Upko wants to know about 22 action plans on illegals

Penampang: Upko is eager to find out what exactly are the 22 Plans of Action that have been recommended by the Special Lab on Illegal Immigrants to resolve the long-standing issue in Sabah.

Its Sec-Gen Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department) Datuk Seri Idris Jala had informed Upko leaders about this during the latter's briefing here recently.

He was not ready to tell us what are those 22 Plans of Action were but promised to do so at a later date. Madius pointed out that even Malaysians from Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia need to apply for Permanent Residence (PR) status in Sabah, so what more foreigners.

He lauded the keen interest shown by Silam Barisan Nasional Secretary, Kassim Sulaiman, on the problem posed by the large number of illegal immigrants in Sabah as reported in the Daily Express Tuesday.

He said the time for finger-pointing is over and it is time to get the problem fixed, adding no one should politicise nor try to gain political mileage over the problem.

Sabah cases up to 461 with 3 deaths

The number of confirmed Influenza A (HINI) cases in Sabah has shot up to 461 as of Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry's Disease Control Division Director, Datuk Dr Hassan Abdul Rahman.

He said the number of deaths from Sabah related to HINI has also increased from two to three.

"Four hundred and sixty-one people have so far tested positive for Influenza A (HINI) in Sabah. And one more death has been reported, totalling three now," he said when contacted, Tuesday evening.

However, details of the death were not immediately known.

Dr Hassan said there are two types of test - Rapid Test and the Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Test, which is done to detect the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

Foreign-worker levy in Sabah to be halved

The Home Ministry will reduce the foreign-worker levy in Sabah by 50 per cent from July 1 to Oct 31, said its minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

He said the ministry would also give a second chance to employers in the state to register foreign workers who had been working illegally.

"I hope the employers will take advantage of the opportunities. We understand their problems and they should reciprocate in solving the illegal immigrant problems," he said in a statement today.

He said an integrated operation would be carried out to weed out illegal immigrants after the deadline.

"This will enable the authorities to have their data and trace them. Until May 15, the Immigration Department had issued work permits to 20 per cent or 48,477 foreign workers through their respective embassies while the status of 240,260 more workers is still unknown," he said.

He said the ministry would propose to the Cabinet to merge the Cabinet Committee on Illegal Immigrants and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign Workers as their functions overlapped.

On operations against illegal immigrants in Sabah between August and Oct last year, he said 312,837 foreign workers had been registered.

Unduk Ngadau 2009

1. Tati Appey Rowena (PAPAR)
2. Pearl petrus (KK)
3. Kimberly Majalap (PENAMPANG)
4. Flina Rutum (TAMPARULI)
5. Jacqueline Joseph (KENINGAU)
6. Fredericka Richard (TUARAN)
7. Elinna Masuin (LIKAS)

Sabahan's Train

TENOM: For about a year now, homemade trolleys that are manually pushed using long poles have become a regular mode of transport for people who live along the railway track here.

Since the state Railway Department suspended its regular train service last May, the number of trolleys, which are made from planks and car or motorcycle wheel bearings, has gone up.

It's illegal, but the department is keeping its eyes closed for now as the trolleys are a lifeline for those at Pangi and Rayoh, the last two stations before the town here.

A 134km railway line runs from Kota Kinabalu to here via Beaufort.

From here to Beaufort, the track stretches 49km with four stations along the scenic Sungai Padas, namely Pangi, Rayoh, Halogilat and Saliwangan Baru.

The trolleys have existed since the early days of the railway service, which started in 1896. Even when the regular train service was operational, trolleys were used by villagers discreetly.

Villager Antawar Mukak said they used to hide their trolleys in bushes to prevent them from being confiscated by the department.

District officer Faimin Kamin said about 500 people who lived along the rail track were directly affected as well as thousands of others involved in the agricultural sector in the district, which has a population of about 60,000.

Pang is new Deputy CM

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Peter Pang En Yin has been appointed deputy Chief Minister post replaced Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah who joined peninsula-based Parti Gerakan last week.

Tan, former deputy president of the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) which pulled out of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in September last year, was partyless for almost nine months until he joined Gerakan.

Pang is a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice President and Karamunting Assemblyman.

The announcement ended much speculation and debate on who would be the Deputy Chief Minister under the Chinese quota. Pang's appointment also marked another milestone for LDP because his predecessor Tan took over the post after it was vacated by former LDP President Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat about 25 months ago.

Miss Sabah World 2009

MARIE BIBIANA BAXTER

Age : 19

Place of Birth : Kota Kinabalu

Height : 5' 9"

Weight : 47.2KG

Vital Stat : 31-25½-33

Occupation : Student

Hobbies : Swimming

Qualification : Diploma

Personal Statements : To be successful in everything I do and hope to win this competition.

Sabah assembly: Speaker rejects bid to debate long-standing Philippines' Sabah claim

A bid by an opposition backbencher, Likas assemblyman Datuk Liew Teck Chan to table a motion to debate the claim on Sabah by the Philippines was rejected here today.

State assembly Speaker Datuk Juhar Mahiruddin rejected the motion but agreed on two points that it had the interest of the people and deemed important.

In his motion Liew said recently a man who claimed to be an heir of the Sulu Sultanate and 11 others were held in Lahad Datu for burning the state flag.

He says its incited anger among the people of Sabah and on top of that there is also the issue of the large presence of illegal immigrants that has yet to be solved.

Later, Liew said he was disappointed that his motion was rejected but added he will bring it up if he gets the opportunity in the next three days because the matter should be resolved urgently especially when we have a fellow Sabahan holding the post as the Foreign Minister (atuk Anifah Aman) in the cabinet.

Ex-Sabah Minister Conrad Mojuntin goes to jail

Former state culture, youth and sports minister Datuk Conrad Mojuntin will serve a 6 month jail sentence beginning Monday, for threatening a businessman, 3 years ago.

This followed the dissatisfaction of the Court of Appeal over the defence’s submission and dismissed Conrad’s application for leave to file an appeal against the High Court’s decision on Jan 8.

Conrad, 60, was sentenced to 6 months jail and fined RM2,000 in default three months jail for criminally intimidating businessman Doughty Disimon, 30, outside the SJD Cafe and Sports at 3.30am on Oct. 23, 2005.

The incident occured in Donggongon, Penampang.

His bail of RM5,000 was also revoked.

Manoj Kurup prosecuted while Zahir Shah represented Conrad. Justices Datuk Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud, Datuk Md Raus Sharif and Datuk Abdull Hamid Embong heard the application.

Anifah Aman springs surprise, appointed foreign minister's post

Sabahan leaders made four in Najib's cabinet while five others appointed deputy ministers. Its was the biggest surprise for Datuk Anifah Aman as he was appointed as Foreign Minister while Newly-elected Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who was the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister, is now the Rural and Regional Development Minister.

Parti Bersatu Sabah Deputy President Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili retains his Science, Technology and Innovation portfolio.

United Pasok Momogun Kadazandusun Organisation (Upko) president Tan Sri Bernard Dompok moved from the Prime Minister's Department to the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry.

The deputy ministers:

Tan Sri Joseph Kurup - Natural Resources and Environment
Datuk V.K. Liew - Prime Minister's Department
Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri - Transport
Datuk Lajim Ukin - Housing and Local Government
Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin - Health.

12 held for burning Sabah flags

Police in Lahad Datu have arrested 12 men for burning state flags in the east coast town Saturday.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Noor Rashid Ibrahim said they had received a tip-off at 8.40am that a group of men had burned six flags in front of the town’s market.

“Some of the men were also seen carrying yellow flags bearing the insignia of a red lion, believed to be the pre-independence flag of the Governor of Sabah”, he said.

He added that the flag has long fallen into disuse.

Noor Rashid said by the time police reached the scene, the men had already fled.

They left behind burnt remains of the flags.

Some of the men were then seen running towards the district police headquarters, where they were promptly arrested and investigated for illegal assembly, he said.

Noor Rashid added that those detained were aged between 14 and 41 years.

“We are still investigating the motive of the incident. “The alleged group leader has claimed to be a descendant of the Sulu Sultan,” Noor Rashid said.

Lahad Datu police immediately deployed more than 80 personnel around the town area following the incident.

A sober taste of Sabah through 'lihing'

EVERYONE in Sabah knows what lihing is.

Made from a mixture of water, fermented rice or tapioca and a special blend of yeast, this local wine is a must-have during weddings and festivities or any aramai ti occasion.

Put in a special container made of bamboo called suki, lihing should be taken in small quantities because after awhile, the combination of fermented rice (or tapioca) and yeast will produce the same effect as an alcoholic drink.

The Monsopiad Cultural Village in Kota Kinabalu is currently hosting an exhibition on local brew, which gives the opportunity for visitors to not only understand the various local drinks in Sabah, but also what is required in preparing them.

Preparing a local brew is not as easy as you think. There are many pantang-larang (dos and don'ts) associated with it.

lihing is best done in a quiet environment.

Dry the cooked rice (or tapioca) on a mat overnight. Then, add a special blend of yeast to the rice and stir well.

This concoction is placed in a special jar and left to be fermented for about a month. Some lihing are left to be fermented for years.The longer you leave the concoction in the jar, the better the taste of lihing will be.

The secret in making a good lihing, he says, lies in the yeast.

The fermented concoction is then placed in a topukon, which is also called the spirit jar, because in the olden days, the jars were used to keep spirits in. The topukon is covered with leaves to ensure lihing is not exposed to air that can make it turn bad.

Visitors to Monsopiad Cultural Village will see the making of talak (distilled rice wine), sikat (rice wine with herbs) and toddy (which is made from coconut juice, or nyira).

For details, visit www.monsopiad.com

Strong show by Sabah UMNO leaders

SABAH emerged having one of the highest representations in Umno's top national leadership through:

- Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Vice-President);

- Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman (Supreme Council 2,084 votes).

- Deputy Transport Minister and Beaufort Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin (Supreme Council 1,804 votes).

- Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (Supreme Council 1,517 votes). Shafie created history by becoming the first leader from Sabah to reach such a height in the party's 63-year history. The National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister came in third to fill-up the final veep slot, out of eight contenders.

Earlier, Sabah also made a big impact after Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, the Papar Member of Parliament, won as Puteri Umno chief.

Any mother will swim to save her child

KOTA KINABALU: The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) has captured rare images of an orang utan swimming to safety with a baby on her back.

The orang utan mother with a baby clinging onto her (left) grabs the
rope bridge as soon as it was thrown towards her.

The mother swims while holding onto the rope. It made sure
the baby’s head was above water while she swam across

A WWF field staff recently took the photographs in the Lower Segama area between Sandakan and Lahad Datu.

The orang utan had been stranded on a tree for a week because of floods when the Sabah Wildlife Department sent a team to the area.

They had just set up a rope bridge about four metres to the nearest point of dry ground.

The orang utan, with her baby clinging onto her back, climbed down the tree and grabbed hold of the rope that was thrown to her, said a WWF spokesman.

The orang utan then pulled herself closer toward dry land and swam "like a dog", the spokesman said.

The mother and baby were fed, and tended for about 30 minutes before being released into the jungle.

It is generally believed that orang utan are non-swimmers because they supposedly fear water.

The pictures proved that if they were desperate enough, they could actually swim.

Kurup's appeal allowed, no by-election in Pensiangan

THE Federal Court here today overturned the Kota Kinabalu High Court's decision to nullify the election of Parti BersatuRakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup to the Pensiangan parliamentary seat in the March 8 general election last year.

Kurup won the seat unopposed on nomination day after the returning officer rejected the nomination papers of Danny Anthony Andipai of Parti Keadilan Rakyat(PKR) and another candidate.

He was subsequently appointed Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister. Andipai then petitioned to the election court to nullify the election result, naming Kurup and the returning officer, Bubudan OT Majalu, as respondents.

The Federal Court, comprising Appeal Court President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff, Chief Justice of Malaya Datuk Arifin Zakaria and Justice Datuk Nik Hashim Nik Abd Rahman heard submissions from both parties on Feb 12 and reserved judgment to today.

Sabah getting only 2% of the total

Kota Kinabalu: PKR Vice President Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan said the mere two per cent allocation for the Borneo States, out of the total RM60 billion stimulus package announced by the Deputy Prime Minister is "an insult".

"It may be welcome news generally, in the light of the expected economic downturn. But how can our State leaders be so ecstatic about such treatment and say that the 'Federal Government understand our needs when clearly it showed otherwise.

He said it was also misleading to say that "the budget that takes into account the welfare of the people namely through poverty eradication programmes", when the lists specified doesn't even include poverty eradication.

"The State Government should not forget that Sabah and Sarawak are partners in the Federation, contributing a great portion of their revenue to the Federal coffers".

Since Sabah and Sarawak are less developed and are among the poorest States, the State Government should expect more, not less from the stimulus package."

Vacant block may serve as alternative to QEH

Kota Kinabalu: The Health Ministry is considering taking over the vacant Wisma Khidmat near Wisma Muis to replace the Queen Elizabeth Hospital tower block which has been declared unsafe.

Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said it was among the proposals made by the State Government that his Ministry was seriously looking into.

On the time frame to consider all the proposals from the State Government, he said it would be less than a year.

Wisma Khidmat, which has been vacated, is now under the Sabah Credit Corporation. Liow who met with the State Cabinet to specifically discuss the QEH denied that the Federal Government was not concerned with the healthcare needs of the people here.

Ever since the QEH tower was declared unsafe the Ministry had been doing its level best to place patients at the various health facilities, he said, adding that at the moment the Ministry was also renting at the Sabah Medical Centre.

At the same time, Liow said the Ministry would quickly build the twin towers at the QEH to ensure there would be sufficient beds.

Meanwhile, Musa who is Finance Minister said the State Government had presented a proposal on solving the shortage of hospital beds in the State Capital to the Health Ministry.

He said the State Government presented a plan to build a strong surgical hospital with all the emergency services for 250 beds as an interim measure to solve the shortage of hospital beds in the city.

He said part of the State Government's proposals included a decanting ward near the car park at QEH for 200 to 240 beds in four to five months.

He said the decanting ward was semi-permanent so that the original plan to build the twin towers at QEH plus a new tower block could proceed.

Musa also said it was important that the Cardiac Centre that has been planned initially be built because Sabah did not have such a medical facility.

Bridge link to prosperity

LABUAN: Labuan island will benefit with a bridge link to Sabah, the prime minister said.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday said industries here could prosper with better access to raw materials from the neighbouring state.

Abdullah said a feasibility study by the Economic Planning Unit was necessary to find out how best the link could be developed.

Since 2007, the government had allocated RM5 million for the study undertaken by Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Consultants had been appointed to conduct hydrographic surveys as well as look into the possible connecting points between the island and the sub-district of Menumbuk on the mainland.

The proposal to build the bridge first appeared in 1997 in the Labuan Master Plan by the Labuan Development Authority (now Labuan Corporation). Over the years the topic had re-surfaced but the proposal did not take off except for the latest feasibility study which is due to be completed at the end of this year.

Group launches signature drive on Allah issue

Kota Kinabalu: A group of concerned citizens have initiated a signature campaign in support of a memorandum urging the Government to review the ban on the use of the word Allah in Christian publications.

Led by senior politician Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan, the group said the memorandum could be signed by all concerned citizens regardless of their religion.

Jeffrey said the campaign will run until the end of this month.

"Copies of the memorandum will be distributed to selected community leaders including from every church in all the districts throughout Sabah," he said. He said those who wish to support the campaign can also log on to www.PetitionOnline.com sabahan/petition.html.

The memorandum, would be handed over to the Prime Minister personally either in Parliament or in Putrajaya next month. According to Jeffrey who is also the organising chairman of the campaign, they have received numerous complaints from several quarters on the issue.

He said people are wondering why the Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar had a change of heart and are confused with when Minister said that there were "mistakes".

Last week Syed Hamid said the February 16 Government gazette lifting a ban on Christian publications to use the word Allah was rescinded.

He told reporters here that there were "mistakes" in the drafting of the Feb 16 gazette which states that Christian publications could use the word Allah provided the words "For Christians" are clearly printed on the front cover.

"The Government's stand on the ban has not changed. There is also a judicial review challenging the ban," Syed Hamid said adding that the Government had no intention of pre-empting any decision of the courts on the judicial review brought about by the Catholic Herald.

Cabinet to discuss new Sabah hospital

The issue of building a new hospital in Sabah will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting this Friday, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad said Monday.

The Ministry needed only to ascertain the allocation needed for the project since the State Government had already found a suitable site for the new hospital, he told reporters after launching the National Kindergarten Food Safety Campaign 2009, here.

Sabah is in dire need of a new government hospital not only to tackle the overcrowding problem at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, but also due to the fact that the building structures have been declared unsafe.