulation efforts have hardly been sufficient. Because of its rapidly expanding economy and location between East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania, and the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia has long been an important waypoint and transshipment center. Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas are among the world's busiest seaports. Together they handle nearly 15 million freight containers annually. But national export controls are roughly a year old, cargo inspections have been spotty at best, and the Najib government has not requested foreign assistance to implement Resolution 1540.

One way to improve Malaysia's nonproliferation strategy and credibility would be for Kuala Lumpur to embrace the Proliferation Security Initiative. The PSI was unveiled by then-US President George W. Bush in Poland in May 2003. It is an international effort to interdict weapon smuggling activities in contravention of the nonproliferation regime and involves practices such as intelligence sharing, technical assistance to enhance detection, and ship boarding agreements.

Thus far, 97 countries have endorsed the PSI, including important parties in the battle against proliferation like Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite Malaysia's status as a critical transshipping center and hotbed for WMD trafficking, the government has distanced itself from the PSI. Kuala Lumpur has actually joined countries such as Brazil, China, Indonesia, and South Africa in rejecting the initiative. However, Malaysia has observed interdiction exercises in the past and does not seem opposed to the principles underlying the PSI. Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas are already participants in the US Customs and Border Protection Container Security Initiative, which involves the stationing of US customs authorities in Malaysia. Read more.

Disgraceful! MACC Put it Under Parliament Or Shut It Down

Hantu Laut

So what is it? A jinx!, a serial killer!, suicide!, the guy was bumped off to stop him from giving evidence that may expose an even bigger scam involving more senior officers of the department, or a plot to bring down the government. Another death in the MACC here.

By now Malaysians should open their eyes and see how dangerous this organisation can become if they are given more power or are given arbitrary power to arrest and the power to charge suspects in court. Obviously, they are amateurs, lacking the skills to do police work. Bunch of unschooled lads who can't handle power.No-brainers that use physical force rather than persuasive interrogation methods to extract information from accused person.

Although, I believe the MACC has nothing to do with his death, the fact that he died on the premises under mysterious circumstances is enough to lacerate the department and public confidence.

It's about time the government seriously consider putting the MACC directly under Parliament.

Two down and one more to go.

One more death in the MACC than the organisation should be shut down and a new one form with a completely new management and made directly answerable to Parliament.

Religious Bigots Should Read This

Lessons from Saladin and King Richard

Maclean Patrick | April 6, 2011

Some people, particularly those unschooled in history, believe that Christians and Muslims will never be able to get along. Unfortunately, recent political developments in Malaysia do nothing to dispel this myth. So we must go back in time.

The year is 1187 and Saladin has conquered Jerusalem, sparking the Third Crusade.

This crusade lasted until 1192 and brought the great Muslim general into contact with a Christian leader of equal stature, King Richard I, also known as Richard the Lion Heart.

When they entered Jerusalem, the Muslim soldiers were under strict orders to avoid harming civilians and destroying the city.

In January 1192, on his March to Jerusalem, Richard fell ill and appealed to Saladin for fresh water and fresh fruits. Saladin dutifully complied.

Richard never reached Jerusalem. Instead, the two generals agreed upon a truce, under which Christian pilgrims could visit the city without harm.

In October 1192, Richard sailed back to Western Europe, never again to return to the holy lands.

Great impact

The meeting of these two generals created a great impact on attitudes between the Christians and Muslims of the era, and even on later historians of either faith. Both men are acknowledged for their wisdom and courage in facing each other and also for their humanity in the canvas of war.

They forged a remarkable relationship of mutual respect and admiration. Saladin was marked by his quiet, courteous, thoughtful, generous and insightful ways. And the Muslim historian Baha observed that Richard was “a very powerful man of great courage, a king of wisdom, courage and energy”.

They each understood what the other was fighting for, and yet they maintained a high measure of human decency towards each other.

It is safe for me, as a Christian, to say that Saladin showed immense compassion and generosity towards Richard during the brief period the two met.

How sorely we need the wisdom and example of these two great leaders of old as Malaysia deals with a battle of its own.

Religious polarisation is often fuelled by political interest, and it is never good for anyone.

The impounding of Malay bibles in Port Klang and Kuching Port seems, to some people, to have created a new rift between Christians and Muslims. But has it?

Considerable clout

For the most part, Christians are angry not with Muslims, but with the government for its decisions. Conflicting statements from Putrajaya do not help in gaining Christian trust in the government’s ability to handle the matter justly and fairly.

It is as if there is division within Putrajaya itself as regards the course of action to take. And this will not go unnoticed in Sarawak.

Nearly half a million Christians reside in Sarawak, wielding considerable clout at the polls. Obviously, neither the Barisan Nasional (BN) nor Pakatan Rakyat will want to ignore their feelings.

Without a doubt, some election campaigners will play on Christian frustrations and fears, which were recently stoked to higher temperatures by Muslim NGOs that seem to fear Christians more than they fear the government’s inability to come to a clear decision.

But is it wise to milk the bible controversy for political gain, especially in times when religious tensions are at an all-time high? Can there ever be real political gain from religious polarisation?

The coming election is an exercise by the people of Sarawak to choose the government they want, and their choice will transcend ethnic and religious considerations. Yes, Christian voters will be influenced by frustrations and fears arising from the bible row, but these will not be the only determinants of how they will vote.

Let us hope that the Christians of Sarawak will exercise the bravery and courage of Richard in making their decision on polling day and that the Muslims will show the compassion and generosity of Saladin in governing a multi-religious populace.

Maclean Patrick is a Kuching-based columnist with FMT.