Magnificent portrayal of wild Sabah

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 06:12

By Joe Fernandez

(BOOK REVIEW Wild Sabah) Wild Sabah, according to the publisher Beaufoy Books, is about the natural splendours of the state in North Borneo. Briton Junaidi Payne, 56, a permanent resident in Sabah where he has lived since 1979, has done a magnificent job on this coffee table book along with Lahad Datu-born photographer Cede Prudente.

Payne is considered one of the foremost authorities on the natural history and ecology of Sabah. His current conservation interests include saving the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, and methods to restore damaged tropical rainforests.

Sandakan-based Prudente is one of Southeast Asia's leading natural history photographers. He has included photographs of rarely seen wildlife like the tarsier, sun bear, flying lemur, grey leaf monkey and the red-naped trogon. Prudente also worked with Nick Garbutt in 2006 on Wild Borneo: The Wildlife and Scenery of Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan. http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?tefno=143903.

Wild Sabah is a fitting tribute to the natural history of the region and takes in the landscapes, scenery and natural species. There are two maps showing the physical terrain, the mineral-rich mud volcanoes, climate, vegetation, and the principal wildlife watching sites. Mount Kinabalu, the Crocker Range, the Kinabatangan floodplains and the Klias Peninsula make compelling reading.

North Borneo is the largest tract of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia. It covers some of the world’s largest trees, swamps, mangroves and Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia.

Sabah, undoubtedly, is where some of the world’s most spectacular and rarest wildlife can be found. This is a diverse wildlife hotspot embracing some 1,000 vertebrate species (mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians), more than 10,000 different plant species and probably more than 100,000 invertebrate species. This is home to the endangered Bornean rhinos, elephants, Orang Utan, sun bear, the clouded leopard, giant flying squirrels, huge pythons and hundreds of species of birds.

Climate change

The book begins with how Sabah got its name, the land, climate and landscape which ranges from the marches and beaches to rainforests and mountain tops. There’s some information on the geology of the region including rock types and formations.

Besides the wildlife, we learn about the trees and forests of Sabah, the logging industry, the people, their culture, customs, traditions, the places they live and how their lifestyles have changed over time.

Payne observes that a surprising two-thirds of Sabah’s land area is unsuitable for permanent cultivation. Much of the state consists of steep slopes while the soil suffers from low fertility forcing “a contest, which is still being run in the region, between natural and human forces”.

Payne covers trees and forests in some depth. His initial years in Sabah, from 1979 to 1987, were with the Sabah Forestry Department. He tells the story of the Tabin and Kulamba wildlife reserves which he helped establish. He also participated in the first state-wide survey of Orang Utans. He spent another 10 years with the state ministry of tourism, culture and environment to work out a number of conservation areas, notably the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

Much of the state’s original wild forests, writes Payne, has been damaged or lost over the past several decades. “Clearly, the trends of the past few decades are not sustainable, at least in terms of exploitation,” he writes. “Much of the former forest lands that produced the large timber volumes of the 1970s and 1990s are now privately owned and under plantations, mainly oil palm.”

Logging in some areas compounded by fire and the conversion of forests to plantations has led to massive loss of biodiversity. Payne thinks that lost forests can be restored or regenerated to natural forests in various ways “since the vast degraded forest areas seem to be desolate and unproductive”. While deforestation has taken a terrible toll on the biodiversity of Sabah, climate change is considered an even greater threat.

Payne finds that there is no evidence of the extinction of wildlife species in historical times. The rare orchids and the Bornean Orang Utans still exist as breeding populations and the Borneo elephants continue to thrive in herds of 10 or more in grassy areas, forest edges and secondary growth, especially in logged areas of the Danum Valley and Tabin. Herds of 100 or more elephants can be seen in the open catchment areas of Kinabatangan and Segama.

Most endangered species

Still, the Bornean rhinoceros has become the most endangered species. “If any wildlife species needs sustained help to prevent extinction, it’s this one,” said Payne.

The book is replete with Payne’s personal experiences, discoveries and adventures on the wild side of Sabah. He joined the 1988 Maliau Basin arranged by the Sabah Foundation and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia. One surprising discovery during the expedition was a shard of celadon ceramic by veteran Sabah biologist Joseph Gasis. This is one of the most remote parts of Sabah and yet someone passed through more than a century ago and left behind a piece of broken pottery.

Payne declares the Tawau Hills, an hour’s drive from Tawau town, as the best kept bird-watching paradise in all Borneo for enthusiasts and biologists. The Tawau Hills Park is primarily a water catchment area for rivers flowing to Tawau and other settlements in the area. This is the home of the rare cream-coloured Red Leaf Monkey.

In Final Thoughts, an epilogue, Payne finds that Sabah is facing the same threats as the rest of the world. Global climate change may have great consequences for marine ecosystems in the Sulu Sea that forms the Coral Triangle off the eastern seaboard of Sabah. However, for now a combination of marine no-exploitation zones and programmes aimed at improved product management provide the chances for species and ecosystems to become better stabilised.

The royalty from the sale of this book will be donated to WWF-Malaysia.

Party over in Sabah, Sarawak if Azmin wins

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:10

By Joe Fernandez

COMMENT PKR leaders like vice-president Azmin Ali – Umno unreformed, unrepentant, his critics swear – have always been uncomfortable with the change and reform agenda ostensibly flogged by de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. It appears that one can take people like the duo out of Umno but they can’t take the Umno out of them. PKR has duplicated Umno’s Department of Dirty Tricks (DDT). It’s becoming more and more apparent everyday as the nomination process for party elections completes itself. Names have been copied from the electoral rolls and entered in the party register as members without their knowledge.

In other cases, personal details have been obtained from pay slips as in the case of the Sabah Medical Centre in Kota Kinabalu. Phantom members are those who live in one division and are registered as members in another division several hundred kilometres away.

Sabah Umno moneybags have entered the fray and are financing candidates in the PKR polls in the state. Money is being thrown around like confetti.

How a party like PKR can conduct direct elections along the lines of the Election Commission is beyond anyone. Even with the EC, there are so many complaints. How will the PKR election machinery prove itself?

Moving along, it’s not surprising that Azmin should stage-manage a press conference yesterday afternoon in Petaling Jaya after luring people there under false pretences. He wanted to conjure up the impression in public that the party leadership is solidly behind him in the quest for the deputy presidency. It wouldn’t even be surprising if Azmin had briefed Anwar and used his name before pulling this stunt in public.

The press conference comes in the wake of talk in the political grapevine in Sabah and Sarawak that Zaid Ibrahim, also in the running for the deputy presidency, will be suspended from PKR – “by hook or by crook”– if he wins or is set to win. Interestingly, Anwar’s wife and daughter, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and Nurul Izzah, are both reportedly behind Zaid. The reason is simple. These two women cannot understand Anwar’s “silence”, if that’s the correct word, when it comes to matters that involve Azmin’s errant behaviour. So, there’s no love lost between mother and daughter, on the one hand, and Azmin, on the other.

Endless problems

Suspension is also the fate that befell 12 Sabah PKR leaders – the 12 Disciples – on Aug 25 a la Azmin despite the existence of a peace plan dated Dec 13 which promised no witch-hunt. Their eventual fate is still being decided after Anwar disputed his deal with Sabah strongman Jeffrey Gapari Kitingan.

It’s in the nature of the man (Azmin) to do such things – suspensions and bogus press conferences – as apparent from his brief two-month stint as Sabah PKR head. Although he began with much goodwill in the state and a good press, he soon ran into endless problems with the Natives when he shut out the local leadership. He dealt with them, imperial Malay style, through one unpopular division leader who has had Anwar’s ear from their Umno days and believes that he has been divinely ordained to be the Sabah chief minister.

There was widespread dismay when Azmin bulldozed through decisions without debate in Sabah PKR and had them entered in the minutes as the Gospel truth. This is something that no Sabahan worth his salt, even in the ruling Barisan Nasional, would stomach for even a moment. There are no secrets in Sabah.

Dismay soon turned into outrage when he stressed his version of PKR’s ketuanan rakyat (supremacy of the people) which sounded something suspiciously like Umno’s ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy).

In Sabah, there were no Malays listed in the official figures available for 1960. Several years later there is a Malay category composed of illegal immigrants mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia who have entered the electoral rolls. Even illegal immigrants from the Indian subcontinent are listed as Malays in Sabah. It’s all there in Dr Chong Eng Leong’s book, “Lest We Forget”, the local Bible on illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Local Muslims are listed in their MyKad as Dusun, Bajau, Suluk, Barunai (Brunei Malay), Bisaya, Orang Sungei, Irranun, Cocos-Keeling etc etc. The Bisaya and Orang Sungei along with the Dusun are under the KadazanDusunMurut umbrella term.

It became an all-out media war in Sabah when PKR leaders in the local chapter, led by Jeffrey, decided to run Azmin out of the state. In addition, they wanted his comrade in arms, Mustapha Kamil of Perak, out of Sarawak as the state chief.

Local warlords

Azmin will not be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the public and the party members, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, after pulling the stunt yesterday afternoon. He wants to make it appear that he’s only going for the deputy presidency after receiving overwhelming support from the party’s MPs and Senators.

Instead, he has brought disrepute to the party and damaged its image in the public eye, the same charges levelled against the Sabah 12 whom he has dubbed the “Dirty Dozen”. Both Sabah and Sarawak PKR chapters met in Miri last night in an emergency session, in the wake of the Azmin press conference, to work out a common platform for the party elections. The Sabah side was led by Jeffrey, Daniel John Jambun and Awang Ahmad Sah. The Sarawakians were led by Baru Bian and Nicholas Bawin.

If he’s really interested in the deputy presidency, Azmin should be man enough to announce it. He should take on Zaid one-to-one and let the members decide once and for all. It’s pointless encouraging others to enter the fray as well just to split Zaid’s votes.

In the event that Azmin wins the deputy presidency, it’s highly unlikely that Sabah and Sarawak will accept him. More than one half of the country will turn their back on him. The die will have been cast in that case. Anwar and Azmin can have PKR to themselves and party on. Azmin cannot win the deputy presidency in a clean fight with Zaid. Things will get even dirtier than they are now.

The local warlords in Sabah and Sarawak will then have to decide, after having backed Zaid, how they are going to re-position their politics in the face of the emerging new scenario in PKR. The majority of them will no doubt set up another vehicle, directly or indirectly, to cover Sabah and Sarawak. They will make common cause with those in Peninsular Malaysia who favour a third force in Parliament to steer between the two Malay-led warring political blocks, that is, Pakatan Rakyat and BN.

In any case, the politics of PKR and Pakatan are not for Sabah and Sarawak. That would be like going from the frying pan (BN) into the fire. If this is not immediately clear today, it will become clear tomorrow. There’s no difference between PKR and Umno as far as people in Sabah and Sarawak are concerned. The saving grace in Pakatan is the DAP and PAS.

Sabah, Sarawak to change history soon, Anwar predicts

By Clara Chooi

September 05, 2010

Anwar is increasingly confident of how the Borneo electorate feel about government change.

KELANA JAYA, Sept 5 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed tonight that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had successfully worked its magic in the Barisan Nasional (BN) fortresses of Sabah and Sarawak, and predicts that the two East Malaysian states would lead the charge in changing the country's history.

Speaking to a small but highly-charged crowd at the Pesta Borneo programme in the PKNS Sports Complex, the PR de facto leader explained that he was reassured of this when he visited Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak last week.

“Now, I am absolutely confident that the history of Malaysia will change because of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

“We have had our independence for more than 50 years and now, we will change... change for justice, for human rights, for respect. You will determine the history of Malaysia,” he said.

His words were met with thunderous applause from the crowd of East Malaysian youths, one of whom even stood up on his chair to lead the crowd to louder cheers.

“Malaysia is a land of justice. Men and women here were born free. So we must be able to accept and respect each of our differences and honour the constitutional guarantee of freedom and justice for all Malaysians,” he said.

Anwar noted that during his trip last week, his observation of the people in Sarawak showed him that East Malaysians badly yearned for change.

“There is a very encouraging trend now in Sabah and Sarawak. There is a greater awareness there... contrary to the media interpretation.

“There are people there who actually want change and justice and they want to defend their rights to their land. If this is the trend, then Sabah and Sarawak will determine the future of the nation,” he said.

Anwar urged the youths to ensure that they counted themselves in the equation, pointing out that they would be the ones responsible for the nation's future.

“So please... be counted. We have a responsibility. We fight not because we harbour grudges, not because we want to steal the land of others but because we want the rights to our own.

“We do not steal the rights of others but we fight for our own. This is a very important beginning and we will persevere until we see a united, just Malaysia,” he said.

Anwar's romantic words worked wonders in the crowd and although small in numbers, their cheers filled the hall like they were thousands.

Outside the function later, Anwar said he was confident the PR had done its job well and right in Sabah and Sarawak.

“I am very confident that we will do very well (in the Sarawak elections). We are working the ground and I see all.. the Dayaks, the Malays, Chinese, everyone working hard together,” he said.

He noted that PR's preparations for the impending Sarawak polls were on track and announced that a major function would be held this September 15 in Sabah.

Sabah belongs to Sabahans

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:21

NEW It will be a fatal mistake if opposition politicians from the peninsula ride roughshod over the sensitivities of the people of Sabah. It is well known that the land below the wind (now the land of illegals) has long been seething with anger at the federal masters. Rich in natural resources, bigger than the peninsula, they should be enjoying the fruits of their natural wealth and holding the future in their hands. Instead, fate was unkind to them and today they live under the yoke of “alien” rule. For a brief spell, they had power but because of the machination of a devious dominant peninsular party, they lost their high seat. Though their politically emasculated Huguan Siou (paramount leader) now sits at the same table with the hated “conquerors”, life there does not seem to change for the better.

In PKR the people have found another promising platform to advance their cause. The party is open to all races and in Sabah it has made quite an impact. Its standard-bearer is a fighter for justice and fair play though his future is nebulous. By forging a link with one of the favourite sons of Sabah, the way ahead looks clear and bright. The partnership seems solid and PKR appears to have hit off well with the crowd. But to their dismay, PKR is behaving more like its peninsular foe. It wanted to impose its own brand of leadership on its partners. In short, it wanted peninsular politicians to run the show in Sabah. It met with stiff opposition.

Though the error was rectified with Sabah's favourite son in control of his state, the ceasefire did not last long. It was bound to happen: some disgruntled members got together to form a breakway party and fight their own battle. They nearly got away with it if not for the peace deal reached with PKR. But dirty politics intervened. Imperiously, PKR came down hard on the rebels with the recommendation that they be suspended. It acted tough and rough. The damage was done and another blunder committed. PKR had acted in a manner that reminds its Sabah brothers of the treacherous peninsular politics.

Even if the recommended suspension is not acted upon, the undercurrent of distrust will persist. The dissidents have made their point and Sabahans, inside and outside the political arena, have taken note of the haughty yet fragile opposition party from the peninsula. If the rebels are shown the door in a display of extreme petulance, it would not sound the death knell for Sabahans. It would instead strengthen their resolve. If the PKR supremo in a magnanimous gesture brings them back to the fold, it would do nothing to calm the troubled waters. Whichever way the story is played out, the stark reality is that Sabahans, irrespective of their political leanings, simply do not want peninsular leaders talking down to them.

PKR must know that it cannot dictate terms to its Sabah partners. Dissidents, present and future, will rise up to challenge the party of justice. They are not acting alone. Behind them are the people, now living in misery, who are keen to support any “parti that cinta Sabah”. They are raring to toss outsiders, current and impending, into the sea. PKR must not misread the political undercurrents in Sabah, or worse still, underestimate the intelligence of the people. Political awareness there is intense. Hit a Sabahan politician and you take on an army behind him.

Sabah does not need to hold PKR hands to walk down the corridors of power when the current puppets are thrown out of office. The destiny of the state lies in its own hand. Peninsular style of politics is not its cup of tea. Sabah is not a wild cowboy country that must be tamed by the “western” gunslingers. There are sensible, intelligent, upright local-born leaders who can lead the state to fairer climes, calmer seas, clearer future. Let Sabah be Sabah.

BN party backs boss on 'Umno bad for 1M'sia' stand

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:55

By Dominic Legeh

PENAMPANG: Barisan Nasional component party Upko is standing by its president Bernard Dompok, who was labelled as irresponsible by Sabah Umno.

Upko secretary-general Wilfred Madius Tangau said it was unfortunate that Sabah Umno liaison deputy chairman Salleh Said Keruak could not read the “pulse of the people” well.

He was commenting on Dompok's remark that Umno was a hindrance to the promotion of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's 1Malaysia concept, which he said was spot on.

“The fact is, this burning question is not in the mind of Dompok alone, but is a pertinent question in the mind of the grassroots including those of BN component party leaders. We support fully what our president has courageously stated publicly,” he said in a press statement.

Tangau, who called Salleh, a former Sabah chief minister, as his “friend”, presumed that the Sabah Umno liaison deputy chief did not get the true picture of the issue.

“It is unfortunate that my friend Salleh has not correctly understood what my president was trying to say last Sunday, regarding Upko’s fears for the 1Malaysia concept,” he said.

Dompok, who spoke to the media after an Upko convention in Penampang on Sunday, said: "Najib has a good plan for the country, 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.”

“What I am afraid of is this, will he be allowed by his party and those NGOs surrounding his party to do the task that he feels is good for the country? That is the burning question in my head".

On Tuesday, Salleh described the remark as irresponsible and said that Dompok should not question whether Umno understood the true meaning or spirit of the 1Malaysia concept.

'Is that irresponsible, or simply a fact?'

But Tangau said: “As a friend, I now ask Salleh, is that an irresponsible statement? Or is that a statement of fact?”

“Isn't it a fact that a certain NGO vehemently opposed some of the recommendations of the Economic Transformation Plan (ETP) in the form of the New Economic Model (NEM) to the extent that the work of Amirsham Aziz, the chairman of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) has been stalled? And now the programme formulations of the NEM has been given to Pemandu under Idris Jala?” he added.

He said even elder statesman Dr Mahatir Mohamed had said that the 1Malaysia concept needed further explanation.

Tangau said that as a senior leader of his party, Salleh should ponder over these facts, cut out the emotion and begin working harmoniously with the rest of the BN team members.

On Salleh's contention that it is "normal" for Umno leaders to publicly demand to contest the parliamentary seats of Kota Kinabalu, Putatan and Ranau as well as the state constituencies of Tanjung Kapor and Merotai, Tangau said Upko begs to differ.

“Upko thinks that such a demand is "abnormal" and smacks of arrogance. Imagine a Malay-based component party demanding to contest in the Chinese dominated opposition held parliamentary constituency of Kota Kinabalu? Isn't that abnormal?” he asked.

He stressed that Upko was not showing displeasure because Umno made known publicly that it was interested in seats allocated to Upko as alleged by former Sabah Progressive Party member Raymond Tan who has since switched to Gerakan.

Tangau said Upko was more concerned about the dent to the BN image created by such reckless demands by Umno which had damaged the power sharing concept, a core BN principle.

”Mahathir once assured Upko in as speech that Umno will never contest more than half of the state and parliamentary constituencies in Sabah as a mark of commitment to the BN concept of formal power sharing, harmonious politics and loyalty to friends in BN. But today all those assurances are not adhered to.

"Not only (does) Umno contest more than half of (the) seats but they are asking for more,” he added.

Was there a 'Projek IC'?

On the issue of illegal immigrants, Tangau said Upko was glad that Umno also wanted this issue resolved as stated by Salleh.

”That being the case, I humbly ask Salleh to advise the state government to begin the process by determining the future of the estimated 57,000 to 84,000 IMM13 document holders.

"For how long will the documents be renewed? Did the state government ever consent to any of the IMM13 holders to be given Permanent Resident status?" he asked.

Tangau also wanted to know if there was "any move to resolve the future of the so called UNHCR settlsments in Kg.Boronuon, Telipok, Skim Penempatan in Kinarut, Lahad Datu, Sandakan and so on?”

Could "the state government begin to explain to the people the extraordinary increase in the population of Sabah? Was there really a Projek IC as alleged by a former Umno leader from Lahad Datu by the name of M.D Mutalib?”

Upko, he said, welcomed the "millions of ringgit spent on security forces and high-tech equipment along our coastlines for the purpose of surveillance, but obviously the millions spent have not met with the desired results. Why?"

On the RM2 billion gas pipeline from Kimanis to Bintulu, Tangau said that Dompok had requested former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to scrap it, which the latter initially agreed but the Cabinet backtracked later .

Dompok nevertheless insisted that national oil company, Petronas, should use the gas to generate electricity for Sabah as well as to feed the petrochemical plant and only the leftover gas be piped to Bintulu, he said.

“Finally I have this to tell Salleh: As a friend it is unfortunate that we have to reply to each other in this manner in the media because unlike the BN supreme council meeting, the Sabah BN liaison committee has not set the meeting schedule as directed by the BN secretary general,” he said.

Also read:

Sabah Umno slams Upko leaders

Mazu project: Chong states his case
Shane Fuentes Thursday, 29 July 2010 23:24
KOTA KINABALU - Former Sabah Chief Minister Chong Kah Kiat, the initiator of the stalled Mazu project in Kudat, has a simple formula for moving ahead on the politically hot issue: the Sabah Chief Minister (Musa Aman) “should be a man and face the Judge” to seek a legal resolution. “He should convince the court that his two main reasons for masterminding the stoppage, cancellation and withdrawal of the approval for the project were based on sound legal principles and within the right of the state authorities,” said Chong, in an exclusive interview with Malaysian Mirror at his house in Likas, Kota Kinabalu. He was responding to remarks attributed to Musa in the local media in the wake of the Federal Court decision on Monday not to decide on the state government’s stoppage of the Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) project. “This has far-reaching implications for similar projects in future and constitutional guarantees on freedom of worship,” said Chong. “We have to look beyond the Mazu statue project in Kudat. . .We cannot accept the state government as having absolute powers on anything in a democracy.” Chong referred to the two reasons as the proposed project site being “too near a mosque” – 700 metres plus - and “objections from the local community over the site of the project”. The reasons were as stated in a letter dated June 6, 2006 from the state authorities. Chong added that if Musa could do what he suggests and win the day in court, “then only can he convince the whole world in his claim that he has been magnanimous and generous by offering an alternative site for the relocation of the Mazu statue project”. Chong was making an open public plea on his Mazu project after Musa renewed his “standing offer” to his predecessor in response to queries from the local media. Musa’s standing offer: the Sabah State Government under his Administration is still prepared to offer an alternative site for the relocation of the aborted Mazu statue project in Kudat. Earlier, Musa was asked by local newsmen about Chong’s failure to apply for leave from the Federal Court to file a notice of appeal against a recent Court of Appeal ruling against him. The Court of Appeal had ruled that Chong had no locus standi in filing a civil suit against four defendants in the state government and an originating motion against the Kudat Town Board over the stalled Mazu project. Musa is the first of the defendants. “It was Chong’s right to go to the Federal Court,” said Musa. “As far as I am concerned, the offer (alternative site) still remains. My best advice to him is to put his house (the Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation) in order first.” “The Court of Appeal has said all what is needed to be said. I don’t have to say (anything further) anymore.” Chong reiterated that “Musa isn’t convincing anybody on anything these days, least of all on the Mazu project”. He would have been more convincing had he defended himself in court, continued Chong. “Instead of doing that (defending himself in court), he has been very busy trying to deny me having my day in court by whatever means he can muster,” said Chong. “As an afterthought, they brought up the issue of my Foundation being unregistered and obtained a declaration from the Court of Appeal that I had no locus standi to proceed with the suit and motion against the authorities.” “The Court of Appeal didn’t allow us even five minutes to have a say. They also advised my counsel that they will issue a written judgment only if there is an appeal.” Chong pointed out that the state government had also previously claimed that he was in breach of Section 15 of the Town and Country Planning Ordinance. “The fact that the Kudat Town Board, obviously exercising their discretion, chose not to refer the application for the project to the Central Planning Board is not my problem,” explained Chong. “I have a letter of approval dated Feb 8, 2006 from the Kudat Town Board for the Mazu statue project.” Chong is convinced that the issue of his locus standi could have been dealt with successfully “if the Federal Court had been with me” despite the uncertain legal status of the Foundation he heads. Similarly, he had looked forward to disposing the two main reasons initially cited by the state authorities for the stoppage, cancellation and withdrawal of approval for the project. “Musa won’t be able to convince the court that the two reasons are based on sound, legal and valid reasoning. They are not even morally justified,” said Chong. “No one in his right mind will say that the 700+ metres away Mazu statue is too near a mosque.” “No one has also objected to the Mazu statue project. The chairman of the mosque board testified in court, under oath, that he and his committee members have never objected to the location of the Mazu statue project and have no intention to do so. If the mosque concerned has no objections, what else is there to say?” Chong, raising a hypothetical situation, was confident that any objections from the mosque or residents would not have stood up in court “since you can’t logically, legally and morally object to something that is far away from you”. The former Sabah Chief Minister charged that the entire sorry Mazu episode in Kudat has been a series of unlawful afterthoughts on the part of the state government authorities “and they went to the Court of Appeal to conceal this fact”. “Another of their afterthoughts was to get a fatwa from the State Mufti on July 7, 2006 against the construction of the Mazu statue,” pointed out Chong. “Since when did a fatwa become binding on non-Muslims? It infringes Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.” “Just for argument’s sake, if the fatwa is against the construction of the Mazu statue project on its proposed site, it would also be against the construction on the new site purportedly being offered by the state government.” Chong ended his open public plea to the state government by confirming, “just for the record”, that he has so far “never been offered an alternative site” for his statue project although he had earlier read similar claims being made in the media. “There’s nothing in black and white,” said Chong. “The offer was never raised by the state government. Similarly, oft-reported claims of compensation in the media including by Federal Minister Nazri were never raised nor offered.”

Federal Court 'No' to construction of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea

Federal Court 'No' to construction of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea

PUTRAJAYA, July 26 (Bernama) -- The Federal Court has turned down a request by former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat to appeal against the state government's decision to reverse the approval for the construction of a 108-feet high Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue in coastal Kudat town.

He was also asked to personally pay RM100,000 to incumbent Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and three others for litigation costs at the Federal Court and lower courts.

Monday's unanimous decision was from a five-man bench led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff. The rest are Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen.

The panel, however, did not give any grounds for the dismissal of the application.

Chong had sued Musa and three others in his capacity as chairman of the Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation after the Kudat Town Board, which approved the statue's construction in February 2006, withdrew its letter of approval on Nov 15, 2007.

The Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal's decision in striking out Chong's suit after ruling that Chong did not have the locus standi because the foundation was not a legally registered body.

On April 21, last year, the Kota Kinabalu High Court dismissed the action brought by Musa, former state secretary Datuk K. Y. Mustafa, former permanent secretary of the state housing and local government ministry Datuk Ujang Sulani and the Kudat Town Board, to strike out Chong's suit on the grounds that issues involved in the case could only be determined through evidence.

But they took their case to the Court of Appeal which allowed their appeal on Aug 5.

In his originating suit on Dec 12, 2008, Chong sought a court order to declare that the letter of approval issued by the Kudat Town Board was valid.

Chong also sought a declaration that the fatwa issued by the state mufti on July 7, 2006, against the construction of the statue was unconstitutional because it had infringed Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse, representing Chong, argued in the proceedings that there were questions of law requiring the determination of the apex court and that the appellate court erred when it focused only on the issue on whether the foundation was an illegal society.

However, rival counsel Datuk Seri Muhammad Shaffee Abdullah said the case could not succeed because Chong had initiated the action although the foundation was not a registered body.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia dismisses Sabah attack warning

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — Malaysian authorities have full control over security in the Borneo island state of Sabah, a government official was quoted today as saying after the United States embassy warned of attacks against foreigners.

“Since the last travel warning was issued in the area, security and intelligence there had been tightened tremendously and there had been no reported attempts or acts of terror, including against foreigners,” National Security Council secretary Mohamed Tajudeen Abdul Wahab was quoted as saying by New Straits Times.

The National Security Council is an agency within the Prime Minister’s Department.

In a “warden notice” posted on its website (http://malaysia.usembassy.gov/), dated Friday, the US embassy said resorts located in isolated areas of eastern Sabah, a state bordering the southern Philippines, were of “present concern”.

It identified areas such as Semporna and the islands of Mabul and Sipadan, as well as travel to and from the area. Sabah’s island resorts are popular tourist spots.

The warning said there were indications criminal and terrorist groups “are planning or intend acts of violence against foreigners”, notwithstanding the Malaysian government’s ability to detect and prevent such attacks.

The warden notice said the Philippines-based, al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group had kidnapped foreigners in eastern Sabah in the past.

Tajudeen said military and police intelligence had not shown imminent attacks against any part of the country. — Reuters

The United States of America couldn't even take care of its own backyard and want to tell others of possible attacks in their country ! What a joke !

Where the failure of the American intelligence services to buck up from the American Idol mentality includes the following :

a) the recent failure to put on alert the possible bombing of an American plane by an Al Qaeda militant operative even though the father has alerted the American Embassy in Nigeria of the son .

b) the failure to stop the 911 incident even though the hijackers were receiving flight training in the US and the availabilty of all information that points to a possible hijacking of planes by terrorists to crash into the twin towers .

It just boils down to advancement in technology gathering information cannot stop what is to become a reality and history .