Change We Must

Written by: By TUNKU ABDUL AZIZ

Although I have in my travels seen abject poverty in such diverse places as Addis Ababa, Dhaka, Dar es Salaam, Kolkata, Mumbai and Manila, I must confess to a feeling of utter revulsion and anger when confronted by stark deprivation in our supposedly well-governed and prosperous Malaysia.

Comparison of poverty between Sarawak and Malaya
The pockets of rural poverty in the Malay heartlands of Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu are islands of prosperity compared to the scene that churned my stomach and assailed my sense of guilt and outrage when I first ventured into the Iban long houses on the majestic Rejang.

Little personal dignity left
It is not enough that we have robbed them of their ancestral lands and impoverished them in the process, but we also felt constrained to strip them naked of any residual personal dignity that they might still have by introducing policies that have succeeded in reducing them to the fringes of mainstream economic life.

The Dayak are the forgotten people?
The Orang Asli tribes and the Orang Hulu, the Malays from the interior, have a great deal in common with their Dayak friends. For all we care, they are Malaysia’s forgotten people, but not quite. Whenever an election is underway, be it a by-election or a general election, they find themselves the centre of attention, in great demand by the rich and powerful, all claiming to love and care for them.

The Dayak votes were bought by BN
Before the day is out, they are the proud possessors of a handful of crisp 50 ringgit notes. Four or five hundred ringgit is a princely sum to them, a king’s ransom, no less, in exchange for their votes. If some of them have become cunning, manipulative supplicants and sacrificed their values for a fistful of ringgit, remember it is we who have corrupted them.

They almost lost their value system
Years of exposure to extreme poverty and unbridled exploitation have rendered many of these once proud and noble people, nature’s gentlemen, inured and insensitive to their own traditional values and value systems. They are reduced to living from hand to mouth, on handouts, from day to day.

The Dayak trusted their Government too much
What a tragedy to befall a people whose only sin is to trust those sworn to protect their native rights. They are bewildered to find themselves dispossessed, as their land is taken away without as much as “by your leave” for commercial exploitation by the towkay friends of the powerful.

We who are strong need to help the Dayak
Talking to many of them, the Ibans, I mean, I believe the only way we can restore their pride and dignity is by providing opportunities for regular employment. We are dealing with an ancient people with a distinctive culture. Even those among them whose lives have taken on an urban aspect continue to cling strenuously to their traditional practices. We who are strong have a duty to help the weak by not foisting on the Ibans and others our culture of corruption and other despicable practices.

Corruption in Sarawak is higher then that of Indonesia during election
Some years ago, an Indonesian anti-corruption activist friend of mine visited our country during the 11th general elections, as part of a privately funded election observer mission. His group spent a great deal of time in Sarawak and Sabah and told me that he was shocked by the scale of vote buying.

Election corruption is beyond expectation
I was greatly embarrassed by his revelation because at an anti-corruption conference in The Hague at which I was invited to speak and he was a participant some two months earlier, I had said that while vote buying was rampant in party elections, the practice was unknown in general and state elections.

I was unbelievably naïve to believe the Barisan Nasional government propaganda. The scale of vote-buying must have been so massive as to shock my Indonesian anti-corruption fighter, used as he was to living and working in a corruption-infested nation. It is not that easy to shock an Indonesian over a corruption issue. But unlike Malaysia, Indonesia is on the mend as far as fighting corruption is concerned. In Malaysia, on the contrary, it is in indecently robust health.

Poverty is caused by Government corruption
Malaysia is blessed with rich natural resources and poverty as we have seen in Sabah, Sarawak, Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu can only be explained in terms of governance grounded on corruption and political excesses. When we look at the personal wealth accumulated by Chief Minister Taib of Sarawak at one extremity and the Ibans at the other, one begins to wonder what the future holds for Malaysia. I am not at all sanguine.

The thieving and plundering by the Government must stop
The thieving and plundering by those in power must stop because, as history tells us, it is only a matter of time before the forbearance of the long suffering poor takes on an ugly aspect, with consequences too dreadful to contemplate. The Government of Malaysia and the state governments of Sabah and Sarawak in particular can alleviate poverty by governing in the sole interest of the people. Najib’s people first is under close public scrutiny.

Ultimately, Samling should be severely reprimanded and all their logging concessions rescinded and returned to the people.

Headman Jawa Nyipa (left), Long Ajeng villagers

Malaysian logging giant Samling has threatened the indigenous Penan communities of Sarawak’s Upper Baram region with the suspension of all transport services provided for locals unless they retract sexual abuse and rape allegations against the timber companies active in the region.

The new dispute between Samling and the Penan arose after the release of a report by an international fact-finding mission in July 2010. The report had uncovered seven new cases of sexual exploitation of Penan girls and women in the Upper Baram region by timber workers and had asked the Malaysian government to address the grievances of the Penan communities.

According to Penan sources, Jawa Nyipa, headman of Long Ajeng, was asked by Samling officials to sign a statement that the women in the region had retracted their allegations of sexual abuse by timber company staff.

An Independent Fact-Finding Mission Report by the Penan Support Group, FORUM-ASIA and Asian Indigenous Women's Network (AIWN) . To read report, click imagine to download.

Jawa Nyipa was told that, unless he signed the document, all transport services for the locals would be suspended. The headman refused to sign the statement but the Penan are concerned about the implications of Samling’s threat to suspend transport for the impoverished villagers in the Upper Baram region.

The Penan, who live in remote jungle villages in Borneo, rely on logging companies for transport to rural centres in order to reach the local markets, obtain medical treatment and send their children to secondary school.

Samling’s refusal to provide transport is likely to put them in a very difficult situation as they are unable to afford other means of transport. Last year, logging companies operating in the Middle Baram region ceased to provide transport for a number of communities who had voiced concerns over sexual abuse and rape by timber workers.

Samling (HKEX 3938) is a globally operating Malaysian timber conglomerate with an annual turnover of US$ 480 million.

Last week, the Norwegian Government Pension fund excluded Samling from its portfolio because of the company’s involvement in illegal logging and the fact that it had caused and is still causing severe environmental damage. — BMF

The video recording into Teoh Beng Hock’s inquest on Aug 18 was not uploaded to the Attorney General Chambers website even after more than a week. Since day 1 of TBH’s inquest each and every of the proceedings video are uploaded for public viewing. This particular video was “delayed” (would you believe it) due to technical error, so claimed the AGC.

However, after intense public pressure the video is finally online. This is probably the most ridiculous and hilarious court proceeding in history.

Citizen journalist, Lim Boo Seng, compiled selected “funny” scenes from the more than 3hrs full video recording.

Just watch how Razak “take on” renowned Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand. Court comedy at its best !!

He should be voted out as soon as possible. We have not seen how much he has done for the good of his own community especially in recent times. But in the past three months, we have read in the main stream media, how he intimidate and blackmail the Dayak Community to continue supporting his UMNO-Barisan Nasional who have done little, except to enrich those who walk in the corridors of power.

Bidayuhs are no loss to Barisan Nasional if they decide to go for the opposition. This was the warning issued by a Sarawak Cabinet minister to the state’s second largest indigenous population.

Than what are Bidayuh’s waiting for? Just walk out. Resign from PBB, SUPP and SPDP and join the Pakatan fold. To the voters, get ready to show Manyin the broom if he ever step foot to campaign.

According to Infrastructure Development and Communications Minister Micheal Manyin, the loss of the six state and three parliamentary seats held by Bidayuhs would not affect BN in any way.

“Even if the BN loses all the six (Bidayuh) seats in the coming state elections, it will not affect the party because there are 71 state constituencies. These seats are not vital for BN to retain its power,” he said.

There are some 160,000 Sarawakian Bidayuhs living predominantly in the Lundu, Bau, Penrissenin Padawan, Siburan and Serian.

Manying’s stinging warning to the community was capped with the threat of ‘no development’ in these constituencies if BN loses.

“If Bidayuhs don’t support BN and the coalition loses the seats, then the whole community will lose out on the development. BN will not continue its work here,” he told villagers at Kampung Taee near here over the weekend.

The money do not belong to UMNO-PBB-Barisan Nasional or Michael Manyin. If that is the case, than all Bidayuh’s should stop paying taxes to the government or even bother to contribute to KWSP. Join my “Non Tax Paying Citizens Club”. Why should you pay taxes that support leaders and ministers like Michael Manyin?

He also urged the villagers not to be conned into believing tales spun by the opposition, especially the PKR.

He said PKR had been against the government’s move to carry out perimeter survey on Native Customary Rights (NCR) lands.

It is PBB-PRS-Sarawak Barisan Nasional who are against. For umpteen years, SNAP and Dayak NGOs have made calls to the authorities to have all NCR Land Surveyed. It is only after the recent visit to Long Lama by PM Najib that RM20 million was allocated to PBB-PRS-Sarawak Barisan Nasional to survey the NCR Land. With that, every-one starts talking and Alfred Jabu quickly added that only “Matured NCR Land” will be surveyed!

All voters from the Dayak Community should be aware that, it is because of the imminent threat of losing power, that PM Najib and UMNO-PBB-Barisan Nasional extended the grant of RM20 million to acede to the request of leaders in SNAP, PBDS (among them Datuk Daniel Tajem, Lawyer Anthony Sujang) to survey NCR Land boundaries. It was never done on the initiative of our Ministers in PBB or Michael Manyin and his gang!

Manyin, who is also Tebedu assemblyman, alleged that PKR had insinuated that the perimeter survey on NCR land was being carried out for his personal benefit.

“We are carrying out perimeter survey on NCR land for the benefit of the people. How do I benefit from this exercise?

“If the people have land titles, they can then mortgage it and venture into businesses,” he said adding that he was aware that PKR was actively instigating the local Bidayuh communities into believing that BN was not serving them.

Free Malaysia Today

Before the project even got of the ground, Sarawak Barisan Nasional is beginning to treat the funds as their own.

While this is Political Blackmail, it is high time, Sarawakians of whatever races rise and start telling this morons to go take a hike. We are not beggars. We are not here to serve this morons interest. Instead, we should tell this morons, if you can not serve, we will vote you out. And this is a must do thing to Save Sarawakians from further oppression.

NCR land surveys: S’wak minister gets ticking off
PKR Sarawak chief Baru Bian today slammed the state’s Assistant Minister of Planning and Resource Management, Mohd Naroden Majais, for saying that natives can get their land surveyed only if they go through BN elected representatives.

“This is politicking. It is nonsense and very irresponsible of him to say that. If (the government) is really sincere about helping the natives, this will not be an issue,” Baru said when contacted.

Naroden had said on Tuesday that the government could not act if requests for land surveys, for the purpose of native customary rights (NCR) claims, were made via opposition elected representatives

Baru (left), who has spent many years defending native customary rights land as a lawyer, said the minister’s statement showed how little he knew about the mechanics of NCR land.

“It is the government’s duty to conduct land surveys under section 18 of the Sarawak Land Code,” he said.

“If there is sufficient evidence of ownership, the government should issue the land titles, but it has been trotting out excuse after excuse.”

The Sarawak government had previously claimed that the Land and Survey Department cannot undertake the survey work involved in the issue of land titles because of the lack of funds.

To address this, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak announced that RM20 million of the federal budget will be allocated for this purpose.

Shortchanging the natives
However, this announcement failed to impress Baru, whose experience in dealing with NCR issues led him to suggest that the move “is just rhetoric”.

“I have the feeling that they don’t want to conduct the surveys because they are afraid that the whole of Sarawak belongs to the natives,” he said.

Even if surveys were conducted, said the Orang Ulu lawyer, the natives would likely be shortchanged.

Surveys could only take into account the land which the longhouses sit, he said, and several cases in Sibu were testimony to this.

There was also the case of the natives forced to move out to make way for the Bakun hydroelectric dam.

“That land is not disputed. What is disputed is the land five to 10km from the longhouses, the farmland on which the natives survive on, but is likely to have been given away to someone else,” he said.

At present, Sarawak natives are embroiled in multiple legal disputes over what they claim to be their NCR land.

This has, however, been challenged by private companies with provisional leases issued by the state government.

In some cases, the natives have been assaulted or charged with trespass when they tried to defend their land.

Malaysiakini

Abdul Taib’s mansion at Seattle, US for a paltry sum of $1?
This is corruption and a kickback from the Samling Group! Money from logging and exploitation of the Dayak NCR Land. Samling group have been embroiled in controverys in their activities not only in Sarawak, but in nearby Papua New Guinea. Their controversy not only attracted attention in Sarawak, Malaysia, but internationally, resulting in the Norwegian government selling down their investments. Some of their logging activities are facing resistance in the local Courts if not facing blockades by the Dayaks.

PM Najib should order a complete suspension of all logging and oil palm development activities in Sarawak till the completion of “Survey of NCL Boundary”. Failing which it is as good as the Malaysian government endorsing the theft of NCR Land and oppression of the Dayak Community.

Read on and enjoy yet another exposure of how Abdul Taib Mahmud went on to be one of the richest man in Malaysia if not South East Asia or the whole World.

How can Sarawakians rank among one of the poorest in Malaysia? Rural Dayak amongst the poorest with many living in poverty and from hand to mouth with dwindling forest to cultivate corps and hunt for food!

Wonder whether Abdul Taib Mahmud is richer than Quek Leng Chan, Vincent Tan, Ananda Khrisnan, Robert Kuok, Wee Chow Yaw, Yeoh Tiong Lay of the Maluri Group controlled by Tun Daim’s Family!

Zulhaidah.com

In yet another exhaustive investigation, Sarawak Report have expose yet another of Abdul Taib Mahmud’s Abuse of Power and collusion with his cronys to steal the wealth of Sarawakians. ….

Sarawak Report would like to enquire of Abdul Taib Mahmud how much he paid for the mansion that Samling passed on to his family in Seattle, USA ?

The residence forms an enormous property, standing in its own grounds in one of the most prestigious area of Seattle on Boylston Avenue. It was passed from a Samling-owned company to a company now owned by Abdul Taib Mahmud and his family, for just one US dollar in 1991

UMNO has spoken.

No one is indispensible! Taib Mahmud can be replaced and we have also advise him to go!

Umno is confident that BN would be able to retain Sarawak in the upcoming state elections even if Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud decides to step down.

Commenting on Abdul Taib’s shock announcement yesterday that he was mulling calling it a day after 29 years at the helm, Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said regardless of his decision, it would not affact BN’s chances.

“Maybe he realises that people in Sarawak need change. For us, we’ll still be able to hang on to Sarawak whether he leads or other people lead,” said Tengku Adnan, who is also BN secretary-general.

He was commenting on Taib’s response on whether or not he will contest the upcoming Sarawak election, and if he will remain chief minister if he wins.

The veteran politician, who rose to leadership in 1981, said yesterday: “I don’t know, it is up to the prime minister, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) and the people to decide on my position.

“Well, a lot of people say I am not needed (any more). So if I am not needed, then I go out.”

Malaysiakini

continue reading…

The scripts have already been written.

In Sibu, SUPP was rumoured to have privately told you to refrain from campaigning in the predominant chinese areas. In Iban majority areas, you extended a miserly RM600.00 grant to each household to ease their miserly. This was not well taken by even your colleague in Sarawak Barisan Nasional and Sarawak State Cabinet, James Jemut Masing who went on to fork out another RM1,000.00.

Never in your reign have we seen anyone dare to stand up to you, except in P212 Sibu Parliamentary By-Election. That is because your bosses, PM Najib and DPM Muhyiddin were both there and the whole world knows, the challenge of Pakatan Rakyat to topple UMNO-Barisan Nasional is for real. Despite their presence, Sibu fell to Pakatan Rakyat. That shows the majority in Sarawak no longer believe you and know you have a evil heart without any sincerity!

Consider this, you came from the same background as those Ibans whom you have insulted by extending a grant of RM600.00. These Ibans have faithfully supported you in your 29 years rule of Sarawak. In this 29 years rule, you and your family have gone on to lead a live of much flamboyance, excesses and luxury, besides the billions you have stashed away in farway Europe, Middle Eastern Europe, Middle East and Australia.

Think for yourself! What have your Politics of Development done to one of your kind. You are a Melanau. That makes you one from the Dayak Community, even though you are a Muslim!

Your Politics of Development went on to develop you, your family and cronys as one of the richest in Malaysia, if not South East Asia, while those who faithfully support you continue to live in poverty. And continue to be labelled as “Hardcore Poor in Malaysia”, the status they were in before even the formation of Malaysia or Independence of Malaya.

You better go and not wait to be told, before you end up as the most hated man in Sarawak if not in Malaysia, where the imminent fall of UMNO-Barisan Nasional will be squarely blamed on you by Perkasa and UMNO!

Read Taib: If I’m not needed, I’ll go
continue reading…

Dayak Community in Sarawak, Malaysia

The American Indians are considered a nation within a nation. Ask and they will refer to themselves as being part of the American Indian Nation. They have customary rights over tracts of land and can govern and set up businesses to finance their own reservations. Interestingly, the American Indian Nation is composed of a collection of distinct tribes, states and ethnic groups, many of whom are intact political communities. Various bills and laws are in effect to protect the indigenous peoples of North America living within the confines of the 50 states that make up the United States of America. Though they are proud of their ethnic heritage, collectively they are known as American Indians.

This is America.

Often times demonised by Malaysia, yet it is still civilised enough to safeguard the rights of the people living within its boundaries.

This is Sarawak, where Ibans and Bidayuhs are not recognised as citizens, let alone as natives of Sarawak.

Don’t believe me? The following is taken from the Federal Constitution:

Article 161a of the Federal Constitution

There is no mention of Ibans or Bidayuh(s). In fact, Iban(s) are classified as Sea Dayaks and the Bidayuh(s) are classified as Land Dayaks. Keep this distinction in mind.

The Ibans have all along been referred to as “Sea Dayaks” and Bidayuhs, “Land Dayaks”, In fact, not too long ago, one of the Ministers wanted to even delete the term “Dayak”. Ironically, this particular Minister is aldo a Dayak himself! Hence whether we are Bumiputras if we were to call ourselves Ibans and Bidayuhs is unclear as far as the Federal Constitution is concerned.

Fast forward to the present day.
An amendment was made to the Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance 2004, which in effect declassified the word “Dayak”. Thus, the terms Sea Dayaks and Land Dayaks do not have nor hold any meaning whatsoever. And in a stroke of pure idiocy by the august house (the State Legislative Assembly) of Sarawak, two native groups were wiped off the face of the earth — at least in the reading of the Federal Constitution. Two ethnic groups are now rendered non-existent.

With that, the Sea Dayaks and Land Dayaks lose all rights within Sarawak. In one stroke, the Sea Dayaks and Land Dayaks are a nameless entity; we are worse off than the American Indians. It would have been better for the Sea Dayaks and the Land Dayaks to go the way of the Dodo — extinction merits a mention in the history books. But the Sea Dayaks and Land Dayaks are very much alive and form the majority ethnic groups in Sarawak.

How then can a majority group like the Ibans and Bidayuhs be rendered helplessly non-existent in their native land?

Entity without a nation
I am an Iban, my parents are both Ibans and I can trace my ancestry to the early Iban migration up the Kepuas river into Sarawak; and this reading of the rules of the land of Malaysia has rendered me an entity without a nation. And this disaster does not just befell me but the generations after me.

Where then do I stand as a legal citizen of Malaysia? What claims to citizenship can I make since I am effectively unknown in the eyes of the Federal Consitution? It is impossible to imagine a citizen who is not recognised as a citizen of the land upon which he/she was born. So what am I? What manner of logic did the Dayak leaders, voted into office by the Dayak people, use to rationalise and support the declassification of the term Dayak?

If we were to go along with the logic of allowing the right for one to claim his own ethnic identity, thus in declassifying the Dayak term, the Federal Constitution should have also been amended in order to reflect the use of the more specific Iban and Bidayuh term. But no amendment was made to the Federal Constitution to insert the specific term Iban and Bidayuh to replace the now defunct Sea Dayak and Land Dayak terms.

The implications of the amendment to the Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance 2004 are clearly visible and telling if it is read along with the interpretation used by the Student Intake Management Division, Higher Learning Department and Higher Education Ministry to classify what constitute a Bumiputera. This definition is used to vet the suitability of Sarawakian students for entry into institutions of higher learning. It was promptly used in the incident where 17-year-old Marina Undau was deemed not eligible for entry into a matriculation programme because she was not a Bumiputera.

Their definition is as follows:

Take this definition and read it against the Federal Constitution and the amended Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance 2004 and Ibans and Bidayuhs are classified non-Bumiputera.

Why?

In order to be a Bumiputera, you must first be a native of Sarawak. But according to the amended Sarawak Interpretation Ordinance 2004, Ibans and Bidayuhs are not natives of Sarawak.

This is a clear case of a government that has failed to look into the welfare of the people living within its borders. Instead, it is a government that has robbed a living group of peoples their identity, their rights, and ultimately their dignity. I hope the elected leaders of Sarawak are proud of what they have done; because I am sure not.

Maclean Patrick, a webmaster in Kuching, is a contributor to FreeMalaysiaToday.