CONTEMPORARY MALAYSIA

I am not very good in writing, but I will try my best, to let our voices be heard throughout the world.

Many people assume that we Sabahans are a proud bunch of people, hence the name “Proud Sabahans”; I do admit, Sabahans generally do have a biased perceptions towards West Malaysians, me myself included. Although Sabah is the poorest state amongst all the 13 states in Malaysia, it’s not the fault of the peninsular people. (It’s the fault of the Federal Government), but the lack of understanding of West Malaysians towards us – East Malaysians, makes me feel ashamed of myself.

Because they - West Malaysians, they never really encountered what we as East Malaysians faced, nor do they understand the distresses we are in.

This is the story of one country, two different encounters, as fate would have it.

When I first arrived in West Malaysia, they asked me “Do you Sabahans really live on trees?”, while my sister was mistaken for a bumiputra although she is a Malaysian Chinese.

We are not rude; nor we still hunt; nor we still have tiger meat for food; neither do we sleep together with Orang Utans.

West Malaysians do not really quite know where do I come from, is it Sarawak? Is it Sabah? Hence they always refer us as originating from Sabah Sarawak, explanations after explanations, they still do not get it, and hence still, they assume, we are from Sabah Sarawak. But I do not refer those West Malaysians as coming from states like Kedah Kelantan; neither melakasembilan nor penangperlis.

I tried my best to introduce Sabah to my West Malaysian friends; over in Sabah we do have housing estates, markets, discos, jetties, and even Giant hypermarkets.

But in contradiction, although I live in a house with 4 walls and a roof, but we always have to face frequent blackouts, not to mention frequent water disruptions and rationing also, we do not even have a properly tarred road, compared to West Malaysia.

Once I was staying in West Malaysia, I was ticked off by my housemates for not flushing the toilet after urinating; he mentioned that it was very unhygienic of me.

When I heard of this, I was dumbfounded; do I need to flush every time after I finish using the toilet?

Then I realized, West Malaysia have endless water supply 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds per minute.

Humph!!! Well, it’s my fault, my fault for bringing all the bad habits from Sabah to West Malaysia, in my hometown – Sandakan, Sabah, we have to put up with frequent water disruptions, my mother do not allow me to flush every time after I use the toilet !! We only have water supply twice a week, which is on Monday and Thursday; this is because my house is situated on top of a hill, for other low lying areas, they only got water supply at the most 3-4 times a week, this is the policy that is practiced way back in my hometown.

When I mentioned about my house toilet, you would be better prepared, it smells and stinks like there are no tomorrow, we only flush when the urine stench is really became unbearable, looking yellowish in colour, if we were to flush every time we finish using the toilet, then there will be no more water for us to bath.

Either you want to use the water to flush every time you finish using the toilet, or use the water to bath, you decide yourself. For those who bath and wash their hair twice a day, I really envy you guys, as we are only allowed to wash our hair on Monday and Thursday, the days when there are water supply coming in.

Talking about power supply in my hometown, on average in a month, we will be in total darkness for at least 72 hours; the highest record was no power supply for 8 hours a day for 1 whole week!! If there is no power disruption in Sabah, then it’s not Sabah, even the electricity company of Sabah, SESB confirms to this, where SESB stands for SABAH EVERYDAY SURE BLACKOUT. If there were no power supply for half an hour in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, tomorrow it will be the top news in the media, but for us Sabahans on the other side of Malaysia, being drenched in total darkness for few hours, causing traffics to go haywire, no one even bothered about us.

I still remember the first time I took my friends to visit my hometown, on the first night there was no power supply, so we sat in front of the house, gazing at the stars and the moon on the sky. If I were to say, standing outside my house, lifting up your finger and you may be able to touch the moon, where the moon is so bright that you can see your shadow, and you can even differentiate each and every sign of the zodiac, you have to believe me, because the air in my hometown is still unpolluted, pristine and fresh.

Anyway, with regards to the frequent disruption of water and electricity supply in Sabah, we have become acquainted with it, for more that 20 years that I have been living here, its still the same, things never changed for the better, we have learn not to resist and accept it as fate would have it.

This is us, Sabahans, always the simple, pure and innocent lot; we just grin and bear with it.

Hence the reasons why the Federal Government always likes to bully us Sabahans, they took away all our vast natural resources to develop Kuala Lumpur, sold away all our valuable timber logs, in exchange for high rise buildings in West Malaysia, sucked up Sabah’s petroleum, in order to built north-south expressways in West Malaysia.

Not to mention using Sabah’s orang utan in exchange with China’s panda, and have it keep in Zoo Negara in West Malaysia.

The Federal Government is so generous in donating monies to Sichuan, but aren’t capable of building better roads for Sabahans, it’s still the same after 45 years.

Sabah’s first flyover was recently completed, after being built for 8 years more, this make us Sabahans so happy and jumping with joy. That’s us, easily contented.

Sabah is a poor neglected state; she would weep if she were able to do so, each and every time, the government promised to solve the illegal immigrants issue plaguing the state, but the matter is still unsolved up until today, like the saying, to settle a matter by leaving it unsettled.

The illegal immigrants in Sabah has overwhelmed the local population at 1.7 million versus 1.5 million, and is increasing day by day, most of these illegal immigrants are from The Philippines and Indonesia, when last year it was briefly mentioned that The Philippines is interested in claming back Sabah, if a referendum were to be held, with the help of Filipinos residing in Sabah, we will be dead for sure, Philippines will be able to take Sabah back as theirs.

Needless to say, Sabah is not only without its frequent disruption of water and electricity supply, even job opportunities are hard to come by, causing all the youngsters to seek jobs in West Malaysia and other places.

Do you know that a bottle of yogurt that costs RM3.70 in West Malaysia cost Rm5.70 in Sabah, and all the magazines and newspapers in Sabah are more expensive if compared with West Malaysia? This is because all the goods have to be flown over from West Malaysia, where the courier charges will be included in the goods prices, therefore marking it up higher, the money that we earn are taxed by the Federal Government, these taxes that we pay are taken to develop Kuala Lumpur,

In Sabah there are still people that earn a meager RM200 per month, even worse off than those toilet cleaners in West Malaysia.

Everytime I am back in Sabah, wherever I looked went and looked around; I can only manage to find mostly schooling youngsters. There is nothing much these youngsters can do for those that prefer not to leave Sabah. Last year, a few of my friends decided that after graduation, they will stay in Sabah, no matter what happens, at that time I thought that they are very naïve, West Malaysia especially Kuala Lumpur is such a nice place, what’s the reason to stay back in Sabah? They replied in jest, “If nobody is willing to stay in Sabah, how do we expect Sabah to stand up”, what they said make me realized my mistakes, but what to do, none of the jobs in Sabah are suitable for me; I have no choice but to continue working in West Malaysia.

Last month, my cousin quit his job and went back to Sabah, out of curiosity, I asked him the reason for doing so, since the wages in Sabah is so low, it’s not worth it, I told him. He retorted back, saying “West Malaysia is not my home, sooner or later I will be going back to Sabah, the place where I belong, and I surely believe there are companies willing to employ me.” I felt ashamed, as previously I planned to reside and have a family in West Malaysia, but what my cousin say woke me up, although I am now residing in West Malaysia, I should have given words of encouragement for my beloved state – Sabah.

If the land of Sabah was and is properly developed, surely it will be amongst the top states in Malaysia, but everything was trampled on, ruined and went the other way!!

Hence the reasons why those who stepped on the soil of Sabah will be given an immigration slip by the Customs department, only allowing non Sabahans to stay in Sabah for not more than 90 days.

If Sabah were not to protect herself, I dare not dread to think of the consequences that may befall us, it will be too ghastly to look at.

Up till today, for West Malaysians, Sabah is shrouded in secrecy and far away from their sight. No one is willing to come to Sabah, as if it’s a different world comprising of humans of uncivilized nature, for those youngsters who are going to be send to Sabah to undergo their National Service, they wept like there are no tomorrow, its like they are about to enter hell.

Is Sabah heaven or hell? Come and have a look for yourself, until today, only tourists from Western and other countries are willing to come to Sabah, a state once deemed to be more prosperous than Kuala Lumpur, in search of its glorious pasts.

In West Malaysians, there are only 3 major races; in Sabah, there are 32 ethnic tribes, most West Malaysians do not know of these facts.

East Malaysia is the place where all the different races and tribes, of different faiths and religions, live harmoniously; this, probably West Malaysians do not know either.

In Sabah, it’s a norm for Muslims to eat in non-Muslims eateries, to dine in Chinese seafood restaurants, without fear and prejudice of being served with non halal foods; this is the kind of respect and trusts we have for each other. I don’t think this can be seen in West Malaysia, besides Kelantan, I would say.

Recently Giant hypermarkets make their presence known in Sabah; they are trying to control the Sabah supermarket segment, indirectly trying to control Sabah’s economy, but were rejected by Sabahans.

We in Sabah have our own newspapers; our own supermarkets, we do not need others to come in and reap our fruits of labour, all to be channeled back to West Malaysia!!

The country neglected East Malaysia - Sabah and Sarawak so much so that even 16th September 1963 was not recognized as the day Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak merged to form Malaysia. And out of nothing Malaysia boasted that Mount Kinabalu is the pride of all Malaysians.

Mount Kinabalu is the pride of Sabahans; the biggest flower in the world – Rafflesia is the pride of Sabahans, orang utans are also the pride of Sabahans; but we are not proud to be Malaysians.

Last but no least, as a Sabahan, I sincerely hope and pray that after 916, Sabah can gain back what she has lost all this while, for a better tomorrow for all Sabahans.

Hopefully the coming 16th September can be declared as the day, we East Malaysia – Sabah, Sarawak tohether with Malaya formed Malaysia! Dear Federal Government, please be fair to us!!

All the best Sabah!! I wish to see you grow; in the future, in the time to come!!

A TRUE SABAHAN

Penampang: Efforts to preserve and popularise the Kadazandusun language have paid off as evidenced by its introduction as an alternative paper in the PMR examination starting next year.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said global migration and rapid advancement of information and communication technology has been identified as among factors that eroded the language and culture of the indigenous people in Sabah.

The trend nowadays, which is to master other languages such as English and Mandarin has also contributed to the decline, he said.

"So, it is indeed a good development to see our people can go global, but what worries us is the possibility of our mother tongue being forgotten in the future.

"So, it is high time that we preserve the language for future generations," he said at the launching of 11 children storybooks in Kadazandusun produced through the "Moyog Family Literacy Project" at Monsopiad Cultural Village, Friday.

Commending the Kadazandusun Language Foundation (KLF) for its effort in the preservation of the languages and cultures of the indigenous people, he was pleased to note that United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has taken interest in the preservation effort.

Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre (ACCU) of Unesco and Centre of Excellence Programme for United Nation's Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) was crucial in the production of the storybooks through the "Innovation Programme for ESD".

Dompok, who is also Penampang MP, said the idea to set up the KLF was mooted in 1994.

He said the aim was to preserve, develop and promote the Kadazandusun language.

He said the teaching of the language in government schools since 1998 was successful and now it is permanently entrenched in the education system.

"Next year, this subject will be introduced as an alternative paper in the PMR examination.

"I hope this success will guarantee our mother tongue continues to be spoken among our people," he said.

He said it is hard to master the Kadazandusun language these days since pupils and students learn other languages in school.

It was easier previously, he said, because most of the children spoke the language among themselves in the villages.

Hence, Dompok said the effort by the writers of the 11 storybooks from a remote village in upper Penampang at Kampung Togudon is really commendable to preserve indigenous knowledge and culture.

As MP of the constituency, he was proud that a local NGO shares the same concern in elevating the literacy capacity of rural families in Penampang.

At the launching, KLF announced local cartoonist Langkawit's latest book entitled "Langkawit Ansau-Ansau".

Also present were Director of State Museum Datuk Joseph Guntavid, KLF Chief Executive Director, Rita Lasimbang, Upko Secretary-General Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau and representative of Unesco ACCU, Masanori Kono.

Kota Kinabalu: The United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation (Upko) on Friday demanded that the National Registration Department (NRD) undo its mistake of turning a Sabahan Bumiputra into a Permanent Resident.

Its Deputy President Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing said what had happened to 78-year-old Yong Lee Hua @ Piang Lin, a Sino-Kadazan, was simply outrageous and warrants Upko seriously reviewing its position in the Barisan Nasional if found to be not just an isolated case.

"How can this happen to a Malaysian citizen who was born here and holding a Native Certificate to prove her citizenship," he said.

He said that if the NRD had committed a genuine mistake, it should have reverted Yong's new status back to a Malaysian citizen right away.

"If the department had purposely committed the atrocious act, they must undo its gross mistake," he said, adding it is sending a bad signal across the nation, particularly to genuine citizens.

"Illegal immigrants can easily acquire MyKads that subsequently enable them to purchase Native Title (NT) lands.

"What is happening with the NRD? This is totally unacceptable. And if this is the tip of the iceberg, I'm afraid we cannot guarantee protection to the genuine citizens," he said.

He said if the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government is not willing to look into this matter as well as into how illegal immigrants could mysteriously acquire Malaysian Identity Cards, Upko will take up the matter and fight for the people.

"If the NRD or government has no satisfactory answer, I strongly urge Upko to seriously review its position in the BN because an identification document is a very important matter as it shows their sense of belonging."

Bumburing said if the NRD is unable to handle Yong's case, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar must intervene.

Yong's life had been turned upside down as a result of the NRD oversight and incompetence.

Her nightmare began when she lost her IC at a Supermarket at Penampang Baru on Feb. 12.

On the same day, she lodged a police report and subsequently on Feb 26, applied for a replacement IC at the NRD office in Donggongon.

After several months, she went and collected her replacement IC at the NRD office and was given a red IC.

She asked the officer why it was red and the lady officer said for senior citizens who lost their IC, the department normally replaced them with red ICs.

She didn't find anything amiss with the officer's explanation until she reached home when her children said red ICs were issued to people with Permanent Resident status.

With the help of her children, they brought the matter up with the NRD together with supporting documents such as her Native Certificate that was issued by the Native Court on Sept 24, 1963, bank books and passport.

The NRD officer admitted there could have been an error but instead of rectifying it, Yong was asked to "apply for Malaysian citizenship" which she duly complied by submitting an application form to the office on July 2, last year.

Her problem did not end there because soon after, her bank accounts at Amanah Saham Nasional and Alliance Bank were frozen making her unable to withdraw money for her daily expenses.

Fluent in Kadazan and Chinese, the mother of seven sons and one daughter can no longer travel outside the country as she could not renew her expired passport.

Strangely, she was allowed to cast her vote at Peak Nam Thong Kindergarten during the recent Mar 8 general elections using her driving licence as identity document since her record in the polling list was still intact.

But her identification records at the Immigration Department, however, had completely "disappeared".

Everywhere Yong goes now, she only uses her driving licence as proof of identity because she is too embarrassed with her predicament.

She now feared that her "new status" would have serious repercussion on her sons and daughter.

Resource Development and Information Technology Assistant Minister, Donald Peter Mojuntin who helped highlight Yong's case, said if it could happen to her, the children's citizenship could also be withdrawn.

"There has never been a case like this before when genuine Malaysians had their citizenship cancelled. If this can happen to her, it can happen to anybody (Malaysians)," he said.

As Upko Bureau Chief for Citizenship and Security, the Moyog Assemblyman said he would be pursuing the matter with Sabah NRD Director and also with the Home Minister.

He said that for the NRD to admit their mistake and then asking Yong to reapply for citizenship is simply illogical.

Alphonsus Yap, 36, and Morsain Melan, 43, who received 12 and six stitches to the head after the assault, were with three other personnel when the incident occurred at about 11.30am.

Met at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where both were warded, Morsain, who has been with the City Hall enforcement unit for 26 years, said they had just detained a 21-year old woman for peddling smuggled cigarettes in the Sinsuran area and confiscated the items when a group of men suddenly appeared.

He said the men were armed with pipes, wood and rocks and one of the men shouted "Itu bukan polis, mari kita pukul!" (They are not the police, let's assault them!), adding he recognised the man as he had been compounded several times for numerous offences.

Unarmed and outnumbered, Mursain said they decided to back off and walk away but the group charged at them, forcing them to flee.

However, the group caught up with them near KK Plaza, in front of the Central Market and began assaulting them, he said, adding that his three other colleagues sustained only minor injuries.

He said the assault went on for several minutes before their assailants fled, adding that his colleagues sent Alphonsus and him to the hospital at around 12pm.

Mayor Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim who visited both men at the hospital at about 3pm the same day, said a police report has been lodged and they were leaving it to the police to investigate and catch the assailants.

He said despite what happened, City Hall would continue to discharge its duties without fear, as the country had laws to deal with such acts.

When questioned whether the incident will finally see its enforcement unit armed with weapons such as pistols, Iliyas brushed off the idea, saying that he believed it was unnecessary.

Instead, Ilyas said the enforcement personnel would be sent to be trained by the police in various aspects of enforcement, including self-defence.

"If the situation really warrants City Hall enforcement units to be armed with pistols, it will consider doing so," he said. Currently, the enforcement unit are armed with batons which were introduced during the time of first mayor Datuk Ghani Abdul Rashid due to frequent assaults in KK and Inanam, including some deaths.

The incidents mostly stemmed in retaliation for action being taken against illegal activities carried out by foreigners.

Also present to visit the men were City Hall's Director General Datuk Dr. Chua Kim Hing, Enforcement Chief Abdul Muchti Muchlis and enforcement officer Ernest Mobikon.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Deputy President Datuk Chin Su Phin made the suggestion after the official opening of his Api Api Division's Annual General Meeting by LDP Organising Secretary Yong Vui Chung, Sunday.

"If no action is taken against SAPP over its unprecedented move, then other parties may follow suit in future. In that case, Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose its credibility and integrity. It will completely lose its effectiveness and be relegated to a powerless coalition," Chin, who is Api Api Division Chief, told reporters.

On the contention that no action was taken against certain Umno leaders for calling on the Prime Minister to step down after the March 8 general election, so no action should be taken against SAPP, he argued that the call from Umno leaders and SAPP's intention to support any no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister are two different things.

He did not elaborate. Meanwhile, Chin hinted at the possibility of him relinquishing his party posts after his current term expires next year.

"I may not be around, so perhaps it's time to start identifying potential leaders to take over," he quipped.

Also present were Merotai Assemblyman Pang Yuk Ming, LDP Youth Chief Chin Shu Ying and Wanita Chief Datin Naomi Chong Set Mui.

Earlier, in his address, Chin said unfortunately, despite the growing sentiment against the BN, particularly in the peninsula, Chinese leaders from the coalition failed to send this message across during BN meetings.

"Instead, they kept saying that the majority of the Chinese community would still vote for BN.

"That was before the general election but after the election, there was an odd twist when certain Chinese leaders changed their stand drastically, especially from SAPP, which passed a vote of no-confidence in the Prime Minister's leadership."

The Deputy President said as far as LDP is concerned, SAPP had made a mistake for taking such a drastic move.

"In fact, LDP agrees with certain issues raised by SAPP but within the BN family, we must abide by BN principles and are not supposed to take drastic action that is tantamount to threatening the leadership of the country.

"If SAPP did not pass a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, LDP would go all the way in supporting the issues raised by SAPP, particularly those concerning the interests and well-being of the rakyat."

On the March 8 General Election, he said prior to it certain leaders in Umno became quite adamant and ignored the voices of the rakyat, while certain leaders were weak in decision-making.

"The people felt this is one of the contributing factors to the BN's dismal performance in the election."

After the general election, certain BN component parties thought that Umno had become "too big", "simply because some component parties had been sending wrong signals to Umno."

"For instance, during the BN meetings before the election, some component parties did not convey the real situation and feelings on the ground to Umno leaders." Chin recalled that during that particular time, LDP was facing the Mazu Statue project issue in Kudat.

"We asked for discussions on the matter but, unfortunately, none of the other BN component parties responded. Instead, one or two fellow brothers in the BN coalition even took advantage of the situation to attack LDP.

"It was also sad to see certain religious groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) getting involved in the Mazu issue," he told the delegates.

On another note, he said within a political party, we must emphasise the importance of group leadership and not personal ideology.

"As the saying goes, leaders come and go. When a leader leaves, he or she must ensure that the right person will take over the position. Otherwise, the party is undermined and will become weak," he pointed out.

On incumbent MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting's decision not to defend his post in the party elections, Chin said Ong must have listened to the voices and seen the signals coming from party members and the rakyat.

This, he said, should remind us that it is crucial to place the party's and country's interests above all else.

"As such, we respect (Datuk Seri) Ong's decision. He is a good leader and under his leadership, MCA has brought about positive contributions to the country."

Chin also reminded the delegates that in politics, despite good work and services, if one commits a single mistake, at the end of the day, one has to face party members and the rakyat and be answerable to them. "So let us remember that as political leaders, we must be ready to give and take."

On BN component parties such as Umno, MCA and Parti Gerakan holding their respective elections within this year, he noted that in the present party's election system, leaders are elected by delegates to the various posts.

From another perspective, Chin said, it seems that to a certain extent, the outcome of the elections does not reflect the wisdom of party members.

"This is why it is very important for delegates to put aside money politics, and not accept the order of certain leaders to vote for certain candidates."

He called on delegates to use their wisdom in choosing leaders who can really serve the party, people and country.

"As such, the challenges and experiences during the last general election should amply serve as a caution to party delegates to exercise their maturity and wisdom in choosing leaders who can lead and contribute to the nation."

Kota Kinabalu: DAP MP Dr Hiew King Cheu has urged the authorities to investigate if a new tabloid calling itself The New Sulu Times (Suara Tausug) is being published in compliance with its purported permit.

The 12-page newspaper being sold at RM1.80 per copy was handed to him by a complainant on Tuesday.

Written in the Tausug language and Bahasa Malaysia, the newspaper printed the Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) permit number-1-20-Julai-KDN: PQ/PP1506(307).

"Why is a Sulu paper permitted to be published and sold openly in Sabah?

The content of the paper is about the Sulu Sultan, IMM13, and the street children issue, etc. Is it true that it has obtained the permit from the KDN?

"More important is whether it is following the guidelines stated in the permit?" he asked.

If the format of the newspaper is as it is being printed now, the general reaction of the public is that it should not be allowed to be published at all, he said.

Hiew called on the Home Affairs Minister to explain the reason the publication permit was issued as well as the conditions for the permit.

I am really not sure how is the PTI in Sabah is going to be solved, once and for all..

May God bless and help the people of Sabah, Amen..

Source

She set foot on Sabah soil about 30 years ago, having fled the civil war in Mindanao, and fell in love with the Land Below the Wind which she found to be "a land of opportunity".

Today, Daliat is more than an ordinary foreign visitor in Sabah. She is a "very special foreigner" in Sabah by virtue of being the holder of the IMM13 document.

The IMM13 document is a special pass issued by the Immigration Department to genuine Filipino refugees displaced by the war in Mindanao to enable them to stay in Sabah.

Daliat is also on the threshold of acquiring permanent resident (PR) status after having been in Sabah for three decades.

"I consider myself lucky because I was given the privilege to possess the IMM13 document. This was my dream and the dream of thousands of Filipino refugees in Sabah," she said when met at the Telipok Refugee Resettlement Camp located about 20km from here.

The Telipok camp and three other settlements in the State - in Kinarut, Tawau and Sandakan - were established by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for refugees of the war between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the early 1970's.

Having been in Sabah for three decades, Daliat has given up any intention of going back to her ancestral land even if given the chance to do so.

"Who wants to go back to Tawi-Tawi? We do not have anything anymore in Tawi-Tawi. What is left for us to cherish is the sweet memory while we were young in Tawi-Tawi," said the mother of seven children. Daliat had married her childhood sweetheart in Tawi-Tawi whom she just calls Husin.

Her 24-year-old son Najir, who was sitting beside her, butted in: "I'm not Filipino tuan (Sir)...saya orang Sabah bah saya lahir sini (I'm Sabahan because I was born here)."

Najir, a school dropout and an ardent fan of the popular Malaysian singer Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, is unemployed and helps his family at their grocery store at the camp. All of Daliat's children, aged between 14 and 32, were born and raised in Sabah.

"Our children were born in Malaysia but they too are only holders of the IMM13 document. Our fate is always at the mercy of the Immigration Department as we need to renew the document every year for a fee of RM90 each.

"This is our destiny as refugees. But what is bothering us now is the upcoming large-scale operation to flush out illegal immigrants, including those from the Philippines," she said.

Although the massive operation is for now targeting illegal immigrants, Filipinos holding the IMM13 document are worried about their future, all the same.

"Today, we are lucky the Malaysian Government only wants to flush out illegal immigrants. Tomorrow, it could be a different story. We don't know, exactly, the Government's next course of action. Our future is actually hanging in the balance," she said.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the operation to repatriate between 100,000 and 150,000 illegal immigrants in Sabah would start in August, and it would begin in the West Coast of the State before moving towards the East Coast.

Daliat's worries stem from the fact that the granting of the IMM13 document is only a temporary respite, especially for those displaced by the war in the southern Philippines, with the condition that they would go back to their country of origin when the situation there returns to normalcy.

Her family's predicament is just the tip of the iceberg. Thousands of other Filipino refugees, who are in possession of the IMM13 document and live in different resettlement camps throughout Sabah, are hoping for a change of fortune.

Locals and State leaders alike are wondering how their life will be by 2020 when Malaysia attains developed nation status.

Politicians, including leaders from the component parties of the ruling State coalition and State opposition parties, have voiced their concern on the matter, with some capitalising on the issue of illegal immigrants and the IMM13 document to criticise the Federal Government, saying "there is no such thing as permanent refugees as the situation in the southern Philippines has returned to normalcy."

These politicians hope the Federal Government, especially the Immigration Department, will rectify the anomaly pertaining to the position of the IMM13 document holders in Sabah.

In fact, there was a proposal to consider the possibility of giving permanent resident (PR) status to this group of refugees. For example, Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Datuk Seri Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz announced on June 26 last year that the Federal Government planned to issue PR status to the 10,000 to 15,000 refugees in the State.

However, the Sabah Government dismissed the Federal proposal outright, asserting that the State Government and the local people alike should have been consulted before a decision was made on the issue.

On May 28 this year, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said it was estimated that there were 440,000 foreigners in Sabah, of which 230,000 were legal migrant workers and 130,000 illegal immigrants and the rest Filipino refugees.

This underscores the seriousness of the illegal immigrant problem as well as the need to have a clear strategic plan, especially with regard to the future of the Filipino refugees in Sabah.

Local political analyst Clarence Sinsua said the Government should set a time frame for resolution of the problem of the IMM13 holders and decide "what is best for this group of people once and for all".

He said the Government, in the past, had set a time frame for resolution of the problem of the Vietnamese refugees in Peninsular Malaysia and then closed their resettlement camp on Bidong Island off Terengganu.

"I don't see any reason why the Federal Government cannot do the same in Sabah. Well, locals understand their plight and some of the Filipino refugees have assimilated into the local community in Sabah. But the people of Sabah are eager to see a lasting solution to this perennial problem," he said.

Sinsua said ironically when people talk about the refugees, it was rarely in positive terms and this could be linked to the steady increase of crime and other social problems, such as overcrowding in hospitals, poverty, stateless children and fake identity cards.

"But we must bear in mind that Filipino refugees are human beings, too, who deserve fair treatment because most of them came here to look for a job and earn a living," he said.

He said the number of illiterate children of Filipino refugees is very high and warranted more attention from the Government, not to mention the "role of Filipino refugees" in the political arena, especially phantom voters, as alleged by the opposition political parties.

A recent thesis of the Asian Centre For Journalism (ACFJ) at Ateneo De Manila University on Filipino refugees in Sabah cited some of the reasons for the refugee children failing to enrol at school as having no proper documents or Malaysian identity card, financial problems and lack of awareness among parents on the importance of education.

For them, it is pointless to pursue an education and they would rather work at the earliest age to earn some money for the family. In this respect, their parents should be totally blamed as they themselves are illiterate and attuned to a culture of complacency - just to survive.

Consumers Association of Sabah (Cash) President Datuk Patrick Sindu said unlike the illegal immigrants problem, the issue of the Filipino refugees was not easy to resolve.

He said it needed the full commitment of Malaysia's Federal Government via a direct link or negotiation between the Malaysian and the Philippine governments.

He suggested that the State Government conduct a thorough filtering exercise in determining the status of all Filipino refugees in the State.

Pity Our Fellow Sabahans though, hope they all will be all right..

New below taken from Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: The Youth and Sports Ministry is taking steps to tackle the case of Sabahan youths conned by syndicates of employment agents to do menial work and girls being forced into sex slavery in Singapore.

Minister Peter Pang said the ministry is concerned over one such case highlighted by Daily Express on July 14.

"We are currently trying to get further information from enforcement authorities at the Federal level about the case considering the matter involves bilateral ties of two countries, Malaysia and Singapore.

"We will also ask the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore to procure more information and look into the case as well," he said on Tuesday.

Pang was reacting to a Daily Express front-page report quoting a 21-year-old Sabahan who ended up being forced to do manual labour in Singapore, instead of in the hotel sector as promised.

According to the youth, there are some 70 Sabahans youths facing a similar predicament who are living in an apartment building in Singapore with the girls forced into prostitution and the boys doing menial work.

Pang also intends to write to Home Minister Datuk Syed Hamid Albar, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Human Resources Minister Datuk S. Subramaniam to seek their assistance on the case.

He urged youth associations in Sabah to educate the youths by reminding particularly those living in rural areas on the modus operandi of syndicates that are taking advantage on gullible and na"ve young people to work in Singapore or other countries.

"I am also urging the youths to not easily believe 'hearsay' or 'gimmicks of promises' uttered by those so-called agents to attract their interest.

"The best thing to do is for the youths to check the authenticity and reputation of the employment agents with authorities like the Sabah Labour Department, Human Resources Department and Ministry of Human Resources at Federal level.

"Do not simply believe what they (dubious agents) say but seek advice from the authorities," he said.

He also reminded parents who have not heard from their children working overseas to lodge police reports and other relevant authorities for immediate action.

Kota Kinabalu: The people in Sabah should examine the real motivation for BN component parties from Sabah frantically calling for the ouster of SAPP from the coalition, said its Secretary-General, Datuk Richard Yong.

He said SAPP is of the view that these parties, including PBS and LDP, could not wait for SAPP to be ousted so they will have the government positions vacated by SAPP representatives and dished out to their leaders.

He said SAPP's intention to move a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister was not an isolated move to gain notoriety, but in cognizance with its struggle for the rights of Malaysians in Sabah.

"That the Prime Minister has been ineffective and paying only lip-service to Sabah's interests is known by and acknowledged by all Malaysians, particularly those parties in Sabah," he said in a statement, Tuesday.

According to him, BN leaders, including from Umno, LDP and PBS, have at one time or another gone on record calling on the PM to act more expediently on Sabah issues, including those related to illegal immigrants, regional development imbalances and poverty eradication.

"SAPP expects leaders from Sabah who have been appointed to positions in the Federal Government not to lose sight of their obligations to the Sabah electorate who make their positions possible.

"It is disappointing that leaders like Dr Maximus Ongkili and Datuk VK Liew have become 'federalised' or 'domesticated'Éthey have become apologists for Kuala Lumpur.

"So eager are they willing to please that a learned and supposedly cultured person like Dr Maximus went on record to describe a component party as a member of the canine species," he said.

Yong said SAPP doubted if PBS and LDP still hold to their commitment to fight for Sabah rights and Sabahan interests.

"If indeed they still do, they should find commonality with SAPP's move which is aimed at resolving long standing and grave issues. They would have second thoughts about calling for SAPP's blood.

"Instead, they should acknowledge the fact that (as uttered by PBS Information Chief Johnny Mositun) the parties are pursuing the same objectives through different paths," he said.

Towards this end, he said SAPP concludes that PBS and LDP's intensity in wanting SAPP sacked from BN, or calling for SAPP to quit the coalition, is a simple act of self- preservation.

He cited the resignation of PBS Supreme Council member and a fervent campaigner of the illegal immigrant issue, Dr Chong Eng Leong recently because he was told by the PBS leadership to stop talking.

"PBS elected representatives and other leaders have been conspicuously quiet in recent weeks. One is inclined to conclude that a gag order has been slapped on them even on issues of Sabah rights. Is this not a reflection of the PBS wavering on its commitment? Is it not a clear indication of self preservation?"

He said SAPP also wants to alert the people in Sabah to the fact that the recent promises to inject massive development funds into Sabah may just be "attempts to pull wool over their eyes in this climate in which a government is rapidly losing the people's trust.

"For example, what has become of the RM1 billion promised by the Prime Minister several months ago?

"Is there any truth that the money has mostly been disbursed through the various Umno divisions in a move to pacify these grassroots leaders and to prevent a revolt in view of the Umno elections this December?" he asked.

Yong said the recent announcement by the Minister of Education on the RM700 million for education projects in Sabah seemed a little hard to comprehend in light of recent newspaper reports about children in Kemabong risking their lives crossing a river on bamboo rafts in order to attend school.

"Four consecutive state administrations, including this current one, have failed to give these children the convenience of a suspension bridge costing only tens of thousands of ringgit; and here we have a promise to inject millions into rural schools," he said.

However, while they said they are prepared to surrender their so-called rights over Sabah for a lump sum compensation, one of the more vocal claimants who is not among the nine said he had already withdrawn his claim.

Rodinood Julaspi Kiram II, who claims to be the closest heir to the sultanate, in a statement through his "Executive Secretary and Keeper of the Royal Seal", Dato Seri Putra Eddy T. Sulaiman, Tuesday, confirmed that he has withdrawn his claim altogether.

Previously he had announced to the international media during his "coronation" in Manila a demand for US$20 billion (then RM75 billion) from the Malaysian Government "in order for him to drop the claim."

However, he said he has decided to abandon this claim for good after carefully considering the many implications, which are not conducive to good relations between Malaysia and the Philippines.

"What is important now is the establishment of good relations between the Sultanate of Sulu and the government of Malaysia for mutual benefit. I feel that the Philippine Government should also drop the longstanding, off and on, claim on Sabah as it has been a thorn in the flesh in the relationship between the Philippines and Malaysia.

"What we need now is to move on, to promote harmony, peace and socio-economic developments within the context of Asean, and focus on better diplomatic relations between the two countries. I also strongly feel that we need to act on the social development needs of Sabah and Sulu," he said.

"As someone who has a long and close association with Sabah, I have a strong desire to contribute towards the Malaysian Government for the long-term social development of the people of Sabah with whatever capability I have in the near future."

He said Rodinood is currently in Hong Kong on business and is expected to come to Malaysia next month.

Meanwhile, a "chief negotiator" of the other "nine heirs", Datu Omar Ali Datu Haji Backtiyal, claimed all nine "who are receiving the annual RM5,300 cession money from the Malaysian Government are prepared to surrender their rights over Sabah."

Omar said he had worked hard to get all the nine, who are supposedly recognised by Manila and Kuala Lumpur as the truthful heirs, to co-sign the agreement.

"They are agreeable to surrender their rights once and for all as well as for a lump sum payment of the cession money," he told a press conference, here, Tuesday.

Omar said he managed to get the signatures last year, following advice from former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who, he claimed, asked him to get all the nine to agree before the Malaysian government could enter into a negotiation process.

However, he said after getting the nine heirs to agree, he was unable to get the Malaysian Government to talk.

"It has been a year and still there is no response from the National Security Council and the Prime Minister's office," he said, adding he was worried that the heirs would change their mind.

According to him, the heirs of the late Sultan Mohamat Jamal Al Alam were those named in the Mackaskie Civil Suit 1936 (Dayang Dayang Hadji Piandao Kiram of Jolo Philippines and Eight Others Vs the Government of North Borneo).

He said one of the heirs was Esmail Kiram II is in Sabah for a visit.

Omar said he is a Malaysian and he took the initiative to find a way to resolve once-and-for-all the lingering doubts on Sabah's sovereignty.

"There are still doubts as to why the Malaysian Government is still paying RM5,300 to the heirs," he said, adding that he feared the incident in 1968 that resulted in the Bangkok Talks between Manila and Kuala Lumpur might be repeated. At that time, he said Manila used a ploy to claim Sabah by getting the Crown Prince of the Sulu Sultanate to sign an agreement to hand over the rights to Sabah.

However, he claimed, the ploy did not work as it turned out that the reigning King, Sultan Muhamad Amilrul Ombra Amil Bangsa (1936-1968) who is the husband of Dayang Dayang Piandao, was still alive and never agreed to the plan. It resulted in the failure of the Bangkok Talks, he said, adding that nonetheless such scenario could be repeated if the heirs surrendered the rights to Manila.

"We appeal to the Malaysian government to open the channel of communication and negotiate with the heirs," he said.

Meanwhile, Esmail Kiram II in a Press conference here proposed a mechanism for a joint-undertaking to resolve the refugee and illegal immigrant issue in Sabah with the Sabah State and Federal government of Malaysia. He also supported Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman's call for the setting up of a Philippine Consulate in Sabah as one of the ways to resolve the problems in Sabah and speed up the deportation process of illegals.

He hoped he would be included as a panel member of the committee to address illegal immigrants in order to assist in handling the problem. At the same time, he also proposed a liaison office in Zamboanga, Mindanao to do profiling of the deportees from Sabah.

Esmail said he was also still waiting for the response from the Chief Minister's office and Prime Minister to meet and discuss the proposal with them.

Taken from Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun and Murut Organisation (Upko) wants the enforcement authorities to get tougher with illegal immigrants who sneak back as well as the local people harbouring them in Sabah.

Its Secretary-General Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said since the country has a law providing for illegal immigrants and locals who harbour them to be caned, this should be made full use of as a deterrent.

"Those illegal immigrants who come back to Sabah, after they were deported to their respective country of origin, and still without a valid travel pass should be caned double or triple the actual number, according to how many times he or she repeatedly came back illegally to Sabah," he said.

The same goes to employers or land and house owners found to be harbouring illegal immigrants, he added.

"Because this (illegal immigrant problem) is a serious problem. We need to be very serious if we want to deal with it effectively," said Madius, adding that foreigners will otherwise have an impression that Malaysia's enforcement authorities are 'weak' or 'so easy'.

Madius said this in response to Deputy Director of National Security Council in Sabah Major Mohd Rizam Ayob saying that Sabahans are also largely to blame for the huge presence of illegal immigrants in Sabah.

He also said repatriation exercises are conducted regularly but that most would be back in two weeks.

Madius said the Immigration Department should also practise what their counterparts are doing in the Philippines that is to have the palm print, instead of just thumb print, of every visiting foreigner.

"The department should also do the same, to have the record of every foreigner who had been arrested and deported to their respective country of originÉto enable them to know how many times the deportee comes back to Malaysia and also to facilitate severe punishment for these repeat offenders," he said.

Madius said the party also does not understand why the authorities did not seriously go after and bring to court those employing or harbouring the illegal immigrants.

"It seems to me the illegal immigrants are telling where they had worked before or where they had stayed before but why didn't the enforcement authorities concerned not go there and charge those employers or land owners or house owners?" he asked.

Taken from Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) President Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the meeting between Tawau MP Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui and Minister-in-charge-of-Parliament, Datuk Nazri Mohd Noor, has cast SAPP in a very bad light.

Describing the meeting and photo session on July 7 as "unfortunate" he said the effect of it was as though the party had back-tracked from the no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister.

"Although Dr Chua never mentioned words to the effect that the proposed motion of no confidence had been 'dropped' or 'aborted', her comments were misinterpreted," he said here Wednesday.

"This latest twist makes me sad that our noble struggle has been damaged in the eyes of the people whose hopes for a better future rest with SAPP," he added.

To put things in the right perspective and to reaffirm SAPP's struggle for the people and Sabah, Yong revealed that he had earlier told Chua who is also a SAPP Vice President "to be extremely careful when dealing with some KL leaders, (that) it is like swimming with sharks".

"I had alerted her that we had discovered the tactic of the BN leaders to use her and Deputy President cum Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Raymond Tan to 'split SAPP and isolate Yong Teck Lee'," he said.

He said at first, there were doubts as to why the BN generously gave a long period of 30 days to SAPP to reply its show cause letter.

"Later, it dawned on us in SAPP that the lengthy 30-day period was actually intended to give time to BN's efforts 'to split SAPP and isolate Yong Teck Lee'.

"This is why the move by PBS and LDP for an immediate expulsion of SAPP from BN was not carried.

"BN tacticians wanted SAPP to be split and to lose the support of the people before action is taken against SAPP. BN did not want to repeat their mistake of 1984 when they expelled Usno, which had opposed the federalisation of Labuan.

"In State elections the following year (1985), the BN was almost completely wiped out by PBS and Usno," he said.

Yong said as (Upko President) Tan Sri Bernard Dompok observed last month, Sabahans are a laid back people and unsuspecting.

But in the rough world of federal politics, many earlier Sabahan leaders have been "eaten alive" and came home defeated and disgraced, he claimed.

According to him, from the books "Politics of Federalism" (on Syed Kechik in East Malaysia, 1976) to the banned book "Golden Son of the Kadazan" (on the late Datuk Peter Mojuntin, 1976) and "Harris of Sabah" (1986), The Making of a Malaysian (on Datuk J. Pairin Kitingan, 1991) and countless recollections, Malaysians in Sabah have endured a collective history of betrayals, disappointments and failures.

"I am sure this latest episode will make our Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui a stronger leader who can tell the hard truths to federal leaders, however friendly they might seem on a personal basis."